Terra, Grass River Break Ground on Grove Central Mixed-Use Project in Miami

Terra and Grass River Property Co. have broken ground on a new mixed-use project in Miami called Grove Central. Located at 2780 SW 27th Court, the transit-oriented development will include a new 23-story residential tower comprising 402 market-rate, workforce and co-living units; a 1,250-space public parking garage; and approximately 170,000 square feet…

Checking into the wild: Miami commissioners approve zoning changes to allow for Jungle Island hotel

Jungle Island’s planned transformation into a lushly-landscaped theme park with a waterfront hotel and new attractions took a major leap forward. The Miami City Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a development agreement with Jungle Island and a special area plan, or SAP, for 18 acres on Watson Island, the site of the animal-centric tourist…

Atlanta Fed: Beige Book Finds Small Uptick in Labor Market

The latest Beige Book report on the regional economy from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta shows hopeful signs in the labor market, a bit of upward pressure on prices, and a modest expansion of general activity over the past several weeks. February’s Beige Book reports that employment levels rose “modestly” from December and early January, and about half…

8 Key Statistics for the Miami Commercial Real Estate Market

Miami’s commercial real estate market offers a wide range of projects, assets, and property types due to its pivotal access as an Atlantic coastal town and its geographic position near Central and South America. These factors give Miami a distinct cultural influence and importance as a transportation node between North America, Central America…

The Fed: Does Rising National Debt Portend Rising Inflation?

The previous post examined the national debt in terms of debt issuance, debt as currency and debt service. This post looks at monetizing the debt, inflation and pressures on the larger debt picture caused by COVID-19. In a Regional Economist article, Senior Vice President and Economist David Andolfatto pondered the question, “Does the National Debt Matter?”

Global digital payment firm ACI Worldwide Corp. moving to Miami-Dade

A global digital payment firm currently headquartered in Collier County will get more than $360,000 in state and local incentives to move to Miami-Dade, with vows to spend millions on its new world headquarters and create 180-plus high-paying jobs. County commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved the incentives for ACI Worldwide Corp…

Settlement with Magic City Casino would ban gambling elsewhere in city

After hearing parties are nearing a settlement on a jai-alai and poker establishment in the Edgewater neighborhood, Miami city commissioners decided last week to defer a previously scheduled meeting that was to be closed to the public. Vice Chairman Ken Russell said his understanding was that both sides are at the table in good faith. While getting close to…

82-acre Doral Central Park begins development

Construction to build-out Doral Central Park has officially begun after city officials broke ground Monday, closing the park to the public until further notice. With phases two and three scheduled to be completed in 2022 and phase four in 2023, the 82-acre existing passive park at 3000 NW 87th Ave. will be transformed into a multipurpose and multigenerational park…

NYC Meatpacking District Icon, Pastis, Is Coming to Wynwood

Pastis, New York City’s iconic version of a classic Parisian bistro, is bound for Miami. Restaurateurs Keith McNally and Stephen Starr will open Pastis Miami at 380 NW 26th Street in Wynwood in 2022.The property is owned by Miami developer David Edelstein. The 8,000-square-foot restaurant will echo its Manhattan sibling’s look with mirrors, subway tile, and warm…

Pastis to open Miami restaurant in Wynwood

New York City institution Pastis is landing in Miami. James Beard award-winning restaurateurs Stephen Starr and Keith McNally plan to open in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, in an 8,000-square-foot space at 380 Northwest 26th Street, The Real Deal has learned. The restaurant, Pastis’ first in South Florida, is expected to open in the summer of 2022.

Internet, shminternet: Target adds, renovates stores as money pours in

Target has hit the bullseye. The big box retailer is adding and renovating stores as well as warehouses as it thrives in the competition with Amazon and other internet retailers. The moves stem in part from Target’s stellar year: Its 2020 sales growth of more than $15 billion was greater than in the prior 11 years combined, the company announced Tuesday. Total…

Order up: Real estate investors line up to buy drive-throughs

Real estate investors are placing their bets on a new property type: drive-throughs. Restaurants with drive-through lanes are seeing their values increase as the coronavirus pandemic forced social distancing rules and the closure of indoor dining, the Wall Street Journal reported. Chains such as Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s have reported an increase in sales thanks…

South Florida’s Top 10 Retail Projects Currently Under Construction

To expand on the South Florida Retail Real Estate Quarterly Report, MMG puts together a periodical update of the Top 10 Retail Real Estate Construction Projects in the area. There are currently 32 retail projects under construction with a total square footage of 1,879,865 being added to the market. That accounts for 1.4% of the…

South Florida’s Top 10 Retail Real Estate Property Sales

In order to add further context to the South Florida Retail Real Estate Quarterly Report, MMG puts together an update of the Top 10 Retail Real Estate Property Sales in the region. In the last 12 months, there have been 356 retail properties sold with an average cap rate of 5.8% between all of them…

New York Real Estate Developers See Opportunity in South Florida Amid Pandemic

COVID-19 shook things up across the country, but some out-of-state business owners saw a silver lining in South Florida. Business owners across various industries are opening up shop, but the hospitality sector in particular is seeing a boom, according to real estate experts. “New York and Miami are two different worlds with the pandemic,” said Mitchell Hochberg…

U.S. mall values fall 60% after appraisals

The suburban mall that you frequented as a teenager could now be worth substantially less than the dirt underneath it. U.S. mall values declined 60 percent due to appraisals in 2020, according to an analysis by Bloomberg News. Across 118 shopping centers with commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, about $4 billion was lost after reappraisals caused…

Easton Group scores $12M construction financing for Doral spec warehouse

Edward Easton and rendering of Doral warehouse at 1500 Northwest 97th Avenue The Easton Group scored a $12 million construction loan for a Doral spec warehouse, amid a hot industrial market largely fueled by e-commerce. Easton Group borrowed the funds through its affiliates ICP NW 97th Associates and EEBB Apartment II Holdco, which are listed as the…

Wynwood developer sells retail property in foreclosure for $12M

East End Capital sold a retail property that was in foreclosure for $11.8 million, The Real Deal has learned. Forte Capital Management, led by Chaim Cahane and director of acquisitions Dov Tepper, and Jon Krasner’s 7G Realty purchased the retail property at 310–318 Northwest 25th Street, Cahane said. Property records show East End affiliate EERC 310 Owner…

Greystone Provides $10.9 Million in HUD-Insured Financing for a Multifamily Property in Miami, Florida

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a $10.9 million HUD-insured loan to refinance a 174-unit multifamily property in Miami, Florida. The financing was originated by Eric Rosenstock, Managing Director in Greystone’s New York office, on behalf of Vizcaya Affordable Corp. The $10,915,700 HUD-insured…

Construction spending hits new record in January

U.S. construction spending reached the highest level on record last month as both local and federal governments began loosening the purse strings. Spending hit a seasonally adjusted annual estimated rate of $1.5 trillion across all sectors last month, the highest recorded since the Census Bureau began tracking this figure in 2002. January’s rate was up 1.7 percent…

How the pandemic has changed small banks’ views of CRE

Fallout from the pandemic is reshaping community banks’ views of commercial real estate. Social distancing measures have restricted retail and restaurant capacity, while forcing people to rely more on digital channels for their purchases. The potential for permanent work-from-home policies is expected to alter how much office space companies need.

These are real estate executives’ worst worries for 2021

After an awful year for much of the real estate world, executives see full recovery not happening this year or even next, yet are optimistic about their own firms’ immediate future. A survey of real estate executives found 85 percent see 2021 as a year of opportunity for their companies, but 70 percent said that the commercial real estate sector will not return to…

Return of the retailer: Century 21 relaunches

Attention shoppers: Century 21 is coming back. The New York-based discount retail chain that built a loyal following but folded after declaring bankruptcy in September, announced its planned return last week. In a statement on Tuesday, Century 21 Stores said the decision to relaunch came “in response to the outpouring of love from the Big Apple and the…

Miami-Dade resumes pre-pandemic evictions after unannounced February break

Miami-Dade County resumed executing writs of possessions for residential eviction cases filed before the pandemic, following an unannounced month-long break. The police execute writs of possession, evicting residents or businesses from their properties. The move follows a final judgment in a court case. Homeowners with federally backed mortgages are protected…

National eviction moratorium ruled unconstitutional, but remains in place

A federal judge in Texas ruled the nationwide eviction moratorium unconstitutional Thursday but issued no injunction, saying he hopes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will withdraw the ban. The agency is not expected to do so. The result, for the moment, is no change for tenants — who, as of last month…

South Florida construction starts fall in January

South Florida construction began the new year slowly with new starts falling in January by double-digits, year over year, according to a recently released report. Total construction starts fell 21 percent to $863.6 million in January. Residential construction fell 24 percent, to $573.3 million. Nonresidential fell 15 percent to $290.3 million, according to Dodge…

Victoria’s Secret may close 50 stores this year

Victoria’s Secret’s plans for its future are, well, not so secret. The lingerie retailer will close 30 to 50 stores in the United States and Canada this year, CNN reported. The move comes after the brand closed 241 stores in 2020. The closures will leave Victoria’s Secret with 848 stores across the two countries, down from more than 1,100 just a year ago. Its parent…

It’s curtains for Galbut family-led proposal to redevelop Byron Carlyle Theater

The Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Menin Hospitality and KGTC, LLC to buy the city-owned Byron Carlyle Theater in North Beach and replace it with a mixed-use project up to 125 feet tall, with a 12,000-square-foot cultural center, 9,000 square feet of retail, and, possibly short-term rentals. The commission’s 5-to-1 vote…

Video: Integra Realty Resources’ Viewpoint 2021; Economic Outlook, Capital Markets, and Interest Rates

Integra Realty Resources CEO Anthony Graziano discusses his firms  Viewpoint 2021 report. In this second video, he discusses how industrial property performed during the pandemic, how changes in policy with a new presidential administration may affect industrial assets. He then goes on to discuss multifamily property performance during the pandemic…

Ladder Capital sells Witkoff’s Miami Beach hotel for $44M

Ladder Capital sold the Washington Park Hotel in Miami Beach for $43.8 million, after foreclosing on the property when it was owned by the Witkoff Group. The foreclosure and subsequent sale of the hotel marks one of a few such deals in South Florida to close since the pandemic began a year ago. Many owners of leisure hotels are focused now on recovery, while…

HSBC to shrink its office footprint amid shift to WFH

HSBC is banking on remote work — and is shedding office space. John Hinshaw, the group COO of Europe’s largest bank, said during HSBC’s fourth-quarter earnings call that the company will switch to a hybrid model where employees have the option to work from home, Bloomberg News reported. As part of the switch, the bank is expected to reduce its real…

South Florida real estate on climate change: ‘Que Sera, Sera’

Real estate is famously all about location. And in Florida, climate change is expected to put some of the toniest locations underwater over the coming decades — either permanently or during storm-driven flooding. Insurers are taking notice and hiking rates accordingly. Developers and homebuyers, however, seem oblivious to the threat. Florida’s geography makes it…

US hotel market had worst year since the Great Depression

The coronavirus pandemic made 2020 the worst year for the U.S. hotel market since the Great Depression, when occupancy rates dipped below 40 percent. In 2020, the overall occupancy rate was 41.6 percent. However, the impact varied significantly by geographic location and the type of hotel, according to a new report from CBRE Research. New York City was…

GDF Properties scoops up Broward multifamily portfolio for $17M

GDF Properties scooped up a 29-building Broward County multifamily portfolio for $17.3 million. Records show Miami-based GDF Properties, through affiliate Broward Multifamily, bought the small apartment buildings totaling 189 units in two $8.6 million deals. The portfolio spans Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale…

Tricor Financial sells Winn-Dixie-anchored Cobblestone Commons near Boynton Beach for $38M

Tricor Financial Corp. sold Cobblestone Commons shopping plaza west of Boynton Beach for $38 million, as the retail market shows signs of a rebound. Property records show Winter Park-based Tricor, through affiliates Springs Equity and Cobblestone KT, sold the 88,456-square-foot retail center to Cobblestone USA, based in Coral Gables. The buyer…

