636-Unit Self-Storage Property in Miami Trades

JLL has arranged the sale of 21st Century Self Storage, a 636-unit facility in Miami. The 37,242-square-foot asset features climate-controlled units and 26 parking spaces. The building was originally constructed in the 1950s and was converted to self-storage in 2003. The building is located at 200 NW 79th Street eight miles north of downtown Miami. Steve Mellon…

Compass Self Storage Expands Miami Footprint

Self storage company 21st Century has finalized the disposition of a 37,242-square-foot property in Miami. Amsdell Cos., operating under its Compass Self Storage brand, acquired the property for $7.2 million, according to Yardi Matrix. JLL Capital Markets negotiated the transaction on behalf of the seller. As part of the deal, the new owner assumed an existing $5.2…

Miami Developers Tweaking Plans To Include Less Retail, Bigger Offices

Businesses and individuals have started to see some relief to get them through the coronavirus, but “there’s only so much the government can do,” said Deco Capital founder Bradley Colmer during a Bisnow webinar Wednesday. “There’s going to be sectors that are going to be [an] absolute bloodbath.” “Thankfully, we sold some of our retail holdings,” Colmer…

Hotel occupancy inches up in major US cities

It may not be saying much, but hotel fundamentals are up in some major U.S. cities. Overall, hotel occupancy in the U.S. has been improving since early April and last week hit 30.1 percent, up from 28.6 percent the week prior, according to the latest data from STR. STR’s Jan Freitag said that Transportation Security Administration checkpoint counts show that…

Report: Industrial Looks Like a Smart Play in the Current Environment

As national stay-at-home orders have shifted much of the economy toward a delivery model, the negative implications have been broadly felt, extending in the commercial real estate arena. However, Marcus & Millichap says industrial appears to be an exception to the rule. “Offices, restaurants, hotels and most other retailers have been forced to close…

Wynwood Site Claimed, Mixed Use Development Envisioned

A former medical manufacturing facility on a combined 2.27-acre assemblage in Miami’s vibrant Wynwood Arts District traded hands for $18.5 million… T6-8 and allows for higher density mixed-use development. The… sites included in the sale are at 2141–2127–2115 N Miami Avenue, 2150–2160 N Miami Avenue, 38 NW 22nd Street, and 2155 NW Miami Court.

Related Group pays $19M for Wynwood development site

The Related Group closed on a development site in Wynwood for $18.5 million. PRH Investments LLC, an affiliate of Miami-based Related, acquired a 2.27-acre assemblage of land at North Miami Avenue and Northwest 22nd Street, according to a press release from Cushman & Wakefield. The site is zoned T6-8, which allows for eight stories of mixed-use development.

Miami-Dade outlines proposed reopening plan to start Monday, but it’s far from a return to normal

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez released a 184-page guide for reopening, with the first businesses opening their doors on Monday, pending approval from the governor’s office. The color-coded guide outlines proposed rules for retail, office buildings, shopping centers, trade and logistics, restaurants and hotels, as well as other businesses. The county’s…

Turbulence ahead as Covid-19 stimulus aid keeps rents afloat in SoFla CRE

Stimulus aid to small businesses has kept commercial landlords afloat since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most aspects of everyday life in South Florida. Yet, the future landscape remains uncertain amid an impending recession, according to brokers, bankers and lawyers. “So much stimulus money is backing up tenants,” said Lloyd Berger, president of Fort…

Miami’s Trendy Wynwood District Thrives On Small Business. How Can It Survive Coronavirus?

Daniel Levine stepped outside of his Wynwood ice cream shop, Dasher & Crank, this week to look at the neighborhood. “It’s an absolute ghost town,” he said. “I don’t see a single person around.” Sweet Spot, a candy shop that had opened just a few months ago, was gone. There was brown paper covering the windows at Laid Fresh. A gelato place was dark, as was every…

Rieber Developments Breaks Ground on 10-Story Mixed-Use Project in Aventura

Rieber Developments has broken ground on 12|12 Aventura, a 10-story mixed-use project featuring medical office, luxury senior residences and a food hall. The property is situated in Aventura, approximately 20 miles north of Miami. Arquitectonica designed the development, which will include a 30,000-square-foot gourmet marketplace and food hall, 25,000…

Project in Aventura Health District Breaks Ground During Pandemic

The developer of a 10-story mixed-use project in Aventura is breaking ground despite the coronavirus pandemic. 12|12 Aventura will include a 30K SF food hall, 25K SF of mostly medical offices and 160 luxury residential units for seniors. The offices are broken into 30 condos, 40% of which are already sold, developer Rieber Developments said. The…

Triarch Capital scores $35M refinancing for One Turnberry Place

Triarch Capital Group scored a $35 million loan to refinance One Turnberry Place in Aventura. Triarch Capital secured the loan for the office building at 19495 Biscayne Boulevard, in front of Aventura Mall from Nationwide Life Insurance, according to a spokesperson for CBRE. CBRE’s Paul Ahmed and Mackenzie Fry represented Triarch Capital Group in the deal, according to…

Here’s when Miami Beach is proposing to reopen non-essential businesses

The city of Miami Beach is proposing to allow non-essential businesses to reopen on Wednesday, May 20, two days after Miami-Dade County is considering entering the first phase of reopening. In the proposed phase 1A, 761 Miami Beach businesses could reopen in one week. That would include 602 retail stores, 18 museums, and 141 hair and nail salons and barber…

Small landlords call for rent relief package, fearing Wall Street takeover

Small landlords, such as Jan Lee, a New York landlord who owns two buildings, say Wall Street players will take their place unless rent relief comes soon. Calls for the government to bail out the rental housing market are getting louder, and they’re not just coming from tenants. As financial…

PortMiami working to redrawn agreements with multi-billion impact

Two months after cruise lines ceased operations worldwide, the “Cruise Capital of the World” and its industry partners are in talks to redraw details in their long-term agreements to adjust to post-coronavirus expectations. How those talks will affect four massive terminal deals PortMiami struck with Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and…

Coconut Grove Playhouse case heads to June hearing

The future of the Coconut Grove Playhouse remains in the hands of the Appellate Division of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court with a hearing set for June 16 – if the pandemic permits.  With building permits and drawings set to begin construction at the playhouse property at 3500 Main Hwy., Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs Director Michael Spring…

Rolando Aedo: Preparing new Miami Shines campaign to rebuild tourism

South Florida was still reeling from Hurricane Andrew when Rolando Aedo began working with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, the region’s nonprofit promotional arm for hospitality and tourism. His role, developing a recovery marketing campaign to reattract interest here, was meant to be temporary. Twenty-six years later, he’s served in several…

Miami-Dade, Broward reopening expected May 18

Broward County is expected to start reopening May 18, along with Miami-Dade County, according to multiple news reports. Broward Mayor Dale Holness had a conference call on Monday with city mayors and there seemed to be consensus that May 18 would be targeted. “The sentiment is that, whether or not Miami goes on the 18th, we will go on the 18th…”