TJAC Development sells mixed-use portfolio near Boca Raton for $155M

TJAC Development disposed of four mixed-use office and retail plazas west of Boca Raton for $155 million, marking one of the largest commercial sales in South Florida this year. Weston-based Titan General Partners acquired the 515,000-square-foot portfolio by buying an interest in the four limited liability companies TJAC originated to own the…

Banker’s Row office building in Palm Beach sells for $17M

A six-story office building on Palm Beach’s Banker Row sold for $17 million, a little over a year after the seller purchased it. Records show BWREFI Royal Palm Way LLC, a Delaware corporation signed by Alexander H. Griswold, sold the building at 450 Royal Palm Way to 450 RPW LLC. H. William Perry, CEO and managing shareholder of Florida-based law firm Gunster…

Alliance spends $17M on Lake Worth industrial property

Alliance purchased a warehouse on nearly 16 acres of industrial land in Lake Worth for $17 million. Alliance 7233 Seacrest LLC bought two properties at 7233 Seacrest Boulevard and 7109 Seacrest Boulevard from 7233 Seacrest Boulevard LLC, according to records. Robert W. Fessler signed in favor of the seller. The buying entity is an affiliate of Bryn Mawr…

Target Signs 77,000 SF Lease with Terra for CentroCity Mixed-Use Development in Miami

Target has signed a 77,000-square-foot lease as part of Terra’s CentroCity mixed-use redevelopment located at 3825 NW 7th Street in Miami. Construction is expected to start this summer. Arquitectonica and RSP Architects are designing CentroCity. As part of the CentroCity project, Terra is redeveloping what was previously known as Central Shopping Plaza…

Lender Takes Control Of Miami-Area Mall With $2,600 Foreclosure Auction Credit Bid

A Miami-area mall has been seized by its lender, which won a Feb. 10 foreclosure auction with a $2,600 credit bid, the South Florida Business Journal reported. Wells Fargo Bank, trustee for the CMBS trust that issued the loan for the 977K SF Southland Mall at 20505 S Dixie Highway in Cutler Bay, Florida, filed a foreclosure lawsuit in June and won a judgment…

Miami Billionaire Launching Downtown Innovation Hub

Miami billionaire Moishe Mana has broken ground on a downtown building that he intends to make the center of a burgeoning tech and startup community. The 13-story Nikola Tesla Innovation Center will have 136K SF of space, mostly for offices with 2% reserved for retail. It is expected to be completed at the end of this year, with occupancy to begin…

Powell sees new opportunity to reform low-income lending rule

In September, an effort to update a rule encouraging lending in low-income communities turned into a faceoff among three major banking regulators with oversight on the matter. The Federal Reserve’s proposed overhaul of the Community Reinvestment Act called on banks to provide more loans to individuals in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. That bumped…

Bills Facing Florida Legislature Could Impact Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate trade organizations and development watchdog groups are tracking various bills Florida’s state legislature might consider in its new session, which begins March 2, that could affect land use, development and real estate-related COVID-19 litigation. One bill that’s already generated buzz in the state is HB 7/SB 72, which would create…

Grocery wholesaler buys Hialeah warehouse for record $12M

3690 Northwest 62nd Street, Hialeah A wholesale grocery company bought a 122,000-square-foot industrial property in Hialeah for a record $11.6 million. Thirty Six Ninety LLC sold the property at 3690 Northwest 62nd Street to Alfoncito Investments. The buyer is tied to Rex Discount wholesale grocery, which will occupy the building, according to a press release.

Ladder Capital sells Witkoff’s Miami Beach hotel for $44M

Ladder Capital sold the Washington Park Hotel at 1050 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach for $43.8 million, after foreclosing on the property when it was owned by the Witkoff Group. The foreclosure and subsequent sale of the hotel marks one of a few such deals in South Florida to close since the pandemic began a year ago. Many owners of leisure hotels are focused…

Judge slaps Don Peebles’ Bath Club Entertainment with $1M in sanctions

Don Peebles’ Bath Club Entertainment is on the hook for $1 million in court sanctions after a Miami-Dade judge ruled the developer failed to maintain first-class cabanas and outdoor food and beverage service at the historic private Miami Beach club. Judge Michael Hanzman on Tuesday granted a motion for contempt filed by the Residences at the Bath Club…

Brickell City Centre shops exude optimism

Like every other business in the hospitality and tourism industry, The Shops at Brickell City Centre felt the effects of the pandemic, but managed to power through and keep businesses intact.  Still being a relatively new lifestyle commercial center, Brickell City Centre at 701 S Miami Avenue continued to finalize the leasing of initial first-generation spaces when…

Plans for Metrorail to north forecast to be derailed

A Metrorail extension may be among the rapid transit upgrade proposals Miami-Dade receives for the 9.5-mile commuting route between the northernmost Metrorail station and the Broward County line, but it’s not what will ultimately be built there, Commissioner Joe Martinez said. Miami-Dade expects in spring to receive responses to its request for proposals…

New Miami-Dade Courthouse falling father behind

Construction of Miami-Dade’s new courthouse is further behind schedule and has grown costlier due to several unforeseen snags, though by how much is being debated by the county and the development group erecting the building. The new civil and probate courthouse, which is to rise on Flagler Street beside the 93-year-old building it’s replacing, was…

Aman Miami Beach secures another approval tied to luxury hotel and condo project

The developer of the planned Aman-branded luxury hotel and condo secured another approval tied to the redevelopment of the Faena District site. Aman owner Vlad Doronin, who also heads OKO Group, is working with Access Industries billionaire Len Blavatnik on the Aman hotel and condo project planned for 3425 Collins Avenue. The Miami Beach…

Miami-Dade rezoning paves way for 321-unit multifamily project in Homestead

Miami-Dade County commissioners approved a rezoning change that paves the way for a mixed-use development in Homestead. The developer, South Miami-Dade Farmers LLC, plans to develop the property at 15960 Southwest 296th Street into a 321-unit multifamily project called Kavlar Gardens, according to a spokesperson. The developing entity is headed by…

New York Developer Yair Levy Secures $23.6M Construction Loan for Miami Project

New York developer Yair Levy, who is developing Time Century Jewelry Center in downtown Miami, has secured a $23.6 million construction loan from City National Bank of Florida. The funds will be used to complete Phase 1 of a $50 million renovation of the building formerly known as Metro Mall. Phase 1 consists of the wholesale retail space of the building…

A reckoning on rent

Three of Petra Drauschak’s 14 tenants have abandoned their leases during the pandemic. One had already stopped paying by February 2020, when Covid began sweeping across the U.S., but Drauschak’s hands were tied by Pennsylvania’s eviction ban. The tenant left in August without paying the remaining rent and arrears. Tipped off by a neighbor, Drauschak…

Why Distribution and Fulfillment Spaces Could Remain in High Demand

COVID has accelerated reliance on technology and increased online shopping, which could continue to make warehouse space a valuable investment in 2021 and beyond. COVID-19 has created a situation where consumers spend less time in brick and mortar retail shops. Not only does fear of getting sick accompany shopping in stores, but social distancing…

Brickell City Centre developer sues Arquitectonica, contractors over alleged defects

The developer of Brickell City Centre filed a lawsuit alleging a number of construction defects and damages at the $1.5 billion mixed-use development. Affiliates of Miami-based Swire Properties filed the lawsuit late last month in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against Arquitectonica, John Moriarty and Associates, IBA Consultants, Americaribe, Bouygues…

Out-of-state multifamily buyers eye South Florida

Parc Station When JLL’s Maurice Habif brought a 336-unit Hollywood apartment complex to market just before Labor Day, he noticed more than the regular crop of institutional investors active in South Florida paying attention. Habif saw unfamiliar private investors, family offices from outside Florida, even a group financed by 1031 exchange deferred…

Lender takes control of struggling Southland Mall in Cutler Bay

A lender has taken control of Southland Mall in Cutler Bay after a foreclosure auction failed to yield any bids over $2,600. The lack of interest in the once bustling mall previously owned by private equity firm Investcorp could signal just how bad things have gotten for Class B suburban malls in South Florida and across the country. Wells Fargo…

GL Homes partnering with Bacardi on Calusa golf course in Kendall

Homebuilder GL Homes paid $32 million for a shuttered golf course in Kendall that it plans to redevelop with the seller. Entities tied to Facundo Bacardi, of the Bacardi rum family, sold the Calusa Country Club golf course at 9400 Southwest 130th Avenue to GL Homes affiliate Kendall Associates I LLLP, records show. The sellers, Fort Dallas Gold Club LTD and…

CBRE acquires 35% stake in flex-office provider Industrious

CBRE Group has acquired a 35 percent stake in Industrious ahead of the flex-office provider’s possible 2021 IPO. “We are big believers in the flexible workspace arena and see a tremendous opportunity,” CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The investment makes CBRE the largest shareholder in Industrious, and it’s not done yet…

US warehouse boom attracts foreign investors

It’s not just massive firms like Blackstone Group and Prologis that are throwing billions of dollars at warehouses — foreign investors are also pouring money into the booming industrial sector. Investment firms from France, Germany and South Korea are among those that have recently inked big deals for industrial properties, according to the Wall Street…

WeWork slashes rents in some cities

WeWork has slashed its rents across the country as workers continue to avoid going into offices. The New York-based flex-office provider dropped the price of its rental fees in November and in January by an average of about 10 percent, according to data provided to Bloomberg News. In some places, rents fell by as much as 25 percent. The company reduced rents…

Kissaki restaurateur to open first Miami outpost in Wynwood

New York restaurant group Kissaki Sushi will open its first Miami outpost at Cube Wynwd, a mixed-use office building in Wynwood. Owner Garry Kanfer, who has Kissaki locations in the Bowery and on Madison Avenue in New York City, as well as in the Hamptons, Long Island City and Greenwich, Connecticut, inked a lease for a rooftop space at the eight-story building…

Big companies delay returning to offices — again

What’s the point of setting a deadline you’ll know you’ll miss? That seems to be the prevailing attitude in some C-suites when it comes to getting employees back in offices. Some major companies, such as Alphabet and Grant Thornton LLP, have said employees will return to the office on Labor Day or at the end of the summer, but other firms have simply stopped…

Biscayne Boulevard development site in Edgewater lists for $50M

A nearly 3-acre development site in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood hit the market for about $50 million. The assemblage at 3333 Biscayne Boulevard was listed for sale with Marcus & Millichap broker Landy Toledo, asking $49.5 million. Property records show Miami Sunrise Properties LLC owns the 11 parcels on the east side of Biscayne Boulevard. They include…

Iconiq buys Related and Block Capital’s Wynwood apartments for $77M

San Francisco investment firm Iconiq Capital paid $77 million for a mixed-use apartment building at 51 NW 26st Street in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Related Group and Block Capital Group sold The Bradley Wynwood, a 175-unit building that was previously leased to short-term rental operator Domio, to Iconiq. Domio, which shut down last year…

Shopping center in Oakland Park sells for $11M

An 11.5-acre shopping center in Oakland Park sold for $10.7 million. Records show Country Wide Mortgage Funding LLC sold two buildings at 2899-2901 West Oakland Park Boulevard that make up The Shoppes of Oakland Forest. The buyer is ACS 2901 LLC. Country Wide Mortgage Funding LLC is managed by Scott Daiagi of Scozak Realty Trust.

D.R. Horton advances 211-unit townhouse project in Pembroke Pines

D.R. Horton advanced plans to build a 211-unit townhouse development called Merrick Square on a portable-classroom site in Pembroke Pines. City commissioners voted 3-2 Wednesday to grant final approval to a land use plan amendment for the 27-acre development site just west of I-75 on the southeast corner of Pines Boulevard and Southwest 172nd Avenue.