Mall free fall: Macerich collects just 26% of April rent payments

We know it is a bad time to own malls, but retail landlord Macerich’s Tuesday earnings call highlighted how dire matters are. Tom O’Hern, CEO of the Santa Monica retail real estate investment trust, reported that the company “collected about 26 percent of rent” from tenants at the 47 shopping centers Macerich owns throughout the country, malls replete…

WATCH: Sandeep Mathrani says WeWork paid 80% of its rent

As WeWork makes headlines for rental woes, disputes with members and co-founder Adam Neumann’s SoftBank feud, Sandeep Mathrani sought to assuage concerns in his first TV appearance since becoming CEO. The office-space giant paid rent at 80 percent of its locations in April and May and collected rent from 70 percent of its members, Mathrani said on CNBC’s…

North Miami Beach apartment project nabs $71M refinancing

A development group led by Eden Multifamily scored $71.3 million in refinancing for an apartment building in North Miami Beach. North MB Owner, consisting of Eden Multifamily, Florida Value Partners, and Hunt Companies, secured the loan for the 356-unit Lazul Apartments at 2145 Northeast 164th Street. Hunt Real Estate Capital provided the financing…

Hunt Real Estate Capital Provides $71.3M Refinancing Loan for New Multifamily Property in Metro Miami

Hunt Real Estate Capital has provided a $71.3 million Freddie Mac refinancing loan for Lazul Apartments, a 365-unit multifamily community in North Miami Beach. The 11-year, nonrecourse loan features a fixed interest rate in the 3 to 3.5 percent range, a 30-year amortization schedule and interest-only payments for the full term. The borrower, a limited…

Hunt Real Estate Capital Provides $71M Refi for Miami Beach Rental Property

A joint venture partnership between EDEN Multifamily, Hunt Companies and Florida Value Partners has nabbed $71.3 million in Freddie Mac-backed debt from Hunt Real Estate Capital to refinance the Lazul Apartments in North Miami Beach, Fla., according to information released by Hunt. The 11-year, fixed-rate and interest-only loan from Freddie’s pre-stabilization…

JV Secures $71M Refi for Miami Beach Property

A partnership including borrower North MB Owner LLC, EDEN Multifamily, Hunt Cos. Inc. and Florida Value Partners has secured a $71.3 million Freddie Mac conventional loan via the pre-stabilization program, for Lazul Apartments, a Class A, 356-unit, mid-rise community in North Miami Beach, Fla. The LLC arranged for modified zoning to allow retail to become…

Simon says malls will reopen but some states say otherwise

Simon Property Group’s plan to reopen several dozen malls across the U.S. has not gone as smoothly as expected. While more than three dozen states have partially reopened to business — or will be soon — some cities within those states remain under quarantine. Simon has postponed the opening of at least seven malls in New…

Developer of Aman-branded towers in Miami Beach scores $35M loan

Billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries closed on a loan for the first Aman-branded development in South Florida. The developer, 3425 Collins LLC, secured $34.8 million in financing from Bank OZK for the site of the former Versailles Hotel in Miami Beach, property records show. Blavatnik and fellow billionaire Vlad Doronin plan to build a two-tower hotel and…

Does COVID-18 Provide an Excuse for Non-Performance of a Contract?

The question of almost every party to a contract that remains to be fully performed is whether Covid-19 is an act of God that will excuse performance by the party who has yet to complete performance. The starting point in any such inquiry is the written agreement between the parties-assuming there is a written agreement. If there is no written…

Jimmy Resnick sells Alton Road retail building for $9 million

Miami Beach investor Jimmy Resnick sold a retail building on Alton Road for $9.25 million. Hibiscus Alton Inc. sold the 16,441-square-foot building at 955 Alton Road in South Beach to 955 Alton Road MIA LLC, property records show. The building was previously home to Coco Bambu, a Brazilian seafood restaurant that closed more than a year ago. Resnick bought…

WeWork’s rental woes slam CMBS market

WeWork’s efforts to renegotiate several of its leases and skip rent payments is causing the price of bonds backed by payments from the company to plummet. Many WeWork tenants have requested rent relief or the termination of their contracts since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hurt the commercial mortgage-backed securities that rely on…

Coronavirus could set back the pro-density movement

The movement toward dense, transit-adjacent development picked up steam over the last few years, but the coronavirus pandemic might prove to be a big setback. The pandemic has forced a quick national pivot toward telecommuting, which some think could undercut the utility of living near transit, according to the New York Times. If you don’t need to go into…

Bars and music venues across America worry they’ll never reopen

The coronavirus pandemic has forced scores of small bars and clubs across the country to shut their doors and some owners fear they won’t open back up. Entertainment operators, both corporate-backed large companies like Live Nation and small independent proprietors, are feeling the crunch of the coronavirus pandemic. But many smaller outfits don’t have the…

Will insurers cover coronavirus-related business losses? We may soon find out

CNA Financial CEO Dino Robusto A business insurer’s position that it isn’t required to cover coronavirus-related losses is set to face a legal litmus test. A Las Vegas-based company with a CNA Financial’s subsidiary’s policy filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in a Chicago federal court on Monday, according to Crain’s. The company, Vegas Image, owns a…

Brookfield Property’s Q1 losses come as retail tenants miss payments

Brookfield Property Partners is now negotiating with 2,400 of its retail tenants across the country who have been unable to come up with the rent. That inability to pay has cut deeply into Brookfield’s bottom line. Its first quarter was dismal. The real estate wing of the Canadian giant Brookfield Asset Management had a net loss of $373 million from January through…

What April’s record-high unemployment means for real estate

Following an unprecedented 20.5 million drop in payroll last month, the April unemployment rate reached a record 14.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That figure is the highest unemployment percentage on record, since seasonally adjusted data became available in 1948. The unemployment rate is estimated to have reached about 25…

“Unlawful” and “hypocritical”: WeWork members threaten legal action over fees

A group of WeWork members is threatening the co-working giant with legal action if it continues to collect fees even though the coronavirus has prevented them from using the space. In a letter to WeWork’s general counsel on Thursday, an attorney for the members said WeWork’s collection of fees was “unlawful” because state and local authorities have directed…

Virus will leave lasting impact on retailers and their landlords, industry pros say

The near-total shutdown of New York City shops and restaurants during the coronavirus crisis will likely be felt for years to come in the retail real estate world. In the short-term, landlords and tenants will have to come up with creative solutions to help commercial tenants back on their feet, according to some of the city’s top retail brokers who discussed the state of the…

Gov. DeSantis discussing next steps for South Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis is in discussions with South Florida officials about the next step for the three counties, which were left out of the first phase of statewide reopening. At a press conference on Wednesday, the governor said officials were monitoring an easing last week that saw parks, marinas and golf courses reopen—“they want to see how that’s going.” There has…

Mana saves McArthur Dairy

After submitting a winning bid in bankruptcy court, investor Moishe Mana has closed on the $16.5 million sale of two McArthur dairy sites, including prime property in Little Haiti. The McArthur Dairy plant in Little Haiti Mana plans to build and expand the McArthur brand to have both dairy and non-dairy milk products, saving the company from total liquidation…

Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights wants a rooftop movie theater at 1212 Lincoln project

Rendering of Rooftop Cinema Club at 1212 Lincoln and Russell Galbut Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights wants to open an outdoor rooftop movie theater at its 1212 Lincoln Road project on Alton Road in Miami Beach. Miami Beach’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee on Wednesday moved to have the Miami Beach City Commission vote on a proposal…

What Sam Zell is offering renters to keep occupancy rates high

Sam Zell’s Equity Residential had a collection rate of about 97 percent for April despite widespread concerns that tenants would be unable or unwilling to pay their rent amid the pandemic, the company reported on its first quarter earnings call. Equity Residential held its call on Wednesday morning, and CEO Mark Parrell maintained that the company was…

Florida restarts plans for bridge at FIU, two years after deadly collapse

The Florida Department of Transportation will begin the design process for a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University, more than two years after the bridge’s fatal collapse. FDOT announced it would manage and oversee the new project for the intersection at Southwest Eighth Street and Southwest 109th Avenue in Sweetwater, connecting the city to FIU’s…

Resort-town hotels bounce back in reopening states, providing industry with hope of a return

Hotels bounced back last week at tourist destinations in states like Florida and Texas which have begun reopening — a sign that the industry could rebound once more states relax pandemic restrictions. Texas cities like Galveston and Corpus Christie led the boost in occupancy last week, alongside Florida destinations…

Even Sam Zell isn’t ready to dance on graves

The investor has made a fortune playing the distressed game. But even he’s on the sidelines for now. When the markets begin to melt, people usually look to see what Sam Zell is up to. The billionaire real estate investor made his fortune and reputation by acquiring distressed assets on the cheap and disposing of properties at the zenith of the market. He sold Blackstone…

The days of long-term retail leases may be over

As retailers and other businesses seek relief from landlords, one potential long-term fix to rent woes is on the horizon. Michael Phillips, who leads real estate investment manager Jamestown, told the Wall Street Journal that the days of reliance on standard long-term leases with fixed payments in retail are done.

Welcome back to your post-corona office. You probably won’t recognize it

Thermal cameras, bacteria-fighting HVAC systems and contactless coffee machines. Welcome back to the office – you may not recognize it. As New Yorkers gear up to go back to work, landlords are scrambling to cater to a totally different set of priorities. Over the past few years, office spaces have been designed to maximize social interaction. Now, however, minimizing…

Neiman Marcus Files For ‘Prepack’ Bankruptcy, Joining J Crew

Just three days ago, we reported that Neiman Marcus – aka “Needless Markups” – was on the cusp of striking a deal with creditors for financing that would help tide it over through bankruptcy. Well, it looks like the big day has finally arrived. Bloomberg reports that Neiman Marcus Group has officially entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement with a…

Hotels Are Being Impacted by COVID-19. What Can Owners and Lenders Do to Limit the Fallout?

COVID-19 is causing tangible disruption throughout the hotel industry. Daily decreases in travel and cancellations of meetings lead to quick drops in occupancy, followed by hotel pricing decreases (often irrational) that further exacerbate market jitters. A hotel market rate and occupancy shopping app, MSight, estimated downtown Los Angeles hotels had a…

Fortune and Château score $119 million refi for Sunny Isles condo project

Fortune International Group and Château Group scored $119 million in refinancing from Bank OZK for their planned La Playa de Varadero condo development in Sunny Isles Beach. The developers are planning to build two 56-story condo towers on the vacant site at 18801 Collins Avenue. The site is approved for 490 residential units and 1.15 million square feet…

Moishe Mana closes on acquisition of McArthur Dairy

Developer and investor Moishe Mana closed on his acquisition of McArthur Dairy for $16.5 million, expanding his business empire into milk production. Mana is partnering with Jay and Robert Schneier, owners of Florence, New Jersey-based Cream-O-Land, to operate the processing plant and delivery aspect of the business, said Mana’s attorney, Bruce Fischman.

Self-storage facility in Little River sells for $7 million

In both good times and bad times, self-storage remains one of South Florida’s hottest asset classes. Mitsukoshi Miami LLC, tied to 21st Century Storage, sold a self-storage facility and parking lot at 200 Northwest 79th Street and 7751 Northwest Second Avenue in Miami to Amsdell Companies for $7.23 million, records show. The two properties total 48,435 square…

Chart: Commercial Sales Transaction Metric Declines in April as Sales to List Price Ratio Holds

Miami Association of Realtor’s MLS commercial sales, charted above, may not be representative of all commercial sales, but they are representative of a level of sales such that one period can be compared to another. In the accompanying chart, one can see that closed transactions declined by 2/3 in April 2020, to 40, from a run rate of about 120. Obviously, this is COVID-19…

How to restart retail

On today’s episode of TRD Talks Live, associate publisher Hiten Samtani will discuss the future of retail with TSCG and SCG Retail’s David Firestein,  Newmark Knight Frank’s Jeffrey Roseman and Meridien Retail Leasing’s James Famularo. Long before coronavirus kept shoppers off the streets, retail was struggling to adapt…

Cresting Wave of Job Losses Upends Miami Multifamily Sector

How will the COVID-19 fallout impact the Miami multifamily market? Although many investors are approaching markets known for leisure travel and cruise industries with caution these days, RED Mortgage Capital research posted last week indicates Fort Lauderdale/Broward County may offer a more attractive risk and reward profile than is commonly…

“The relationship between landlord and tenant needs to change”: Fifth Wall’s Brendan Wallace on the need for a retail bailout

The head of the largest real estate-focused venture capital fund is advocating for a $30 billion government bailout of the retail industry, warning that it is on the brink of systemic collapse. Brendan Wallace, managing partner and co-founder of Fifth Wall Ventures, has a proposal: Get the five biggest retail landlords in a room with the federal government…

Fortune International, Château Receive $119 Million Refinancing for Oceanfront Condo Development in Sunny Isles

Fortune International Group and Château Group have received a $119 million loan for the refinancing of La Playa de Varadero, an oceanfront condominium development site in Sunny Isles Beach, a barrier island about 20 miles north of Miami. Located at 18801 Collins Avenue, the 4.7-acre site boasts beach frontage of 435 feet directly on the Atlantic Ocean. Plans…

The Pandemic Is Changing How The Next Wave Of Apartment Amenities Will Be Designed

Some social distancing built into the design is going to need to be an option, though the exact nature of changes isn’t clear yet. “The open-plan hospitality vibe has been central to marketing to a millennial demographic,” The Architectural Team principal Michael Liu said. “But in the present pandemic, it may also be ideal for communicating disease.” Meshberg…

Commercial Borrowing Cost: Rate Watch for April 30, 2019

At the end of April of 2019, intermediate yields remain at lows reached in recent weeks. This has, of course, been driven by reduced economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As can be seen in the accompanying chart, five year rates, which are most closely tracked for commercial property borrowing cost, found themselves under 0.5%, flirting with negative rates.