Video: Integra Realty Resources’ Viewpoint 2021; Economic Outlook, Capital Markets, and Interest Rates

Anthony Graziano, the CEO of Integra Realty Resources, which bills itself as a world-class, comprehensive commercial real estate market research, valuation, and advisory services company, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss his company’s Viewpoint 2021 report. He talks about the effect of vaccinations, stimulus, bank lending, and more. A chart…

Stalking Horse Bids Due in Metronomics Properties Auction: Map and Summary Info

As has been reported extensively in the press, a number of Metronomic properties are being auctioned. Stalking horse bids are now due by February 24, 2021. The properties being auctioned are available for purchase individually or in any combination, or one can bid on the entire package of properties. As can be seen, these are generally located in…

Here’s how much Suntex paid for Monty’s Raw Bar and adjacent marina in Coconut Grove

Suntex Marina Investors bought the long-term lease for Monty’s Raw Bar and Prime Marina Miami in Coconut Grove for $14.7 million, records reveal. Dallas-based Suntex Ventures purchased the 70-year lease for the marina, also called Bayshore Landing, at 2550 South Bayshore Drive earlier this month. Aligned Bayshore Raw Bar LLC, tied to Jose Hevia’s Prime…

Coconut Grove marina sells for $15M; includes restaurant Monty’s Raw Bar

Monty’s Coconut Grove, a marina in Coconut Grove, sold for $14.7 million. Dallas, Texas-based Suntex Ventures, LLC purchased the marina, also called Bayshore Landing, at 2550 South Bayshore Drive earlier this month. Aligned Bayshore Raw Bar LLC sold the property. Records show Aligned Bayshore Raw Bar assigned a lease to Coconut Grove F&B LLC, a Delaware…

Program to aid affordable housing landlords adapt to climate change launches in Miami

The city of Miami partnered with a nonprofit to launch Keep Safe Miami, a program that will offer affordable housing owners and operators help in updating their buildings to be more climate resilient. Enterprise Community Partners unveiled the program Tuesday with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, as well as with officials from Miami-Dade County and…

Downtown Miami jewelry center scores construction loan

Yair Levy and a rendering of the project Time Century Holdings closed on a $23.6 million construction loan to begin the first phase of its renovation of a downtown Miami building. The property at 1 Northeast First Street, previously known as Metro Mall, is slated to go through a $50 million renovation that is expected to be completed in the second quarter…

New York restaurateurs decamp to South Florida

It’s not just New York City residents who have migrated to South Florida in the past year. Business owners, including restaurateurs, are following suit. Part of the reason? South Florida’s relatively relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, the New York Post reported. New York’s dining restrictions have changed frequently and sometimes abruptly. Indoor dining was forbidden in…

Miami settlement with Magic City Casino owner over Edgewater jai-alai and poker establishment plans moves into public

Heeding advice to follow the letter of the law, Miami city commissioners canceled a closed meeting last week that was scheduled to discuss a settlement agreement with casino owner West Flagler Associates. The owners of Magic City Casino had plans to build a jai-alai and poker establishment in the Edgewater neighborhood at 3030 Biscayne Blvd…

Aman Hotel and Residence get vital Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board OK

South Florida’s first Aman-branded hotel and residence project has taken a step forward in its development, earning Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approval for its hotel and condominium components. With the approvals, developer OKO Group can now begin pulling permits for the project at 3425 Collins Ave. The  proposed Aman Hotel and…

Signature Bridge rising in downtown Miami

The Signature Bridge is rising. Prefabricated segments of what promises to be an iconic highway bridge in downtown Miami are being placed by construction crews as the I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project continues to progress. The massive $818 million project is the product of a partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)…

Brightline and Tri-Rail may both roll in downtown Miami this year

Brightline is targeting late 2021 to resume passenger trips at MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami, which by then could also host Tri-Rail. Since halting service in March just after the pandemic hit South Florida, high-speed Brightline has been recalibrating its rail systems and testing new technology. That includes adjusting its positive train control (PTC) system…

Reuben Brothers venture buys stake in One Thousand Museum loan

A Reuben Brothers venture bought out Fortress Investment Group’s stake in the loan backing the Zaha Hadid-designed One Thousand Museum, The Real Deal has learned. The venture, which includes Fontainebleau Development, previously controlled half of the $225 million construction loan, according to a source. Fortress provided debt to the developers of One Thousand…

Biden to extend foreclosure moratorium, mortgage forbearance

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it would extend the nationwide foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance through June. The move would prevent home foreclosures and allow for delayed mortgage payments. It would also offer six months of additional mortgage forbearance for those who enroll on or before June 30, Politico reported.

Lumber prices at record highs thanks to hot housing market

Lumber prices are rising to record prices, signaling that 2021 could be another strong year for homebuilding. Lumber prices generally drop during the winter months. But this season they have risen to historic highs for species, products and grades, according to Random Lengths, a pricing service, the Wall Street Journal reported. Read more Timber REITs are…

Vaccine rollout is shot in arm for CVS

The vaccine rollout is boosting CVS’s bottom line. The pharmacy company said it projects a strong 2021 and expects to administer more than 3 million vaccines in about 40,000 long-term facilities, according to Bloomberg. CVS said it plans to bring in $400 million to $500 million this year from Covid-related business. The pharmacy retailer said Covid testing contributed…

Prime 1.38 Acre Lot Hits Market in Wynwood for $21.5 Million

2000 N Miami Avenue became available for sale today, presenting a rare opportunity for investors and developers to own a parcel of land in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, which has skyrocketed into a thriving arts center, nightlife hub, and tourist magnet over the past decade. As of today, the 1.38 Acre lot located on the corner of North Miami Avenue and NW 20th Street…

The growing share of spending on recreation : It’s not all fun and games, but there’s definitely more

The FRED Blog illuminates interesting graphs from the growing library of FRED data. We often discuss heady and thoughtful topics, but we also showcase the fun side of data. And from the looks of today’s graph, we’re not alone in seeking out the sunny side of the street… The FRED graph above shows the percent of real personal consumption expenditures…

Moxy South Beach Debuts As A Stylish Playful Celebration Of Miami’s Cosmopolitan Culture

Miami’s Art Deco District lights up today with the opening of Moxy Miami South Beach. Lightstone, the developers behind three award-winning Moxy hotels in New York City, has created a stylish, playful open-air concept celebrating Miami’s cosmopolitan culture and breezy outdoor living. With a design that blends the glamour of midcentury Havana, the artistry of…

Dermot Co. pays $143M for Boynton Beach apartments

Dermot Company paid $143 million for an apartment community in Boynton Beach, a record for 2021 and one of the most expensive multifamily deals in more than a year. Property records show Heitman Capital Management affiliate Hart Seabourn Cove sold the 308-unit community at 3501 North Federal Highway and the 148-unit second…

Estate Companies scores $56M construction loan for Dania Beach mixed-use project

The Estate Companies secured financing for a new mixed-use project in Dania Beach. The apartment developer closed on a $55.5 million construction loan from Synovus for a new eight-story, Class-A mixed-use development, called Soleste Cityline, at 4 North Federal Highway. The development will consist of 340 luxury rental units and retail space…

Private equity firm pays $6M for Boca Raton office building

A private equity firm bought an office building in Boca Raton for $6.3 million. Records show AeroEquity Partners LLC, a Delaware corporation linked to AE Industrial Partners LP, bought the property at 6700 Northwest Broken Sound Parkway from WIlliam Scott Real Estate LLC. Boca Raton-based AE Industrial Partners LP is a private equity firm that specializes…

Quaint And Sleepy Hollywood Beach Is Poised For Major Redevelopment

Hollywood, sandwiched between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, has seemed quaint and sleepy compared to its big-city neighbors, despite impressive community assets. The 30-square-mile municipality’s amenities include an airport, a walkable downtown, 7 miles of oceanfront and a beachfront pedestrian walkway called the Broadwalk that’s lined with independent…

Sale of Monty’s Coconut Grove Mixed-Use Marina in Miami Arranged

JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of Monty’s Coconut Grove, a fully leased mixed-use marina in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. Also known as Bayshore Landing, the property features retail, office and restaurant. Manny de Zárraga, Luis Castillo, Ted Taylor and Kim Flores of JLL marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Aligned Bayshore…

Doral Former PepsiCo Site Trades for $55 million

Terra and Terranova Corp. have just sold the 23.7-acre former PepsiCo regional headquarters and distribution center site in Doral, Fla., three years after having acquired the asset in a $40 million sale-leaseback transaction. The companies sold the property to a Santa Monica, Calif.-based entity… Carrying the address of 7777 NW 41st Street, the PepsiCo site…

Terra, Terranova sell 24-acre property in Doral for $55M

Terra and Terranova Corp. sold a nearly 24-acre development site in Doral to logistics real estate investment firm GLP Capital Partners for $55 million. The two firms planned to develop the property, home to PepsiCo’s former regional headquarters and bottling plant, into an industrial and retail development. Terra and Terranova had purchased…

Terra sells piece of northwest Miami-Dade dev site to Butters and Greystar, moves forward with apartment project

David Martin with a rendering of Natura Gardens David Martin’s Terra sold a big piece of its massive development site in northwest Miami-Dade County near the planned American Dream Miami mall, and is moving forward with plans for an apartment project. The Coconut Grove-based developer sold 45 acres to Butters Group and Greystar for $53.5 million…

Butters Construction, Greystar Buy Metro Miami Site for $53.5M, Planning Industrial and Multifamily Project

Butters Construction & Development has partnered with Greystar for the future development of Miami Midway Park, a 45.1-acre site at NW 97th Ave. and NW 170th St. in Hialeah Gardens. The joint venture partnership will develop a 500,000-square-foot, Class-A distribution industrial park and 360 garden-style multifamily apartments. The Butters-Greystar joint venture…

Office woes as Salesforce tells employees they can work from home forever

Salesforce has made a statement that is sure to worry office landlords. “The 9-to-5 workday is dead,” wrote Brent Hyder, the massive company’s president and chief people officer, in a blog post Tuesday. That accompanied an announcement that employees of the cloud-based software company will have the option to return to the office part-time or work…

Polish American Club shores up riverfront development

Since the pandemic interrupted the Polish American Club of Miami’s plans to build… The club proposes to replace its outmoded headquarters, built in 1941 and recently demolished, with a massive modern structure spanning 681,102 square feet and rising 18 stories on land it owns at 1250 NW 22nd Avenue (Pulaski Avenue) on the South Fork of the Miami River.

Ghost structure from 2006 may yield new Miami Station

A plan to complete a skyscraper in the heart of downtown – begun 14 years ago – has evolved again, this time destined to bring more than 250,000 square feet of office space to the City of Miami. The latest proposal is called Miami Station and is planned for 530 NW First Court. The mixed-use project is to be considered Feb. 17 by the city’s Urban Development Review…

Vast Wynwood mixed-use plan wins unanimous OK

One of the largest mixed-use projects planned for the Wynwood neighborhood earned positive comments from the city’s Urban Development Review Board. AMLI Wynwood is designed to bring 316 residential units and 30,596 square feet of commercial-retail uses to 70 NW 25th Street. The review board unanimously recommended approval in…

Homestead salmon farm goes Publix – all 818 Florida stores

Publix shoppers in Florida may have spotted a new product among the store’s seafood offerings this month: Bluehouse Salmon, grown and prepared in an indoor Homestead facility poised to possibly be the biggest of its type in the world. As of Feb. 1, all 818 Publix locations in Florida now carry GMO-, antibiotic- and hormone-free fish filets from Norway…

With cruises halted, PortMiami keeps it head above water

As the pandemic rages on, passenger ships remain harbored at PortMiami. Cruise companies have canceled sailing plans through at least the first third of 2021. But according to Managing Port Director Andy Hecker, internal savings, strong cargo traffic and favorable financing will allow PortMiami to continue operations and cover costs, including debt service on bonds…

Prosecutor pushes for more LLC transparency

A month after a federal law required more transparency on real estate transactions, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance wants it expanded. Vance is requesting the Treasury Department mandate more reporting from special purpose entities — notably limited liability companies — which are commonly used in commercial real estate deals. Vance also asked…

Aman Miami Beach developer secures approval from historic board

The developer of a planned Aman hotel and condo again secured approval from the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board, after reducing the project’s height and making other modifications. Billionaires Vlad Doronin and financial backer Len Blavatnik want to build the first Aman-branded development in South Florida at 3425 Collins Avenue, on a site that…

Rental payments improve in February after stimulus payments

In the first week of February, 79.2 percent of renters in 11.6 million market-rate units paid all or some rent. That’s a slight uptick from last month, when 76.6 percent of renters made a payment by the first week of the month. It’s also an improvement from December, when landlords reported the lowest rent collection levels since the start of the pandemic. But compared to…

South Florida Retail Real Estate Summary: Leases, Sales & Construction Projects

Market Snapshot for South Florida Retail Real Estate A summary of the highlights, trends, and current market activity for South Florida commercial real estate focusing on Miami-Dade County: Analysis derived and compiled from leasing data and transaction reports in order to better understand the overall health of the CRE market in Miami-Dade County.