Related Group honored for bevy of awards

Last year executives and projects of The Related Group, a leading developer of metropolitan living in Florida as well as one of the country’s largest real estate conglomerates, won several accolades. Based on these recognitions, Miami Today’s Gold Medal Awards judges chose the company as one of this year’s winners for an institution. The specific award level – bronze, silver…

Yardi Matrix April National Office Report: So Far, It’s a Waiting Game

COVID-19 has drastically reshaped life and the economy, but the pandemic’s full effects on the U.S. office market have yet to come to light in the data. The latest Yardi Matrix office report shows that national full-service equivalent listing rates held steady through March. Moreover, in terms of sales, Q1 2020 was on par with the first quarters of the two previous years…

Della Heiman: Shifting from former Wynwood Yard to a new Doral Yard

Fresh out of Harvard Business School in 2014, Della Heiman was whittling down her list of where to launch her healthy, plant-based culinary concept, Della Bowls. She wanted to start in a city where demand and awareness of such an offering was high but supply was limited. It ultimately came down to two cities, Chicago and Miami. Weather was the pivotal factor at first…

Unfortunately, new rail transit likely to be Covid-19 victim

There are a number of reasons to carefully heed Miami-Dade Commission Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson’s concerns about planning a Metrorail extension from downtown Miami to the Broward County line. Just look around and you’ll see them. As she noted at a recent transportation planning meeting, Metrorail is the most expensive transit we could get…

Video: Ian Lis of Tripp Scott Law Firm Discusses Navigating the PPP

On Monday, May 4th, South Florida Business & Wealth hosted a live Virtual Connect webinar “Navigating the PPP.” Our moderator, CEO and Chairman Gary Press, interviewed Ian Lis of Tripp Scott Law Firm on the Paycheck Protection Program, a loan from the SBA designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. View…

JLL predicts coronavirus’ impact to extend past 2020

As the coronavirus crisis cripples property sales and leasing, JLL’s latest financials may offer a glimpse of what’s ahead for the first-quarter earnings season. The commercial brokerage reported a net operating income of $5.3 million during the first three months of 2020, compared to $21.3 million a year ago, Crain’s reported. JLL said global leasing fell 22 percent year…

Retail fallout: Victoria’s Secret sale scrapped, Neiman Marcus nears restructuring deal

Victoria’s Secret’s parent company has canceled its deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners, while Neiman Marcus is nearing a restructuring deal with a Pimco-led group. (Andrew Chin/Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images) With their stores still closed, these struggling retailers are pursuing new plans. L Brands, the parent company of lingerie retailer Victoria’s…

J. Crew Files for Bankruptcy Protection

J. Crew Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy with plans to hand control to its lenders, unable to revive its preppy clothing line amid the pandemic and crushed by debt rooted in a long-ago leveraged buyout. While J. Crew’s struggles pre-dated the coronavirus outbreak, it’s the first major retailer to go bankrupt during the ensuing economic shutdown, which has pushed…

Sam Zell’s office REIT won’t commit to a specific coronavirus strategy just yet

Sam Zell’s Equity Commonwealth has not had many problems collecting rent so far, but the company was very light on details about the pandemic’s impact apart from that in its first quarter earnings call on Tuesday morning. The office real estate investment trust had 98 percent of its contractual rents paid for the month of April, and just 3 percent of that…

Investments Limited scores $67M loan for 13 SoFla properties

Investments Limited nabbed a $67 million loan to refinance 13 of its commercial properties in South Florida. The Boca Raton-based commercial real estate firm secured the loan from Miami-based Ocean Bank for office and retail properties in Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, and Plantation, according to a press release. The law firm Holland & Knight’s Josias…

Warren Buffett questions the need for office space

The Oracle of Omaha foretells an existential challenge for office space. At Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday — held this year via live stream from an empty arena — CEO Warren Buffett quipped that it had been more than seven weeks since he had put on a tie. And the extended period of remote work may affect more than just clothing choices.

57 Ocean in Miami Beach scores $59M construction loan

Multiplan Real Estate Asset Management closed on a $58.5 million construction loan for 57 Ocean, a luxury condo project in Miami Beach. The developer, led by Brazilian billionaire José Isaac Peres, secured the loan from Bank OZK. The Little Rock, Arkansas-based bank is still lending in South Florida during the pandemic, and recently received the final…

St. Louis Fed: How will COVID-19 Affect Financial Assets, Delinquency and Bankruptcy?

There will be economic losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, and knowing how those losses are distributed across the population is just as important as the overall amount.1 Our previous posts in this series have uncovered a troubling pattern. Communities with the highest financial distress—which are the least able to weather economic losses—both: Tend to rely more…

Key COVID-19 metrics improve in South Florida

South Florida was cut off from the rest of the state in a phase one reopening on Monday, but key health metrics show progress. Florida Department of Health charts show a steady downward trend in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties for emergency room visits for people with COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms. The trend line is similar to statewide figures.

Landlords Sue Ross Stores, Other Commercial Tenants

In the past 24 hours, landlords have filed at least two lawsuits against major retailers over nonpayment of rent. And South Florida lawyers say these are just the start as brick-and-mortar retail faces a new and unexpected hurdle: the coronavirus. The lawsuits follow the Florida governor’s executive order requiring store closures and mandating social distancing restrictions.

CMBS debt relief inquiries fall in late April, but worst is yet to come, new report says

After facing a tidal wave of relief requests in the first half of April, loan servicers saw a dip in inquiries during the last two weeks of the month. But that probably won’t last. Over the two-week period ending April 26, the four largest commercial mortgage-backed securities master servicers (Wells Fargo, Midland, Keybank and Berkadia) received a total of 1,301 inquiries…

Miami-Dade judge tosses Avra Jain’s $15M lawsuit against former attorneys

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman has derailed developer Avra Jain’s efforts to collect $15 million from a law firm that represented her in an unsuccessful court case. Hanzman dismissed Jain’s complaint on March 13 by granting summary judgment for Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney and its shareholder Richard A. Morgan. The firm had represented the Vagabond…

Private clubs like Soho House keep collecting dues, add perks to keep members happy

Private clubs including Soho House continue to collect steep dues from members, even though many have had to close up shop because of the pandemic. Soho House is offering only in-house credits for the months the club is inaccessible as it tries to keep cash flowing to cover expenses, according to Bloomberg. Not everyone is happy, but other members say…

Half of mall-anchored department stores could close within a year

If you’re looking for some post-lockdown retail therapy, your choices may be limited. More than 50 percent of department stores anchoring shopping malls could permanently close within the next 12 months, according to a Green Street Advisors report cited by CNBC. Anchor department stores are themselves key to the financial viability of mall properties, but closures…

Who are the tenants of today and tomorrow?