Seagis Property Group Acquires Warehouse In Doral

Seagis Property Group announced that it has acquired a 54,400 square foot warehouse in Doral. Seagis acquired the property located at 2101 NW 82nd Avenue in the Miami International Commerce Center with a short-term lease in place and is actively marketing the property for lease.  The acquisition increases the company’s South Florida portfolio to 102…

Mall operator Simon Property Group suffers billion-dollar earnings hit

In April 2019, amid a war with e-commerce, mall magnate David Simon told investors, “I think most of the bad news is behind us. But I can’t guarantee it.” He sure couldn’t. Simon Property Group had a rough year. The coronavirus pandemic accelerated store closures and devastated revenues for the mall landlord. “I do frankly want to turn the page on 2020…

Miami-Dade mayor launches $60M relief program for landlords

Some relief is coming to landlords in Miami-Dade County. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced a $60 million relief program for residential landlords that have pending writs of possession with tenants facing eviction. The program will offer those landlords back rent of up to $3,000 per month dating back to March 2020, using federal funding…

Chart: Miami Commercial Real Estate Sales to List Price Ratio at 16 Month High ~ January 2021 MLS

The sales to list price ratio as reported by the Miami MLS for improved commercial real estate (MLS classification: commercial/industrial) within Miami-Dade county in Florida priced from $1 million to $10 million in January hit 95.1%, the highest level in 16 months. The last time this ratio was higher was September 2019 when the ratio hit 95.7%. This ratio…

Exciting Developments in Uncertain Times: What’s in Store for Real Estate in South Florida

Observers of the South Florida real estate industry don’t go very long without seeing headlines about Miami’s hot commercial real estate market. COVID-19 perhaps has only added to the growth of the market. But even in South Florida where the pandemic hasn’t blunted the market, it has indeed shifted trends and dynamics. On February 2nd, Nitin Motwani…

Chetrit’s Tides hotel on Ocean Drive faces $45M foreclosure lawsuit

Affiliates of the Chetrit Group are facing foreclosure of their long-shuttered hotel, The Tides South Beach. SHEDDF3 VNB LLC, tied to Safe Harbor Equity, filed a foreclosure lawsuit against CG Tides and other companies linked to the New York-based Chetrit Group over the 11-story hotel at 1220 Ocean Drive, court records show. Joseph Chetrit, a founding partner of the…

Silicon Valley’s Founders Fund inks Miami lease

Founders Fund, the major Silicon Valley venture capital firm with billions of dollars in capital under management, is planting a flag in Miami. Founders Fund inked a one-year lease at Brickell City Tower at 80 Southwest Eighth Street, taking 2,073 square feet at the Brickell office building, according to a press release from Blanca Commercial Real…

As Pandemic Drags Into 2021, Lenders And Investors Seek Safety, Yield In Florida

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., investors were expecting a wave of distressed assets. “In 2020, everyone was like, ‘We’re waiting, we’re waiting for the shoe.’ And the shoe never dropped,” said Dan Kodsi, CEO of Miami-based Royal Palm Cos., a developer of luxury residential projects. Capital has been sitting on the sidelines, but in this environment…

Related to partner with Baccarat on major Brickell high-rise development

The Related Group is planning a Baccarat-branded three-tower development in Brickell with up to 1,400 residential units, The Real Deal has learned. The Miami-based developer would build the high-rise project on the property at 444 Brickell Avenue, where it previously planned to build One Brickell, according to marketing materials obtained by TRD.

Northeast Capital pays $15M for Miami office building

An affiliate of a private equity investment firm paid $14.5 million for a nine-story office building south of Miami International Airport. The Northeast Capital Group affiliate bought the building at 5040 Northwest Seventh Street in Miami, according to records. The seller is a company managed by Menachem Gurevitch of Netz Group and Mandy…

Amazon’s real estate footprint ballooned in 2020

It’s a new era for Amazon. Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of the company and transitioning to executive chair of the Amazon board. Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing division, will become CEO during the third quarter of this year. But, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The e-commerce giant…

SoftBank’s Miami bet, the startup backed by Lizzo and A-Rod

Silicon Valley, who? SoftBank is following the deal train to Miami, where it plans to launch a $100 million fund to back tech companies in the Magic City. COO Marcelo Claure announced the initiative Jan. 28 on Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s Cafecito Talk series, streamed live on Twitter. Suarez has been courting entrepreneurs and investors, including Elon Musk, Keith…

Member Of Departed HUD Leadership Calls For 10% More Opportunity Zones

During the Trump administration, Alfonso Costa Jr. was deputy chief of staff at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Secretary Ben Carson. He oversaw housing policy for the federal government, including opportunity zones. The 32-year-old last year moved to Florida to become executive vice president of the Falcone Group, which has heretofore…

Wilton Manors mixed-use multifamily complex sells for $11M

A private investor paid $11 million for a mixed-use multifamily complex in Wilton Manors. Records show Tamuz-Camelot 2625 LLC sold Camelot West Apartments at 2625-2674 North Andrews Avenue to Wilton Pointe Apartments LLC. The complex includes 66 multifamily units and seven commercial units. The price equates to $150,685 per unit. The buyer is…

Benderson buys Publix-anchored Delray Beach shopping center for $9M

A Publix-anchored shopping center in Delray Beach sold for $9.4 million. Records show North Delray (E&A) LLC, a South Carolina company, sold the two buildings at 555 and 455 Northeast 5th Avenue, called North Delray Commons, to 555 NDC LLC, a Florida corporation. The selling entity links to national retail real estate owner, operator and developer Edens, which…

Owner of Pompano industrial park to triple warehouse space to 100K sf

The former owner of the Festival Flea Market in Pompano Beach is tripling the size of a nearby warehouse development to more than 100,000 square feet, as part of a wave of investment in South Florida industrial properties. By March 1, RS Associates of Florida expects to complete construction of three speculative, one-story warehouses totaling 71,440 square feet…

U.S. Construction moves forward with boutique condo development in Delray Beach

U.S. Construction CEO John Farina and a rendering of 1625 South Ocean Boulevard U.S. Construction is moving forward with plans for a new oceanfront condo development in Delray Beach at the site of the former Delray South Shore Club, The Real Deal has learned. 1625 Ocean, at 1625 South Ocean Boulevard, will feature 14 condos, including four…

New York Real Estate Developers Flock to Miami as the Big Apple Struggles

New York families are not the only ones migrating to Florida in search of lower taxes, a better quality of life and year-round warm weather. Since the onset of the pandemic, a growing number of New York real estate developers have been redirecting their attention – and capital – to Miami. Some are also relocating to the Magic City. Despite COVID-driven…

TSG and Lineaire Group Partner with Bridge Investment Group to Develop Multifamily Opportunity Zone Project in Miami Submarket

TSG, a South Florida boutique, diversified real estate development and investment company, and Lineaire Group, a Miami-based real estate investment and development firm focused on urban infill projects – announced today a partnership with Bridge Investment Group to develop Wynwood Haus, a multifamily opportunity zone project in Miami’s…

SoftBank to Invest $100 Million in Miami Area Companies

SoftBank Group Corp. committed $100 million in funding for companies in the Miami area, bolstering a beach-side metropolis that has been aggressively courting the technology industry in recent months. The money will go toward businesses based in Miami or ones that are relocating to the region, said Marcelo Claure, the Miami-based chief operating officer…

Join Us in Miami! Love, Masters of the Universe

America’s business leaders, freed from the office, looked around the country, taking note of its coronavirus lockdowns, taxes and rabble rousers. And many said as if in unison: Miami! Blackstone Group: Miami! Elliott Management: Miami! Silicon Valley venture capitalists: Miami! And the charming mayor, Francis X. Suarez, a registered Republican, knowing…

South Florida by the numbers: Big Tech and Wall Street head to South Florida

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. The big story of 2020 Miami real estate was the extraordinary surge of new residents fleeing cities and states with high taxes, rising living costs, and burdensome Covid restrictions. In the opening weeks of 2021, it appears that several big…

Chart: Miami-Dade Commercial Real Estate Sales Volume Characteristically Sluggish for 1st Month of Year ~ January 2021 MLS

The chart herein shows the number of closed sales of Miami-Dade commercial properties, including improved commercial property and vacant commercial land, recorded in the Miami MLS, for the two years ending January 2021. One can see that this is the slowest month since the initial onslaught of COVID-19 in April and May of 2021. Looking further…

Prologis proposes multistory warehouse for big e-commerce operation

Prologis plans to build the first multistory dedicated warehouse in South Florida to serve a last-mile e-commerce provider. Plans for the facility, in the Palmer Lake area on the east side of Miami International Airport, show how rapidly demand for industrial space has boomed in the region. Multilevel warehouse construction with parking ramps is considerably…

Will Elon Musk’s Boring Company Put Tunnels Under South Florida? Mayors Welcome The Idea

Florida politicians are eager to partner with Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build underground tunnels in order to relieve traffic. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tweeted with Musk about it on Jan. 18, and Suarez followed that up with a call with a Boring Company official. Last week, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis announced that he, too, had spoken…

Miami Office Market Could See Rebound

Although Miami-Dade and Broward counties’ office real estate markets have experienced a downturn over the past year, interest from financial firms could help the industry bounce back. While both areas experienced a negative net absorption due to tenants not renewing leases, there is a rejuvenated confidence in the market particularly from firms like…

South Beach Without The Partying? The Future Of Ocean Drive Is In Question

Joshua Wallack was in the midst of his years-long plan to develop a $500M Skyplex with the world’s tallest roller coaster on 14 acres in Orlando. He was courting Lionsgate Entertainment to develop it into a major theme park. But then, “COVID got me, got my term sheet pulled from Wall Street,” he said in a call with Bisnow. He turned his attention back to the…

Blink buys office condo on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road for new HQ

A publicly traded provider of electric vehicle charging equipment and services is trading one headquarters space on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road for another. Blink Charging Company bought an office condo at the seven-story 605 Lincoln Road and will move its corporate headquarters there, according to a press release. The company, led by Michael Farkas, has…

Blink Charging continues commitment to Miami as Mayor seeks to attract additional top tech firms from Silicon Valley

Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK, BLNKW) (“Blink” or the “Company”), a leading owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and services, closed on a 10,000+ SF Miami Beach office condominium at 605 Lincoln Road. The new office space will house the Company’s corporate headquarters. “We are excited to have a location…

Northeast Capital pays $15 million for Miami office building

An affiliate of a private equity investment firm paid $14.5 million for a nine-story office building south of Miami International Airport. The Northeast Capital Group affiliate bought the building at 5040 Northwest Seventh Street in Miami, according to records. The seller is a company managed by Menachem Gurevitch of Netz Group and Mandy Management…

Jungle Island hotel and theme park final votes near

Residents continue to have differing opinions of the proposed Jungle Island hotel and theme park, with some in favor of its employment opportunities and others leery of neighborhood disruptions. During the Miami City Commission meeting last week, nearby residents cautioned… Joia Beach Restaurant and Beach Club at 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail caters to yachts that…

CocoWalk revival helps drive Coconut Grove business

The revival of lifestyle center CocoWalk at 3015 Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove  and committed support for restaurant and retail industries are to be the driving forces to bring life back into Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, local community business leaders say. At 90% leased, the open-air tourism destination CocoWalk’s concept of carefully curating,,,

Mera Rubell Discusses Family’s Allapatah Museum

Mera Rubell’s days continue to be busy. She swims every morning, plays tennis a few times weekly and, when she isn’t running the family real estate business with her husband, Don, and her son, Jason, her focus is on curating and adding to the family’s famed contemporary art collection, much of which is on display at the Rubell Museum. The 100,000-square…

Amazon’s real estate footprint grew leaps and bounds in 2020

It’s a new era for Amazon. Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of the company and transitioning to executive chair of the Amazon Board. Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing division, will become CEO during the third quarter of this year. But, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The e-commerce giant…

Jeff Bezos, who turned real estate upside down, quits

Jeff Bezos, the e-commerce titan who drove one of the biggest office and industrial space expansions in history, and displayed an insatiable appetite for real estate in his personal life as well, is stepping down as CEO of Amazon, the firm he founded. The company said Tuesday that Bezos, 57, would transition to executive chairman, and Andy…

Related wins Miami Beach board approval for office project on Terminal Island

The Miami Beach Design Review Board on Tuesday approved the Related Group’s plans for its One Island Park mixed-use office project on Terminal Island. Designed by Arquitectonica, One Island Park will consist of two, five-story, 75-foot-tall Class A office buildings as well as a four-story parking garage, a ground level café, a rooftop restaurant on the west building…

Mapping the Metronomic Properties Being Auctioned

As has been reported extensively in the press, a number of Metronomic properties are being auctioned. The properties being auctioned are available for purchase individually or in any combination, or one can bid on the entire package of properties. As can be seen, these are generally located in Little Havana and Coconut Grove, two of the more desirable…

Malls and Offices Owner Brookfield Property Partners reports $2 billion in losses in 2020

Closing the book on a devastating year, Brookfield Property Partners recorded about $2 billion in losses in 2020, with its office and retail holdings getting slammed by the pandemic. The real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management reported a net loss of $38 million in the fourth quarter, veering sharply from its net income of $1.55 billion over the same pe…

Little Havana multifamily project scores construction loan

A 43-unit multifamily project in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood scored a $6.2 million construction loan from Ocean Bank. The project is at 2052 Southwest First Street, according to records. A notice of commencement describes one six-story apartment building with a two-story parking structure on less than an acre of land. The owner is a company managed…

Gauging the recovery in retail sales at bars and restaurants

The FRED Blog has discussed how, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, households cut back on eating out and increased food purchases to prepare meals at home. With data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we created a FRED graph with two lines to compare sales at restaurants and bars with sales at grocery stores.* Today, we use the same Census dataset…

Check out what some tenants pay in rent in the Miami Design District

Over the past decade, Craig Robins’ Dacra and his well-heeled partners have spearheaded the transformation of the once-gritty Miami Design District into a luxury shopping destination and cultural hub. Last February, the ownership group achieved a major milestone when it secured a 10-year, $500 million refinancing from Bank…

Flex-office provider Knotel files for bankruptcy, set to be bought by Newmark

Knotel has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is in the process of being bought by Newmark Group. In recent months, the flex-office provider has faced mounting lawsuits filed by landlords who claimed that the startup stopped paying rent when the pandemic emptied out offices. The bankruptcy filing aims to aid the sale of business to an affiliate of…

Empty Office Properties: AmEx to its office workers: Don’t leave home…until Labor Day

It’ll be another winter, spring and summer at the home office for American Express employees in the U.S. The financial services giant — whose longtime slogan was, “Don’t leave home without it” — told workers they can continue operating from home through Labor Day, according to Bloomberg. CEO Stephen Squeri said the New York-based company would also help…

But the commute is still great: US office occupancy at just 22%

Office buildings across the U.S. are still pretty empty. In 10 major metropolitan cities, the average number of office workers who returned to their desks fell to 21.7 percent on Jan. 20, according to a new report by Kastle Systems International. Many companies are still taking a wait-and-see approach as coronavirus vaccinations continue their slow pace.

Ocean Bank sells Miami dev site for $14 million, buyer plans mixed-use project

Ocean Bank sold about 3 acres of land in Miami as a development site for $14 million, and the buyer plans a mixed-use project. The Miami-based bank — known as the largest independent state-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Florida — sold the land at 4238 to 4242 Northwest Seventh Street, near its headquarters and Miami International Airport.

Retail bloodbath will continue with 10,000 closures this year: report

Don’t expect brick-and-mortar retail to escape from the discount rack this year, a new report warns. An analysis released this week predicted that as many as 10,000 retail stores could close nationwide in 2021, Business Insider reported. The study, by Coresight Research, found that 8,741 retail stores shut their doors last year, led by 3,151 apparel store closures.

Unanswered Questions on the Corporate Transparency Act

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 enacted on January 1, 2021 contains Title LXI, the Corporate Transparency Act (“Act”). It institutes new reporting requirements for legal entities with few employees and limited purposes. The Act requires reporting to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury (“FinCEN”)   by so-called…

Need for logistics space remains high, says Prologis

On its fourth-quarter earnings call Tuesday, management from logistics real estate giant Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD) said strong demand from the second half of 2020 has continued into the new year. “We entered 2021 with optimism and confidence,” commented CFO Tom Olinger. The positivity stems from broad demand from the bulk of its customer base, with only…

How the election may affect the commercial real estate industry

The presidential election has the country riveted and divided on several fronts. When it comes to the real estate front, the upcoming election is likely to affect the commercial  real estate and residential real estate industry. The economy is still in one of the slowest recovery periods of the past five decades and this has economists scrambling to analyze the outlook…

Milam’s Markets planning to open store at Link at Douglas in 2022

Milam’s Markets, a family owned and operated grocer serving Miami-Dade County since 1984, will open its sixth location in 2022. The new 25,000-square-foot market will be located at S. Dixie Highway (US1) and Douglas Road (SW 37th Avenue) at the Link at Douglas mixed use development. Link at Douglas is being developed by a joint venture between Miami-based…

30-year-old BurgerFi president thinks the chain can be the Shake Shack of the South

Business had dimmed for the Burger King in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., and the location closed up in 2011. It’s a small seaside town and the BK just couldn’t sustain its base volume. But in moved another burger joint nobody had ever heard of called BurgerFi. The fast-casual’s menu of fresh burgers, hand-cut fries, chicken, hot dogs, and custard scored a hit with local…

Ivy Realty pays $18 million for Miami Lakes industrial building

A New Jersey-based commercial real estate investor paid $17.5 million for a Miami Lakes industrial building. An affiliate of Ivy Realty bought the 150,000-square-foot warehouse at 13900 Northwest 57th Court in Miami Lakes, according to records. The seller is USpharma, which develops and distributes pharmaceutical…

Casa Hotels buys boutique South Beach hotel for $8 million

Chilean investment firm Casa Hotels Group closed on a boutique hotel in South Beach for $8.1 million. Casa Hotels, led by CEO Jose Aguera, bought the Eva Hotel, a four-story, 30-key building at 1506 Collins Avenue. The group also owns the Odyssey South Beach and Casa Boutique Hotel on Washington Avenue. Opera Real Estate Investment, led by CEO and…

Casa Hotels Group Purchases Eva Hotel in Miami Beach for $8.1 million

An affiliate of Casa Hotels Group has purchased a 30-room hotel in Miami Beach known as the Eva Hotel. CBRE facilitated the $8.1 million sale of the property, which features a fast-casual restaurant and covered parking. Natalie Castillo and Joshua Beene of CBRE represented the seller, Lender West LLC, in the transaction.  The Eva Hotel is located at 1506 Collins…

The value of T4’s and T5’s in Miami’s Opportunity Zones

The latest Opportunity Zone news has single family home parcels seeing a 25% increase in pricing, potential affordable housing opportunities, and different types of large-scale multifamily plays. After assessing the Opportunity Zones on a per-parcel basis during the past few weeks, let’s dive deeper and see how the restrictions of the zoning code allow…

Walmart’s plan to ship packages quicker: robot-staffed mini-warehouses

With online sales surging, Walmart is planning to set up mini warehouses in dozens of its stores. The retailer said this week that it plans to build a large number of fulfilment centers, measuring 20,000 to 30,000 square feet, inside its stores or in spaces next to them, according to CNN. The centers will be manned by robots who can pack orders in “a few minutes…”

Biden to address racial gap, environmental justice in housing

President Joe Biden’s housing plan is coming into focus. The newly inaugurated Biden’s executive order Tuesday reinstating a Fair Housing rule was just the first step in a broader agenda for racial and environmental justice in housing. “Housing is a right in America, and home ownership is an essential tool to wealth creation and to be passed down…

WeWork in talks to go public via SPAC

Now We’ve seen everything. WeWork is in talks to combine with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public, according to the Wall Street Journal. The co-working giant attempted an initial public offering in late 2019 but had a spectacular flameout during the IPO process, after scrutiny of its financials and governance. WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani and…

Objecting to a real estate project in Florida carries a risk of liability

By refusing to hear an appeal of a decision by a Florida appellate court, the US Supreme Court effectively sided with a developer who won a multi-million judgment against someone who tried to undermine the developer’s project. The case concerned an environmental activist challenging a development project in Martin County, where she had previously served…

Location Ventures lands financing on Ft. Lauderdale condo project

Location Ventures landed $14.4 million in equity financing for a 65-unit condo project in Fort Lauderdale’s Central Beach neighborhood. The project, at 551 Bayshore Drive along the Intracoastal Waterway, will feature residences that average more than 2,000 square feet, according to a press release. Several marina slips are also in the approval process.

Vision Properties pays $44M for Cypress Creek offices

The Fort Lauderdale home of Marcus & Millichap has a new landlord after a failed purchase last year. An affiliate of Tampa-based Vision Properties paid $44.2 million for the offices at 5900 North Andrews Avenue, called the “Cypress Financial Center,” according to records. Vision is led by Fred Arena. The seller is an affiliate of Steelbridge Capital, an Evanston…

Alliance, Carlyle affiliate buys West Palm Beach dev site from church, lands $43M construction loan for multifamily project

An affiliate of Alliance Residential Co. and The Carlyle Group paid $11.5 million for a development site in West Palm Beach and scored a $42.9 million loan for construction of a 280-unit multifamily project. The companies bought 30 acres of land next to a church at 3590 Village Boulevard, according to records. Santander Bank…

Make-A-Wish pays $8M for Overtown dev site

The South Florida branch of nonprofit Make-A-Wish paid about $8 million for 1.6 acres of land in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. Make-A-Wish bought the land at 350 Northwest Sixth Street, according to a press release. The nonprofit plans to build the 30,000-square-foot Finker-Frenkel House for administrative offices, donor events and volunteer work associated…

Downtown Miami Office Building Renovated By WeWork Faces Foreclosure Over $37M Debt

Denver-based private investment firm Platform Capital has filed a $37M foreclosure lawsuit against the owner of a historic downtown Miami building that houses a WeWork office. The 16-story Security Building at 117 Northeast First Avenue, built in 1927, is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been protected as a historic landmark by the city of Miami…

Lender sues owners of downtown Miami WeWork building over allegedly unpaid loan

The owners of a historic downtown Miami office building that is fully leased to WeWork are facing a foreclosure lawsuit. Platform Capital Funding sued the owners of the Security Building, tied to an outstanding loan. The lender is seeking more than $46 million, including principal, interest, late fees and a deposit from a failed sale of the building…

How Miami Is Recruiting Finance And Tech Firms — And Maybe Elon Musk

South Florida has always had abundant sunshine and no state income tax, but in the past couple of years — and especially with the coronavirus pandemic boosting remote work — the state is on a run, drawing high-profile billionaires, hedge funds, financial firms and tech companies. And if social media rumblings are to be believed, Miami could soon lure one of…

Miami’s Mayor Is Trying to Seize Its Tech Moment

Hi, it’s Sarah McBride. In the past couple of weeks, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says, he has hobnobbed with a large cast of venture capital luminaries who have come to town. That list includes former Google chief Eric Schmidt, Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon, Craft Ventures’ David Sacks and Palantir Chairman Peter Thiel—who recently…

Paradise found: Can Francis Suarez make Miami the next Big Tech mecca?