With another monthly rent payment coming due, both commercial tenants and landlords are evaluating their prospective futures.  A potential surge of bankruptcies raises an important question: who will be the tenants of today and tomorrow?  Some recent developments in pending bankruptcy cases and likely filings provide some insight into the possibilities and how both…

Small businesses in high-rent cities balk at PPP loans

Small business owners in high-rent cities like New York and Los Angeles are balking at PPP loan money, and calling for more flexibility in how they may distribute the funding. (Photo by John Nacion/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Small business owners in high-rent cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are finding the federal government’s $660 billion Paycheck…

South Florida deli chain TooJay’s files for bankruptcy

The popular Florida deli chain TooJay’s declared bankruptcy as a result of the impacts of coronavirus. TooJay’s Management, which opened its first restaurant in Palm Beach in 1981, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. The company owns and operates 28 locations in Florida, including in Hallandale Beach…

J. Crew nears bankruptcy, Brooks Brothers seeks buyer

J. Crew and Brooks Brothers are among the latest retailers on the brink of bankruptcy. J. Crew, which has 322 stores, is seeking $400 million in financing to fund operations during bankruptcy, CNBC reported. And Brooks Brothers is seeking to sell itself, a deal that could potentially be part of a bankruptcy filing, according to…

Macy’s prepares to unlock the doors

In the latest sign of a post-coronavirus retail world, Macy’s will reopen all its 775 locations by the end of June. The company will begin on Monday with 68 stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to the New York Times. CEO Jeff Gennette said in a presentation that the retailer expects to only bring in about 20 percent of its typical business…

Investors who shorted malls stand to make out big

The coronavirus pandemic may be the final nail in the coffin for some retailers and shopping malls. For certain investors, that’s a good thing. Those who shorted the mall-heavy CMBX 6 index are seeing their bets pay off faster than they thought as tenants come up short on rent and mall owners miss mortgage payments, according to Bloomberg. MP Securitized…

Miami commission approves rent, utility assistance for low-income households

Miami low-income residents who recently lost their jobs can start applying for rent and utility assistance at noon on Monday. But private contractors, or those who already are receiving rental subsidies, or are behind on their payments are not eligible. The Miami City Commission on Thursday unanimously approved allocating $6.9 million in COVID-19-related…

Hotel occupancy rises as essential workers, homeless fill rooms

The hotel market is improving across the country but that comes with a caveat. The uptick is likely a result of coronavirus-related response measures cities have undertaken throughout the U.S. Nationally, hotel occupancy inched up to 26 percent for the week ending April 25, from about 23 percent the week before, according to data from hospitality…

SoftBank anticipates $6.6B loss on WeWork investment

SoftBank’s bet on WeWork is causing more pain for the conglomerate. The group said this week that it is expecting a $6.6 billion loss for the year ending March on a portion of its investment in WeWork held outside SoftBank’s Vision Fund. The announcement comes two weeks after SoftBank told investors that its annual operating losses would reach…

Real estate is waking up to pandemic insurance. But is it too late?

Hotel owners nationwide have likely deployed teams of lawyers to scour their insurance policies, hoping to find a clause that covers a portion of the monumental damages inflicted as a result of Covid-19. Most of them have been sorely disappointed. But a very small number may be holding a trump card. In New York City, Rotem Rosen’s Hotel Indigo Lower East Side…

Video: Miami’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan Reviewed in Brickell Alliance Virtual Town Hall

This video is a recording of theApril 30th Brickell Alliance’s virtual town hall conversation with Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell on the City of Miami’s Recovery Roadmap. Reviewed are various phases of recovery and the orders to be issued within them, the expected timelines for such, and criteria for deciding when milestones are met. This is a must view video…

Business as Unusual – Habitus Furniture, Javier Malik, owner

Business backstory: The contemporary furniture store, launched in 2003, works with designers and manufacturers in Europe, Asia and South America to develop its own unique furniture collections. Habitus has locations in Aventura and Doral. (habitusfurniture.com) The impact: “Our showrooms in Aventura and Doral closed to the public due to…

Homestead salmon farm reels in $210M construction loan

An under-construction salmon farm in Homestead just reeled in $210 million in refinancing. Atlantic Sapphire secured the construction loan for the four-phased development at 22275 Southwest 272nd Street from DNB Bank, according to a spokesperson for Holland & Knight. Attorneys Alberto Hernandez and Elena Otero and associates Faisal Kraziem, Brittany Fox…

Private Equity Investor Looking To Buy Up To Half Billion Dollars of Distressed Loans

Since 2005, Miami Beach-based Safe Harbor Equity has been purchasing distressed, nonperforming loans secured by real estate, usually in the $2M to $20M range, usually from regional and community banks. Last May, the private equity firm announced it was raising a $100M fund to pick up more distressed assets. With that, it began… Managing Director Rafael Serrano…

Miami Workforce Housing Exec: ‘I Don’t See Rental Rates Dropping’

Economic downturns are also called “corrections” for a reason — they enable peak-level prices to come back down to a reasonable level. Given its scope, one might expect the coronavirus crisis to harshly correct Miami’s long-rising prices. But workforce housing developers in Miami doubt rents will drop, because their own costs remain high and tenant demand…

Owner of CMX Cinemas files for bankruptcy, hopes to get help from landlords

The owner of the movie theater chain CMX Cinemas filed for bankruptcy due to the financial impacts of coronavirus. Miami-based Cinemex Holdings USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Saturday in Miami. The company is owned by Mexico-based Grupo Cinemex SA de CV, which controls CMX Cinemas with 41 locations in the Midwest, Northeast and the South…

Miami-based Theater Chain Files for Bankruptcy

Cinemex Holdings USA, Inc. and Cinemex USA Real Estate Holdings, Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in Miami, where the companies are based. It is reportedly the first theater chain, or retailer, to file for Chapter 11 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company indicated the filing will…

Past the pandemic: Rockefeller family, partnered with Miami company, pitches global luxury development projects

It may seem like a bad time to pitch a series of luxury lifestyle development projects around the world. But SixRock Group — a Rockefeller family-led real estate services firm — believes the global coronavirus crisis has created opportunity for low-cost land and construction deals. It has partnered with Miami-based Brands Lab International to make a push…

Pressure Mounts To ‘Commandeer’ Hotels For Coronavirus

Homelessness in the U.S. was already at crisis levels before the coronavirus hit. When it did, some cities began arranging for people experiencing homelessness to stay socially isolated in empty hotels. Fort Lauderdale has been doing the opposite. In March, city commissioners voted to crack down on the homeless, moving to extend a ban on camping, which now covers…

Fed “not in any hurry” to raise interest rates: Powell

The Federal Reserve won’t push up interest rates any time soon, the central bank’s chairman said Wednesday as the U.S. economy shrank the most in over a decade. The Fed’s Federal Open Markets Committee said it was keeping the range of its benchmark interest rate between 0 percent and 0.25 percent after slashing rates twice in recent weeks as part of sweeping…

Ritz-Carlton Residences Sunny Isles developers pay off $212M loan

The developers of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sunny Isles Beach paid off their $212 million construction loan after shifting to virtual sales over the last month. Fortune International Group and Château Group paid off their lender, Little Rock, Arkansas-based Bank OZK, which provided the loan in September 2016. The 52-story, 209-unit luxury condo tower was completed…

Gio Midtown Opens During Pandemic: ‘Going Great, All Things Considered’

The 39-story, 447-unit Gio Midtown was built to be one of Miami’s trendiest new apartment buildings. There’s a fifth-floor pool deck, a 4,500 SF gym, a basketball court and a Himalayan salt room. After 31 months of construction, the building at 3101 Northeast First Ave. began leasing in January, with studios starting at $1,695 per month and three-bedrooms…

Here’s how South Florida’s office market is changing in the coronavirus era

Developer Avra Jain, one of the first believers in revitalizing dilapidated motels in Miami’s MiMo neighborhood, is used to taking chances. And now, despite a widespread belief that the workplace will change post-pandemic, she’s still betting big on the office market. Jain is pushing forward with plans to build a major mixed-use project on the Miami River – anchored…

Simon will use tech to track occupancy for mall-reopening strategy

Simon Property Group intends to reopen 49 malls in 10 states across the country, and has a detailed plan that includes deploying tracking technology to welcome shoppers while adhering to prescribed safety measures. The giant mall REIT will start opening its shuttered shopping centers on Friday, according to the New York Times, which obtained…

Miami Hotelier: Numbers Won’t Bounce Back Until ‘2023 At The Earliest’

Miami saw record tourism numbers when it hosted the Super Bowl in January, and February was likewise gangbusters for the hospitality industry. Then coronavirus hit. “We lost about 30% of asset values overnight,” said Miami investor and developer Robert Finvarb during a Bisnow webinar Thursday. His Robert Finvarb Cos. owns a portfolio…

Miracle Mile gears for a new bounce-back

Even before the Covid-19 health crisis crippled the economy, from a global to a hyper local reality, Miracle Mile – the commercial soul of Coral Gables – was dealing with vacant storefronts and other challenges. But even in the face of unknown factors brought on by the pandemic, business leaders and officials are striving to proclaim positivity. The message is: The long-term…

Plans for Metrorail line headed north may be going south

At least one prominent Miami-Dade official is having second thoughts about pursuing a northern Metrorail extension, citing figures from a new report that favor two cheaper, easier alternatives. County Commission Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson said she saw “nothing but issues” with building new Metrorail, which transportation decision-makers here…

A safe bet: South Florida’s industrial market could boom after pandemic

Industrial developer Jose Hernandez-Solaun of The Easton Group has seen Amazon spur the rise of e-commerce over the last few years. But now, he sees the coronavirus pandemic rapidly ramping up that growth — putting it on steroids. “What we are finding now is the coronavirus effect,” said Hernandez-Solaun. “If the Amazon effect was strength training, this was…”

Opinion: The future of commercial real estate

The world of commercial real estate is getting turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic. We’re seeing the first signs of stress in the industry as clients are seeking to move out of office spaces they can no longer afford and the number of accounts receivable ticks up. While some semblance of normality could return by early next year, there’s likely to be a lot of pain…

Restaurateurs have ideas on how to get cooking again

Who isn’t longing for a meal at a favorite eatery? Michael Stillman of Quality Branded — the restaurant group behind Quality Meats, Park Avenue and Smith & Wollensky New York — is craving a meal at classic Upper East Side Italian restaurant Elio’s. Bill Bondrest, COO of TAO Group, is missing the food at any of the hospitality company’s many restaurant…

AOC claims rent strikers have no choice

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — progressives’ rock star from New York — threw her support behind rent strikers Monday. In a virtual town hall hosted by New York tenant coalition Housing Justice for All, Ocasio-Cortez called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to cancel rent and mortgage payments at the state level and expressed support for those who do not pay rent because…

Where can Haim Chera take Vornado’s retail business?

The retail apocalypse delivered a one-two punch to Vornado Realty Trust last year when a pair of its largest retail tenants filed for bankruptcy. The first came in May 2019, when British apparel company Topshop announced it was closing all of its U.S. stores, including two locations, on Fifth Avenue in Midtown and Broadway in Soho, owned by Steven Roth’s publicly…

Warning: An Ownership Pledge In a Mortgage Transaction May Be Dangerous

Over the last few years, certain nontraditional lenders and a few banks have asked for a pledge of the ownership interest in borrowers as additional security to their mortgage on the property. The typical reason provided is that this allows the lender to avoid a long and costly foreclosure if the borrower fails to make its mortgage payments. While the above is…

Second round of PPP launches

The federal government was launching round 2 of the paycheck protection program to aid small businesses, but the SBA’s computer system was experiencing glitches at times on Monday. The money also was expected to run out quickly. There was widespread unhappiness with the first round with some major companies returning money after negative publicity.

Office landlords finding out which tenants are paying up during lockdown

Public office landlords are starting to report their first-quarter earnings — and investors and analysts are paying close attention to just how much rent they were able to rake in as tenants like law firms and advertising companies complete nearly a full month of working remotely. Empire State Realty Trust — whose biggest property is the Empire State Building…

Tom Barrack says RE industry verging on collapse over rent, mortgage waivers

The country’s real estate market is in chaos and on the verge of collapse. That’s according to Colony Capital CEO Tom Barrack, who said the industry was in such dire straits because the government is letting renters and homeowners skip payments due to the coronavirus. He made his comments in an interview with Bloomberg Television Friday. Lenders and landlords…

Nation’s richest ZIP code, that of Fisher Island, received a $2M PPP loan. Now its HOA is deciding whether to accept it

Fisher Island’s homeowners’ association was approved to receive a $2 million loan through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, and now the association is asking its residents whether it should accept the funds. The $349 billion PPP program was created by Congress to help small businesses, providing loans of up to $10 million to cover rent…

CARES Act Offers Help for Investors, Small Businesses

As we go through the coronavirus crisis, we are all, first and foremost, concerned about the health of our loved ones and communities. But the economic implications of the virus have also weighed heavily on our minds. However, if you’re an investor or a business owner, you just got some help from Washington – and it could make a big difference, at least in the short…

J.C. Penney in talks for $800 million plus bankruptcy financing

J.C. Penney is in advanced talks for bankruptcy financing as it faces financial pressure from the coronavirus pandemic. Struggling retailer J.C. Penney is in advanced talks with its lenders to reach a bankruptcy agreement. The department store chain is in discussions for a debtor-in-possession loan between $800 million and $1 billion with its lenders…

City of Miami could provide $2M in rent, utility assistance in May

The city of Miami could offer rent and utility assistance to residents who lost their jobs, starting as early as May, possibly becoming one of the first cities in the U.S. to do so. Mayor Francis Suarez announced the program during a virtual press conference on Friday. It’s subject to city commission approval at a meeting next week. Using federal money, the city would…

Major South Florida Lendar Bank OZK’s Q1 earnings fall 90%, but sees lending opportunities ahead