You could call it the tweet heard around the world. In early December, Delian Asparouhov, a principal at venture-capital firm Founders Fund, threw out a proposal moving Silicon Valley to Miami. Francis Suarez, a real estate attorney who stepped into the mayor’s chair in 2017, quote-tweeted the investor. He asked, “How can I help?” Suarez’s response went viral…

Walker & Dunlop Arranges $43M Financing for Mixed-Use Development in Miami’s Brickell District

Walker & Dunlop has arranged $43 million in construction and acquisition financing for 1 Southside Park, a mixed-use development spanning a full city block in Miami’s Brickell district. The borrower is JDS Development Group, a development firm based in New York City. Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Michael Diaz, Michael Ianno, Sean Bastian…

64-Story Mixed-Use Development in Miami Receives $43 Million in Financing via Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it structured $43,000,000 in acquisition and construction financing for JDS Development Group’s 1 Southside Park, a rare, full city-block development in Miami, Florida’s highly desired Brickell neighborhood. Designed by celebrated firm SHoP Architects, the project, which features protected views to the South…

40,850 sf Doral Lease Executed for Scents Company

Agora Real Estate Group President and Commercial Advisor Elias G. Patsalos, CCIM, recently represented the tenant in a long-term, 40,850-square-foot lease at 6750 NW 79th Avenue in Miami. Patsalos and Bibr represented Mar Company Distributors in the deal. Matt Maciag, Audley Bosch and Brian Smith with JLL represented the landlord, Oria’s…

Biden exec order lays foundation for restoring fair-housing rule

President Joe Biden (Getty) President Joe Biden has taken the first step toward reinstating a fair housing rule that was scrapped by the Trump Administration last year. In an executive order signed Tuesday, Biden called on the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to study the effects of repealing the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing…

Voters reject easing height restrictions for Bal Harbour Shops

Bal Harbour Shops lost big at the ballot box, as voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a proposed village charter amendment that would have allowed the luxury shopping center’s owners to apply for a height increase above five stories. The landslide loss means Whitman Family Development won’t be able to submit any proposals to add a mid-rise…

Boston Properties gives dim outlook on co-working

Boston Properties just made one of the most damning statements a major landlord has given on the co-working industry: It took a big write-off in recognition that flex tenants will struggle to pay rents. “This industry is just simply facing revenue challenges,” Boston Properties president Doug Linde said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday. “We just…”

Values of Class A malls down 45% from 2016 levels

The value of America’s luxury malls is roughly half what it was in 2016, a worrying sign for an industry that has long considered such malls to be safer than lower-tier alternatives. A-rated malls, which generate an average of $750 in sales per square foot, made a strong comeback after the last financial crisis, according to CNBC. But a new report from Green Street…

County drafts downtown Miami transit-oriented revamp

After several delays, a report meant to guide the first phase of a planned redevelopment of 32 acres in the downtown Government Center area should be done by summer, according to Miami-Dade commissioner leading the push to revamp the area. Progress on the report, which officials initially expected would be finished more than a year ago, stalled once Covid-19 hit.

New Wynwood residences in assemblage of cubes win OK

An assemblage of cubes and dark colors will become home to 326 new residential units in the heart of Wynwood. PMG-Greybrook Wynwood Trustee LLC is the owner-developer for a project called Society Wynwood, to rise at 2431 NW Second Avenue. The mixed-use residential project was reviewed Jan. 20 by the city’s Urban Development Review Board and…

City looks at settling suit on Miami Marlins sale $1 billion profit

Miami commissioners will consider settling a lawsuit with the Miami Marlins over a dispute concerning, among other things, the increase in the baseball team’s value when it was sold. The proposed $562,800 settlement purports to represent the city’s share of building the team’s stadium in Little Havana.  The April 2009 agreement, according to legislation the…

Bridge Investment joins Wynwood Haus multifamily development group

TSG and Lineaire Group have brought on another partner for a proposed 224-unit, 20-story multifamily property in a Wynwood Opportunity Zone. The developers have added Bridge Investment Group to the project, called Wynwood Haus, at 1765 North Miami Avenue in Miami, according to a press release. The project is expected to break ground at the end of the…

Multifamily landlords feel pain as tenants miss rent payments

Multifamily property owners fared better in the past year than those in other real estate sectors, but as the pandemic drags on, they’re increasingly facing issues with their loan payments. The share of the riskiest apartment debt held by banks rose to 17 percent from 5 percent during the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from Trepp that looked at the …

Rieber lands $15M loan for Aventura mixed-use project

BridgeInvest’s Alex Horn and Rieber Developments’ Bernardo Rieber with a rendering of the project Rieber Developments landed a $15 million pre-development loan for its mixed-use project under construction in Aventura. Miami-based BridgeInvest provided the loan for the 1212 Aventura project at 32390 Biscayne Boulevard, according to a press release. The project…

What last year’s biggest real estate lawsuits mean for 2021

Getty Images Partnerships crumbled, billion-dollar condo plans collapsed and commercial bankruptcies climbed. While there’s never a shortage of conflicts in a business built on big money and bigger egos, the pandemic made 2020 exceptionally catastrophic when it came to real estate litigation. Of course, even in a good year, the industry is renowned for dramatic…

Hospitality startups pick at carnage of failed rivals

Almost everything has remained the same at 70 Pine Street — the oak floors, modern furnishings and colorful art — except for the short-term rental startup operating its 132 rooms. After six years in business, Lyric succumbed to shaky finances and a travel shutdown in July 2020. Now, the 66-story Lower Manhattan building is the New York City flagship for…

Bromnin Automotive pays $7M for former Pinecrest Mitsubishi dealership

A company affiliated with Bomnin Automotive Group paid $7.3 million for a former Mitsubishi dealership in Pinecrest. Bomnin bought the two-story, 8,000 square-foot building at 8525 South Dixie Highway, formerly called South Miami Mitsubishi, according to records. The building was constructed in 1999 and is down the street from Bomnin Chevrolet Dadeland. The…

Stream this: Cinema chain AMC secures $900M in financing

While most of AMC’s movie theaters are now open nationwide, the cinema chain last month warned that it needed $750 million to avert bankruptcy. The struggling AMC Entertainment Holdings got that lifeline, securing a total of $917 million in financing, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company hopes the infusion will give it a cushion to weather it through…

National Multifamily Housing Council chair David Schwartz on rent control fights, multifamily’s mission

David Schwartz Homes aren’t just homes anymore. During Covid, they’ve become offices, schools, gyms, places of worship and date spots, combining shelter, work and social fulfillment in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades. So if owning hundreds of apartments was an emotional and political minefield prior to the pandemic, you can imagine what David…

Active South Florida Lender Bank OZK’s Q4 was “strong end to challenging year”

One of the nation’s most active construction lenders ended 2020 on a high note following an overall miserable year for the real estate industry. Bank OZK reported net income of $120.5 million in the fourth quarter, a 19.5 percent increase from the $100.8 million a year ago, marking its second highest quarterly profit in company history. The Arkansas-based bank…

Special election could pave way for height increase at Bal Harbour Shops

Matthew Whitman Lazenby and Bal Harbour Shops A looming special election tied to easing height restrictions for the Bal Harbour Shops would give the luxury shopping center’s owners the flexibility to possibly add a mid-to-high rise building in the future. But some prominent residents fear Whitman Family Development wants to bypass the village’s voters in…

Commercial Property Borrowing Cost Quarterly 2020 Q3: 5-Year Treasury Rates Remain Hovering Over Zilch

U.S. Treasury 5 Year Nominal Rates for the Five Year Period Ending December 31, 2020 Yields on 5-year U.S. Treasury Notes continue to remain at lows reached as COVID slowed economic activity, driving rates lower. As can be seen in the chart above, these rates, most closely tracked for commercial real estate financing cost, remained near zero percent…

PMG, E11even Partners plan 65-story condo-hotel tower in downtown Miami

The popular nightclub E11even Miami is getting into branded condo and hotel development. Property Markets Group and E11even Partners, led by Michael Simkins, are partnering on E11even Hotel & Residences, a planned 65-story, 400-unit tower in Park West, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Miami, The Real Deal has learned. PMG and E11even…

Thor Equities sued over alleged unpaid loan on Stefano Ricci Miami Design District store

A mortgage trustee is suing affiliates of Thor Equities and fashion house Stefano Ricci, as well as Thor Chairman Joe Sitt, over an alleged unpaid loan on a Miami Design District property, with the plaintiff seeking foreclosure or receivership. At issue is $17 million in an unpaid loan by the Thor affiliate, according to documents filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court…

Trump’s people claim Geoff Palmer and Tom Barrack backed Miami developer Zangrillo pardon

Donald Trump’s White House claimed developer Geoff Palmer lobbied the former president to pardon Miami developer Robert Zangrillo, whom federal prosecutors had charged in the college admissions scandal. The Trump administration said the pardon was also supported by Colony Capital chairman Tom Barrack, but Barrack denied that, according to…

Norman Braman and Jorge Perez score court victory against Edgewater Jai Alai fronton

A campaign led by auto… Tuesday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman ruled the City of Miami unlawfully approved a settlement with West Flagler Associates, owners of Magic City Casino and other gambling sites in the city, to let the company build the fronton and card room on a property at 3030 Biscayne Boulevard owned by Crescent Heights…

Corporate Transparency Act: New Federal Reporting Requirements Affecting Legal Entities Frequently Used in the Business Community

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 was enacted on January 1, 2021. While this Bill appears to apply only to the Defense Department, Division F deals with money laundering and contains Title LXI, the Corporate Transparency Act. This legislation will have a broad reach affecting the creation of legal entities used in a variety of business…

Four South Florida gas stations sell for $15M

Miami-based Westar… ultimate buyer of the gas stations is Ernest M. Cherry Jr. and his wife, Carole, of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, according to records. The deal includes the gas station at 715 Opa-Locka Boulevard near Golden Glades, one at 2195 Northwest 103rd Street in Miami and two Hialeah gas stations, at 790 East 25th Street and 1901 West 4th Avenue.

Converting empty malls to warehouses isn’t easy

As demand for e-commerce grew and large tenants like Sears closed up shop, some mall owners sought to redevelop their struggling properties into warehouses, residential buildings or office properties. But the task has proven more challenging than expected, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mall owners are required to spend hundreds of millions of…

Amazon boosts South Florida’s industrial market in Q4 and 2020

South Florida’s industrial market performed well in the fourth quarter and in 2020, as Amazon leased about 3 million square feet throughout the year, according to a recently released report. The region’s average asking rent rose slightly to $8.88 in the year’s final quarter, up 1.6 percent year-over-year, according to the report from Newmark. The fourth quarter…

Workforce housing project approved for South Beach’s Collins Park

A seven-story workforce housing project with dorm space for Miami City Ballet dancers will be built on a city-owned lot in South Beach. The Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday approved three ordinances that will enable Servitas, a Texas-company specializing in building student housing, to construct a 48,500-square-foot facility on a half-acre lot near Collins…

Sterling Equities pays $92M for Fort Lauderdale apartments

An affiliate of Sterling Equities paid $92.4 million for a 286-unit apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale. The Great Neck, New York-based real estate operator bought the complex at 408 Northeast Sixth Street, called Solmar on Sixth, according to records. The complex is inside the city’s Flagler Village neighborhood. The deal equates to about $323,000 a unit. The seller is…

Midtown Miami developer launches waterfront Fort Lauderdale condo project

Developer Ron Krongold launched sales of his latest project, a boutique waterfront condo development in Fort Lauderdale, The Real Deal has learned. The Midtown Miami developer unveiled plans for 160 Marina Bay, a five-story, 16-unit building at 160 Isle of Venice Drive. Prices will begin in the low $2 millions, with four penthouses asking about $2.5 million…

Class A Office Portfolio In Fort Lauderdale Hits The Market

Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group has been exclusively tapped on behalf of a fund managed by DRA Advisors LLC to sell Pinnacle Corporate Park, a two-building, class A office portfolio at 500 and 550 W. Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale. The asset totals 259,458 square feet on 14.31 acres in Broward County’s Cypress Creek submarket. Avison…