Bank OZK, one of the most active construction lenders in Miami and New York, is bracing for losses from the coronavirus pandemic, but says that it sees opportunities ahead as competitors back out of the market. Little Rock, Arkansas-based Bank OZK reported its first quarter earnings on Friday, and increased its provision for credit losses to $117.7 million, up from $6.6…

Emerald Construction sues for $4 million in unpaid work at South Beach Kimpton hotel

A month after Ronny Finvarb completed a Kimpton Hotel in Miami Beach, a general contractor is accusing the developer of skipping out on more than $4 million in unpaid construction work. Hollywood-based Emerald Construction Corp. sued Finvarb’s Sobe Alton LLC for nonpayment… The Kimpton Hotel Palomar South Beach at 1750 Alton Road opened in early…

China City’s Brickell development site under new ownership

A full block of vacant land in Brickell is under new ownership, court records show. The development site, at 1420 South Miami Avenue, was previously owned by CCCC International USA, an affiliate of China City Construction Holding Group Co. It is now controlled by entities tied to Rega Group, a California developer. The land has been vacant since before…

‘We’re going to have to redesign everything’: Flex-office heads discuss industry’s survival

When we finally leave our apartments, pale and scruffy after months at home, what will going back to work look like? It’s a concept that feels far off in a city like New York, but it’s a daily consideration for the leaders of flex-office companies, who are trying to reshape their businesses to reach the next wave of workers — a cohort likely to be hyper-alert about density…

Releated CEO Jeff Blau predicts “wave of defaults” on commercial and hotel loans

Related CEO Jeff Blau says he anticipates there will be a wave of defaults on commercial and hotel loans as the implications of the pandemic become clearer. In an interview with Bloomberg this week, Blau said that with the beginning of May looming, landlords are again wondering what will happen with rent payments. “Landlords use those rents to pay their…

Blackstone: “We don’t need financing to get things done”

BlaBlackstone wants investors to know that it is ready to pounce on investment opportunities. In a first quarter earnings call Thursday, the company reported a net income loss of $2.6 billion — or $1.58 per share — but highlighted the ample dry powder it’s ready to deploy. Distributable earnings were $557 million…

Architecture firm billings suffer record drop in March

Billings from architecture firms plummeted in March at a rate not seen in 25 years. The Architecture Billings Index dropped 20.1 points in March to a score of 33.3. Any score below 50 represents a decline. “This is by far the largest single month decline the index has seen in its nearly 25-year history, far surpassing the declines of 9.4 points seen at the start of the 2001…”

Remember that Casino Project in Edgewater? Saga Continues as Perez takes Legal Action

Famed local developer Jorge Perez, CEO of The Related Group, has taken his opposition to an approved Miami casino and jai alai fronton in Edgewater up a notch. The namesake behind the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) joined forces with Norman Braman, owner of the Braman car dealership chain, along with two Miami neighborhood homeowner associations to file a lawsuit that aims to block a settlement agreement between the owner…

Fannie, Freddie will buy loans in forbearance — for a pricey fee

Struggling mortgage firms have been thrown a lifeline. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday that firms saddled with loans they would usually offload can now sell them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Purchases of these previously ineligible loans will help provide liquidity to mortgage markets and allow originators to keep lending,” Mark Calabria…

Can You File a Business Interruption Insurance Claim to Survive COVID-19?

Does business interruption coverage provide protection during a pandemic? As commercial property owners and their tenants continue to seek new ways of coping in a COVID-19-weary world, they are looking at ways to recoup some of the losses incurred as a result of preventative shutdown and isolation measures. The post Can You File a Business… Interruption Insurance Claim to Survive COVID-19? appeared first on Commercial Real Estate South Florida….

Video: Integra CEO Anthony Graziano Discusses Their Viewpoint 2020 Reports: Office; Retail; Industrial; Multifamily; Hospitality

The CEO and Chairman of Integra Realty Resources, Anthony Graziano, appears on a commercial real estate show to discuss his firm’s (Integra’s) annual Viewpoint report. Topics include economist’s perspective on the economy, local and national market growth, and expected performance for the major commercial sectors. This is presented in two parts, the first concentrating more on office, retail, and industrial properties…

Retailers exposed: Who’s paying rent and who’s not

As commercial landlords receive requests for rent relief, discerning whether the call for help is driven by hardship or strategy has been weighing on many. A new report titled “Who’s paying rent and who’s not” provides some insight. It documents which national retail and restaurant chains paid rent and costs related to triple-net leases to landlords so far…

KAR Properties CEO Shahab Karmely: Don’t Be Too Cautious

As we navigate through the coronavirus crisis, KAR Properties CEO Shahab Karmely cautions people about one thing: being too cautious. “Some of the great real estate fortunes of today were built right after the global financial crisis,” he said on a Bisnow webinar Thursday. “I was like a deer in headlights in 2008, 2009, asking my mommy where my safety blanket was.”

REIT launches $2M rental assistance program

Long Island-based Arbor Realty Trust has launched a $2 million interest-free loan program for its borrowers’ tenants. The real estate investment trust, which is headquartered in Uniondale and is a multifamily and commercial lender, will contribute $1 million to the fund, representatives for the company said. Landlords — who must be Arbor borrowers to…

Co-working firms are still open. For some tenants, it’s a deal breaker.

Mark Macias took space at a WeWork office on Fifth Avenue “before anyone knew what WeWork was” — growing his eponymous public-relations firm from two employees to four, then six. But with the co-working giant keeping its U.S. locations open during the pandemic, Macias wants out. He’s one of many customers angry that WeWork is charging fees even though most…

Downtown-Florida International University transit pick due

A nearly three-year project to determine what rapid transit upgrade bests fits the route between downtown Miami and Florida International University is rolling toward the finish line –most likely on rubber tires. Today (4/23), the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization Governing Board is to choose the county’s preferred transit mode for…

Wreckage of Airport City may yield Miami International Airport hotel

A Brazilian construction giant whose mixed-use development at Miami International Airport (MIA) failed after years of planning may soon see one component find daylight. The project: Airport City, a 33.5-acre business park with hotel, office, retail and restaurants proposed by conglomerate Odebrecht. In 2016, negotiations with Miami-Dade soured amid issues…

How COVID-19 might change the insurance market

COVID-19 will change our world in many ways, some good and some bad. The same holds true for the insurance marketplace. While in the midst of the crisis, it is hard to predict, but the following considerations should be noted. Anita Byer is president of Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk Property policy and the corresponding business interruption coverage terms will…

Prologis granted rent relief to just 7% of tenants that asked

Prologis, one of the largest owners of industrial real estate, granted rent deferrals to just 7 percent of its tenants who asked for help because of the coronavirus. “This relief is targeted at our smaller customers with legitimate needs stemming from Covid and not for opportunistic requests,” said Chief Investment Officer Gene Reilly, speaking at Tuesday’s first…

Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s $1B loan enters special servicing