Atlanta Fed: Beige Book Finds Scattered Bright Spots amid Pandemic Economy

Economic conditions in the Southeast continue to be shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, as overall activity expanded modestly and scattered bright spots emerged from mid-November through December, according to the latest Beige Book report of economic conditions from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Labor markets remained divergent. Atlanta Fed business…

NAR Commercial Market Insights 2020 Released

The modest recovery in commercial sales transactions in the third quarter halted in November amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases that may have given investors pause in their acquisitions. Commercial sales transactions fell 57% yearover-year in November, with sales falling across property types, even for industrial properties. In both the multifamily and office…

How Miami Is Recruiting Finance And Tech Firms — And Maybe Elon Musk

South Florida has always had abundant sunshine and no state income tax, but in the past couple of years — and especially with the coronavirus pandemic boosting remote work — the state is on a run, drawing high-profile billionaires, hedge funds, financial firms and tech companies. And if social media rumblings are to be believed, Miami could soon lure one of…

Biden to extend limits on evictions, foreclosures

President Joe Biden is extending federal limits on evictions through at least the end of March. Biden is expected to move quickly to extend protections for renters, Bloomberg reported, and may sign an executive order within hours of his inauguration. Biden will also ask federal agencies to consider extending foreclosure protections and forbearance options. The existing…

The New Law Unmasking Anonymous LLCs Could Particularly Affect Miami Businesses. Here’s How To Comply

A new law intended to unmask the owners of limited liability corporations in an attempt to crack down on money launderers and slumlords could particularly impact Miami and New York, where shell companies are often used to obscure the owners of high-priced real estate. Heretofore, companies could be set up with minimal paperwork, listing little more…

New bowling alley lease couldn’t keep South Florida’s retail market out of the gutter in Q4

Even with a newly inked 62,000-square-foot bowling alley lease, South Florida’s retail market saw mostly gutter balls in the fourth quarter. Across the tri-county area, vacancy rates rose and square footage returned to the market, according to a newly released report from Colliers International. And yet in some parts of the region, average asking rents rose, and…

Neighbors sue to overturn approval of Dezer’s mega project in North Miami Beach

A homeowners association filed a lawsuit challenging the city of North Miami Beach’s recent rezoning of the Intracoastal Mall for father-and-son developers Michael and Gil Dezer. The Eastern Shores Property Owners Association and three Eastern Shores residents – Bruce Lamberto, Stacy Roskin and Bruce Kusens – are appealing the comprehensive zoning…

Trump pardons Zangrillo, previously involved with Little Haiti’s Magic City porject, among other real estate figures

In his final hours in office, President Donald Trump granted pardons to dozens of friends, partners and executives, including several from the real estate world. One went to Eliyahu Weinstein, who was sentenced to prison in 2014. He and his company, Pine Projects, were convicted for a Ponzi scheme that resulted in $200 million in losses. His jail sentence of 264…

Multifamily’s trillion-dollar tango

Multifamily lenders and policymakers have taken much the same approach with evictions and mounting debt during the pandemic: Put things off and hope the rental market’s problems resolve themselves before it’s too late. That strategy persists as vaccinations ramp up. But with a surge in Covid cases, restrictions on economic activity and evictions could continue for…

Joe Biden’s real estate checklist

With one exception, real estate is not in Joe Biden’s immediate agenda. But within the next few months, the industry will have a fight on its hands — and a few things to cheer. As Biden is sworn in today as the nation’s 46th president, his focus is on ending the pandemic. That’s good news for real estate, with the aforementioned exception: his proposal to continue the…

Nonprofit gone, historic Gusman Theater gets temporary manager

The City of Miami has turned to a full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm to manage the historic Olympia Building on a temporary basis after terminating its partnership with a non-profit operator late last year. City Manager Arthur Noriega was given the go-ahead from commissioners last week to negotiate an agreement with NAI Miami to…

Some banks limit applicants for PPP loans

The Paycheck Protection Program is back, and many local lenders are getting on board –  though some are administering the program more selectively. Richard Helber, CEO of Tropical Financial Credit Union, told Miami Today earlier this month that he wasn’t sure if he would participate in the program. But, he said this week, he decided to go for it – though…

Miami asks redevelopment agency to pay for Ferre Park

Miami city commissioners say it’s long past due for the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to pay to improve Maurice A. Ferre Park. Currently, the Omni CRA owes about $6 million, including several $2 million payments, which prompted commissioners last week to unanimously urge the Omni CRA Board to pay money owed for work at the park. The Omni…

Update: Same court again takes hard line on late rent payment into court registry

We previously wrote about a case in which a Florida appellate court strictly applied the statute requiring a commercial tenant to pay rent into the court registry during an eviction proceeding. The appellate court noted that there is no “fairness” exception to the statute’s requirement of paying on time. Now the same appellate court has reiterated that principle, but…

Biden’s fair housing face-off

For decades, New York City has offered communities an enticing deal: Approve new housing and locals will get half of the affordable units. But in 2014, the Obama administration warned the city that so-called “community preference” might be reinforcing segregation. The city balked, offering to tweak the policy but not to dump it. “Without any promise of local…

The One Real Estate Partners pays $9M for Miami Gardens apartments

An Aventura-based real estate investment and management firm paid $8.6 million for a 30-unit Miami Gardens apartment community. The One Real Estate Partners bought the complex at 2754 to 2790 Northwest 191st Terrace, known as “Gardens Club,” according to records. The price equates to $286,667 per unit. The One specializes in acquiring and rehabbing…

Industrial now 36% of Blackstone’s RE portfolio

In the past five years, Blackstone has pivoted its portfolio away from retail and hotels and instead turned toward one of real estate’s hottest asset classes — industrial — helping the investment firm avoid losses that others are now facing. The company bolstered its presence in the industrial sector to account for 36 percent of its real estate equity value, up from only…

Opportunity Zone investments got a boost in 2020

It was a good year for Opportunity Zones. More than $12 billion was invested in Opportunity Funds by the end of August, Bloomberg News reported, citing the most recent data available from Novogradac. The tax deferral program, which was formalized in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, got off to a slow start partly because the regulations were…

Editor’s note: Miami mania

Stuart Elliott It seems like the whole world is heading south for the winter — and staying there. Since the pandemic hit, South Florida — despite seeing an enormous number of Covid cases — has benefited with rarely a day going by without news of a mammoth luxury sale or prominent company relocating some of their employees from elsewhere in the country….

Startup wants to bring “micro-warehouses” to vacant retail

A startup that focuses on creating last-mile fulfillment centers aims to compete with logistics giants. Fabric, which was founded in Tel Aviv but is now headquartered in New York City, has raised $136 million in funding from venture capital, Business Insider reported. The company has partnered with retailers on last-mile distribution centers, often by…

Retail rent collections rebound to 90%

The pandemic has exacerbated the retail sector’s pre-existing problems, deteriorating rent collections and forcing landlords to make compromises with their tenants. But there were some encouraging signs as 2020 came to a close. Before the pandemic, national tenants paid 94 percent of rent. When Covid-19 hit, that all came crashing down, according to the…

Real estate stocks hold gains even as market doesn’t

Real estate stocks ended the week in positive territory while the broader market gave up its gains after President-elect Joe Biden rolled out a $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal. Stocks tend to rise when Washington injects money into the economy, but negative reaction from some members of Congress — or fears that the measure would pass and spark inflation…

Miami Beach approves 8-story addition for International Inn

Miami Beach approved a redevelopment deal that will preserve the 65-year-old waterfront International Inn in North Beach while allowing the owner the right to build an 80-foot-tall, or eight-story addition. Commissioners approved the historic designation and zoning amendment for the International Inn at 2301 Normandy Isle on first reading Wednesday…

Tax relief may be coming to Miami-Dade commercial property owners

Pedro Garcia (iStock, IRS) Tax relief may be coming to commercial and industrial property owners in Miami-Dade County. Miami-Dade County’s Office of the Property Appraiser announced on Thursday that it will consider landlords’ financial losses when assessing 2021 fair market values. The office will consider local market conditions, like vacancy and rental…

RMR Mortgage Trust Provides $10.9 Million First Mortgage Bridge Loan for the Acquisition of an Office Building in Miami

MR Mortgage Trust (Nasdaq: RMRM) today announced the closing of a $10.9 million first mortgage bridge loan it provided to finance the acquisition of a nine-story multi-tenant office building containing 83,000 square feet at 5040 NW 7th Street in Miami, Florida. This first mortgage bridge loan is structured with a two-year initial term and two one-year extension…

Lument Provides $11 Million in Fannie Mae Financing for Martha’s Apartments in Hialeah

Lument, a national leader in commercial real estate finance, announced today that it provided an $11 million Fannie Mae conventional multifamily loan to refinance Martha’s Apartments, a garden-style multifamily property at6875 W 7th Avenue in Hialeah, in Miami-Dade County. “We were thrilled to help this first-time Fannie Mae borrower obtain beneficial agency…

Former Sapir employee accuses company of retaliation

Alex Sapir (Getty) A former employee of the Sapir Organization claims her old boss retaliated against her after she failed to find a “smoking gun” implicating one of Alex Sapir’s enemies. Patricia Lemanski, who worked as a paralegal at the real estate firm for nearly 10 years, alleges that the Sapir Organization directed her to dig up dirt on her former supervisor at the…

Related gets height increase needed for Terminal Island office project in Miami Beach

The Related Group has the zoning it needs to build a 75-foot-tall office building on Terminal Island in Miami Beach. The Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday unanimously increased height limits on Terminal Island’s I-1 district from 40 feet to 75 feet. The zoning change will enable Related to pursue a 160,000-square-foot office building that will…

Owners moving ahead in construction’s hardest-hit sectors include first Atwell Suites in Miami

In November, IHG Hotels & Resorts announced that its first Atwell Suites hotel was under construction in Miami. Expected to open this summer, the 90-unit property is located in Miami’s booming Brickell district. The hotel is part of a new high-rise, mixed-use property which also includes a new 140-room Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Miami…

A-Rod’s ex-brother-in-law alleges racketeering, embezzlement in new lawsuit against retired Yankee

Retired New York Yankees player and real estate investor Alex Rodriguez is facing new allegations of racketeering, embezzlement and fraud in a complaint filed by his ex-brother-in-law. Constantine Scurtis is suing Rodriguez, Monument Capital Management principal Stuart Zook, Newport Property Ventures and other companies affiliated with Rodriguez.

CEO of Miami Beach Developer Taubco Irwin Tauber Discusses Qualities/Attributes for Success in Real Estate Development

The real estate industry offers several career opportunities that are often in demand. One of those is that of a commercial real estate developer. A real estate developer requires certain specific traits, including vision, creativity, ability to take financial risks, problem-solving, and relationships, says Irwin Tauber. “Real estate development can be lucrative but also risky. I am…”

Blackstone’s tech and innovations team closes lease at 2 MiamiCentral

Shorenstein Properties LLC (Shorenstein), an owner and operator of high-quality office, residential and mixed-use properties across the U.S., recently announced that Blackstone has signed a 41,000-square-foot lease at 2 MiamiCentral in Downtown Miami. Blackstone intends to create a new office to expand the firm’s in-house technology capabilities with plans…

December Hotel Occupancy and RevPAR Lowest Since May in US: Miami/Hialeah, Florida, Reports Highest December Occupancy

The U.S. hotel industry showed performance levels closer to earlier months of the pandemic, according to December 2020 data from STR. December 2020 (percentage change from December 2019): · Occupancy: 36.7% (-32.3%). Average daily rate (ADR): US$91.96 (-27.6%). Revenue per available ). room (RevPAR): US$33.76 (-51.0%Occupancy and RevPAR were the…

Chart: Miami Commercial Real Estate Sales to List Price Ratio Ends Year About Average ~ December 2020 MLS

Miami Association of Realtors January 2011 to December 2020 Sales to List Price Ratio for Commercial/Industrial Property Type Classification within Miami-Dade County and Price from $1 Million to $10 Million The sales to list price ratio as reported by the Miami MLS for improved commercial real estate within Miami-Dade County from $1 million to $10 million…

Starwood Sells Plantation Apartment Community for $64M

Starwood Capital Group has sold Gatehouse on the Green, a 312-unit Class B community in Plantation, Fla. The Praedium Group purchased the property for $63.7 million, according to Yardi Matrix data. Berkadia provided a $47.8 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan. The fixed-rate note matures in 2028, has five years of interest-only payments and represents a 65 percent loan…

Former Plantation fertility clinic sells for $8M

A company affiliated with South Florida personal injury attorney Sagi Shaked paid $7.5 million for a medical office building in Plantation. Shaked bought the 15,000-square-foot building at 201 North Pine Island Road, according to records. The building was previously home to Plantation Fertility & Genetics, the medical practice of Dr. Mick Abae, who is also…

Island Capital affiliate pays $64M for Margate apartments

Celebration Pointe (Garco) A Texas-based real estate investment company paid $64 million for a 282-unit Margate apartment complex. An affiliate of C-III Capital Partners bought the 295,000-square-foot complex at 5555 Celebration Pointe Lane, called “Celebration Pointe,” according to records. The deal equates to about $227,000 a unit. C-III is owned by real estate…

CenterPoint pays $184M for warehouses at Hialeah business park

CenterPoint Properties Trust continued its buying spree at a Hialeah business park. The Oakbrook, Illinois-based industrial real estate developer and manager paid $184.4 million for two warehouses and land at and near 4040 West 108th Street, inside Countyline Corporate Park, according to records. The seller is an affiliate of Florida East Coast Industries…

CenterPoint Pays $184M for Home Depot Facilities in Metro Miami

CenterPoint Properties has acquired two facilities at Countyline Corporate Park, a business park in Hialeah, Fla. The assets, totaling more than 1 million square feet, are leased to Home Depot. The buyer acquired the properties from Flagler Global Logistics. According to South Florida Business Journal, the buildings sold for $184 million. The assets feature,,,

Alphabet soup: AEW pays AHS $57M for Homestead apartments

A Boston-based global real estate investment manager paid $57 million for a 281-unit apartment complex near Homestead. AEW Capital Management bought the complex at 13700 Southwest 256th Street, called “Deering Groves,” according to records. The three-story complex of about 256,000 square feet was built in 2019. The deal equates to about $203,000 a unit.

Related scores $88M construction loan for Dorsey project in Wynwood

Rendering of the Dorsey with Alex Karakhanian, Jon Paul Perez and Tricera’s Scott Sherman and Ben Mandel (iStock) The Related Group and its partners secured an $87.5 million construction loan for the Dorsey project in Wynwood. Bank OZK provided the financing for the 12-story mixed-use development planned for Northwest Third Avenue between 28th and…

Ardent buys South Miami medical office building for $37M

An Atlanta-based real estate investment firm paid $36.7 million for an eight-story South Miami medical office building. An affiliate of the Ardent Companies bought the building, known as Sunset Medical, at 6262 Sunset Drive, according to records. Ardent is led by Matt Shulman. The seller is an affiliate of USAA Real Estate Company. The San Antonio-based…

Hilco Real Estate Announces The Court-Ordered Bankruptcy Sale Of 25 Development Properties In Florida And Illinois

Hilco Real Estate, LLC announces the court-ordered bankruptcy sale of 25 development properties well located throughout Miami, Fla. and Crystal Lake, Ill. in high-demand areas. The development sites featured in this offering, more commonly known as the Metronomic Holdings, LLC portfolio, vary in construction status and property types such as…

Shake Shack to add 60 new locations this year

Shake Shack has plans to shake things up. The burger chain plans to open 60 restaurants across the country this year, more than twice as many as it opened last year, according to Crain’s. “We believe there is pent-up demand for food and experiences,” CEO Randy Garutti said at an investor conference. “Adversity is a terrible thing to waste.” The burger chain has…

U.S. Population Growth Slowed Further in 2020

The Census Bureau recently reported in a preliminary estimate that the U.S. population grew 0.35% in the year through July 1, 2020. This marks the fifth consecutive year of slowing growth, as seen in the figure below. Population growth in 2020 also was notably lower than the previous year’s revised growth of 0.46%; 2020 growth will likely be the slowest annual population…

Jackson Health to build emergency medical hub in Coral Gables

Work will begin in six months on a new emergency medical facility in Coral Gables that will serve Jackson Health System patients inside the city and within five miles of it. Miami-Dade commissioners voted unanimously for the project at their final full meeting of 2020, advancing the latest expansion for the nonprofit public healthcare system that since 1918…

Chart: Miami-Dade Commercial Real Estate Sales Volume Ends Year on a Solid Note ~ December 2020 MLS

The chart above displays the trailing two years ending December 2020 of closed sales of Miami-Dade commercial properties, including improved commercial property and vacant commercial land, recorded in the Miami MLS. After a bit of a pullback in November, sales rebounded to closed out the year fairly strong, registering the sixth strongest month of the prior…

Axonic pays $37M for bulk purchase of Doral condos

The real estate wing of New York investment firm Axonic Capital paid $37.3 million in a bulk purchase of 170 units of a 310-unit fractured Doral condo complex. Axonic Properties, founded by Clayton DeGiacinto, bought the units at Valencia at Doral, at 10000 Northwest 45th Terrace, according to records. The seller is an affiliate of Transcendent Investment Management…

Microsoft, Citadel and Elliott Management among firms expanding in South Florida

Microsoft, Citadel and Elliott Management are all in talks to lease office space in South Florida, adding fuel to the trend of major tech and finance firms expanding in the region. Seattle-based Microsoft is reportedly in talks to lease 30,000 square feet at 830 Brickell, a 57-story office tower being developed by Vlad Doronin and his joint venture partner Cain…

Prologis pays $12M for Sweetwater office building

Real estate investment trust Prologis paid $12.4 million for a one-story office building near Sweetwater. The San Francisco-based company bought the 102,000-square-foot building on about 8 acres at 12496 Northwest 25th Street, according to records. The building is within the Beacon Lakes master-planned, 436-acre business park. An online listing for the…

Flooding caused by climate change leads to mounting real estate costs

As intense rainfall and flooding has increased because of climate change, so too has the financial fallout from the ensuing property damage, according to a new study. The analysis, by Stanford University, found that flooding caused by climate change — which researchers determined by looking at historical precipitation data and intensifying rainfall in recent decades…

Millennials flock to short-term rentals during pandemic

With many millennials choosing to lease apartments on a short-term basis, some property startups are looking to fill a growing demand for furnished housing. One is Landing, which leases furnished apartments throughout the country, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company originally planned to operate in about 30 cities last year, but instead grew to 75 thanks to the…

Aventura Multifamily Lands $51M Freddie Mac Refi

A joint venture between LCOR and Madison International Realty has secured a $50.5 million refinancing package for Lincoln Pointe Apartments, a 285-unit waterfront community in Aventura, Fla. JLL provided the variable interest rate Freddie Mac loan, which will be serviced by JLL Real Estate Capital, LLC… Located on 9 acres at 17900 NE 31st Court., the…

MLB Legend Turned Real Estate Investor Alex Rodriguez Accused of Racketeering, Embezzlement by Ex-Brother-in-Law

Former MLB star Alex Rodriguez has been accused of racketeering and embezzlement in a lawsuit filed by his former brother-in-law, Constantine Scurtis, according to the New York Post’s Joe Tacopino. Katherine Eskovitz, an attorney for Scurtis, wrote in the suit Rodriguez “and his co-conspirators engaged in a pattern of racketeering and embezzlement” as part of a real…

Developer family pays $5M for Pinecrest townhouse dev site

A developer paid $5.2 million for a 2-acre site in Pinecrest to develop 18 townhomes. Scarofa Properties, managed by a Miami family with ties to Haiti, led by Stephane, Catherine and Aurelie Rosarion, bought the property at 7520 Southwest 100th Street, according to records. The seller is a company connected to FSE Investments, led by James Dorsy, records…

Lennar pays $8M for South Miami-Dade housing community site

Lennar Homes paid $7.7 million for about 31 acres of land south of Zoo Miami. The Miami-based homebuilder bought the land at and around 13400 Eureka Drive in South Miami-Dade, according to records. The seller is a company and trust associated with the Caple family. The late patriarch George Caple founded agricultural nursery Caple Farms and expanded…

Investors building single-family rentals to meet demand

High demand and low supply has driven house prices up (iStock) Instead of buying houses in foreclosure and converting them to rentals, as many investors did in the last recession, investors are building their own rental communities. They are seeking to profit from a trend: Many Americans are seeking more spacious homes, where they can more comfortably work…

Leisure and hospitality lost 500K jobs in December

The coronavirus continued to have disparate effects on real estate in December, with some sectors continuing to shrink while others regain ground. A rise in Covid cases and government closures of indoor dining contributed to a loss of nearly 500,000 leisure and hospitality jobs. Restaurants and bars accounted for 372,000 layoffs. Nearly half of all…

Senate flip: 5 real estate takeaways

When Joe Biden won the 2020 election, there was a significant hurdle between the president-elect and some real estate reforms he wanted: a Republican Senate. That changed Wednesday when two Democrats won Senate seats in Georgia. Biden’s proposals have a better chance of making it to the floor with Democrats holding half of Senate seats, Kamala Harris…

Silvia Coltrane sells Manolo building near Ocean Terrace project in North Beach

Silvia Coltrane sold a commercial building in North Beach leased to the Argentine restaurant Manolo to a company tied to Haim Yehezkel’s Elysee Investments. Records show Coltrane, a developer and broker, sold the property at 7300 Collins Avenue to 7300 Collins Investment LLC for $8 million. The buyer financed the deal with a $5 million loan from Valley…

When It Comes To Retail Real Estate, Tenants Have a Distinct Upper Hand

Recent reports about retail real estate in Manhattan, and beyond, suggest that the outlook may be gloomier than once thought. Aside from cities such as Austin, which is attracting California residents, and Miami, where denizens of the Northeast have moved to wait out the Covid-19 pandemic in the sunshine, many urban areas with a significant retail presence are…

Full disclosure: New law requires shell companies reveal true ownership

A new law that targets wealthy buyers who scoop up high-priced homes and commercial properties through anonymous shell companies could help stop the flow of illicit cash into real estate. But some money laundering experts say the measure has loopholes that could be easily exploited. The Corporate Transparency Act require…

The National Retail Federation: 2020 Retail Imports May Break Record Despite Pandemic

Imports seen during 2020 appear to be headed toward a new record despite the coronavirus pandemic, and remain at high levels as 2021 begins, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. “Nobody would have thought last spring that 2020 would be a record year for imports, but it…

Miami Heat minority owner continues Best Buy shopping spree with $12M Plantation deal

Raanan Katz’s real estate company RK Centers paid $11.5 million for a Best Buy-leased building in Plantation. RK bought the 58,000-square-foot building at 12301 West Sunrise Boulevard, according to records. The building was built in 1995. The price equates to $198 per square foot. Roberto Susi of Axiom Capital Advisors told The Real Deal that he…

Kushner buying sites near Delray Beach, Lake Worth for industrial and mixed-use projects

Kushner Companies is expanding in South Florida, acquiring two development sites in Palm Beach County, The Real Deal has learned. The New York-based firm is buying two properties near Delray Beach and near Lake Worth Beach, according to a source close to the deal. An industrial project is planned for the Delray-area property and a mixed-use…

Cortland pays $92M for Hollywood apartment complex

An Atlanta-based real estate investment firm paid $91.7 million for a 336-unit Hollywood apartment complex. Cortland Partners bought the 377,000-square-foot complex, called “Parc Station,” at 1900 to 2300 North 29th Avenue, according to records. The deal equates to about $273,000 a unit. The seller is a company tied to New York-based JPMorgan’s asset…

Menin Development wins initial approval for redevelopment of Delray Beach shopping center

Rendering of The Linton and Craig Menin Menin Development won initial approval to redevelop part of a Delray Beach shopping center into a mixed-income apartment complex. Delray Beach-based Menin plans to develop The Linton, a five-story, 277-unit apartment building, on the site of a 78,399-square-foot retail building. It has one vacant bay and two others occupied…