The $975 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan for Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Miami Beach has entered special servicing, presenting new challenges for Miami-Dade County’s largest resort. The CMBS loan is backed by 846 hotel rooms at 4441 Collins Avenue. It went into special servicing on March 30, according to data provider Trepp. Brett…

“We had to turn investors away:” Distressed RE funds raising cash at breakneck pace

The coronavirus pandemic has put billions of dollars worth of commercial real estate loans on shaky ground. Distressed debt funds are having no trouble raising money to scoop them up. Some even have to turn investors away. Florida-based firm Kayne Anderson just raised $1.3 billion for a distressed debt fund in just two weeks. It normally takes…

The Saudis have made a major bet on Related

Related’s Stephen Ross and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Bin Salman Al-Saud Stephen Ross’ Related Companies has landed a major investment from the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund controlled by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, according to a new report. Related closed on the deal with PIF in the first week of February…

Video: Integra CEO Anthony Graziano Discusses Their Viewpoint 2020 Reports: Office; Retail; Industrial; Multifamily; Hospitality

Office, Retail, and Industrial: Multifamily and Hospitality: The CEO and Chairman of Integra Realty Resources, Anthony Graziano, appears on a commercial real estate show to discuss his firm’s (Integra’s) annual Viewpoint report. Topics include economist’s perspective on the economy, local and national market growth, and expected performance for the…

The decline in industrial production: One for the ages

On Tuesday, April 15, the Federal Reserve released the industrial production (IP) index for March. You have to go to the very far right data point in the FRED graph to see it, but industrial activity plunged in March because of the economic effects stemming from social-distancing orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of businesses have closed or been disrupted…

Industrial sector is rare commercial real estate bright spot

The industrial sector appears to be the only asset class in commercial real estate poised to weather a devastating downturn caused by the coronavirus, said Rebel Cole, Ph.D., a finance professor in Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business. Rebel Cole, Ph.D., a finance professor in Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business Demand for distribution…

He’s back: Adam Neumann to sue SoftBank for bolting WeWork bailout

Adam Neumann isn’t going gently. The former WeWork CEO plans to sue the company’s chief financial backer, SoftBank, for pulling out of its $3 billion bailout deal, according to Bloomberg. Had that deal gone through, Neumann stood to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of his shares. SoftBank attorney Erik Olsen informed the board of We…

Struggling SoFla retail market faces $6B in CMBS payments

As South Florida’s shuttered retail market struggles due to the coronavirus pandemic, the industry faces billions of dollars in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt coming due. South Florida’s retail market has an outstanding CMBS loan balance of $6.3 billion, according to data provided by Trepp. It is the third highest CMBS exposure of any metro…

Russian Bay Harbor developers ran California cannabis business into the ground, lawsuit alleges

After he was sued for allegedly not repaying a $3 million loan, Sunny Isles Beach cannabis entrepreneur Paul King is accusing the Russian developers who lent him the money of ruining his California marijuana venture. Last week, King filed a lawsuit in California’s Monterey County against Roman Temkin and Dimitry Romantsoff, five other individuals and six…

“Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Catholicism without Hell”: These distressed-debt players are ready for a feast

“The firewood had been stacked,” Oaktree Capital Management said in a recent presentation to investors. And the coronavirus pandemic was the igniter. Companies had been levering up and it is time to take advantage of the situation, Oaktree said in its presentation, which was viewed by Bloomberg. Oaktree, which is majority-owned by Brookfield Asset…

Some retail landlords have collected just 15% of April rents: Report

Retail landlords and mall owners have collected just 15 percent of what they were owed (Credit: background by Erin Lefevre/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The fight over commercial rent payments looks like it may be ugly. So far in April, some retail landlords and mall owners have collected just 15 percent of what they were owed, according to Bloomberg, citing a Marcus…

5 things to know about supertall condo developer Michael Stern

JDS Development Group’s Michael Stern Michael Stern is one of the boldest luxury developers in the United States. Projects under his JDS Development Group include the skinny supertall at 111 West 57th Street and Walker Tower at 212 West 18th Street in New York City, and Monad Terrace and Echo Brickell in Miami. A new in-depth profile of Stern in the Financial…

Commercial Real Estate Tenant Bankruptcies: Issues and Strategies

This Article discusses the issues a landlord confronts when its commercial tenant files for bankruptcy protection. It also considers pre- and post-bankruptcy options available to a landlord to mitigate the impact of a tenant’s bankruptcy filing. Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code allows commercial tenants, as debtors, to take actions on their leases that…

9 Reasons to Invest in South Florida Commercial Real Estate

On a national and global level, Florida has historically been one of the strongest commercial real estate markets, with continually solid returns and safety for the capital of global & domestic investors. In fact, US News & World Report currently ranks Florida #2 in terms of fiscal stability and #9 with its economy nationwide. Within…

7 Key Metrics About the Miami Commercial Real Estate Market

Miami’s commercial real estate market offers a wide range of projects and property types due to its pivotal access as an Atlantic coastal town. Miami has distinct cultural influence as a transportation node between North America, Central America, South America, and Europe. It also possesses economic diversity with many opportunities illustrated by a variety of…

McDonald’s real estate strategy could help it weather storm

Fear not, America: The Golden Arches are positioned to endure the coronavirus pandemic. The real estate and franchising structure used by McDonald’s may provide more protection from the economic downturn than those of its rivals, according to National Real Estate Investor. The fast-food behemoth owns a good chunk of the real estate beneath its eateries…

Morgan Stanley on firm’s future: “Much less real estate”

In a terrible economy, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman appears to have found a silver lining. “We’ve proven we can operate with effectively no footprint,” Gorman told Bloomberg Television in an interview Thursday. The $60 billion investment bank has moved about 90 percent of its 80,000 employees to a work-from-home model, a process Gorman said had…

David Martin proposing mixed-use tower at Miami Beach Marina

Terra’s David Martin hopes to develop a 23-story tower at the Miami Beach Marina in the city’s South of Fifth neighborhood. Martin spoke before the city’s Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee on Friday, which met via video conference, kicking off a process that would require residents to eventually vote on ballot questions tied to extending and amending…

Bill seeks rent and mortgage forgiveness across U.S.

A Minnesota member of Congress is calling for a suspension of rent and mortgage obligations across the country through the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar on Friday proposed a bill that would cancel rent and mortgage payments starting April 1 until 30 days after the end of the federal state of emergency. The measure would create…

Fortune sues Chetrit over stalled Miami River project

The new development sales arm of Fortune International Group is suing the Chetrit Group for alleged breach of contract tied to the stalled Miami River development. Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune Development Group filed the lawsuit against CG Miami River LLC this week, alleging that it’s owed a $200,000 termination fee, plus other costs incurred. The Chetrit Group…

Hotel industry wants $10B stimulus carveout to avert “snowball effect” of foreclosures

Embattled hotel owners are looking for a $10 billion cut of the federal bailout package, after the government’s paycheck lifeline program dried up within a matter of days. Industry groups representing more than 55,000 hotels across the country asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to carve…

Private real estate investment deals tumble worldwide

The number of private real estate investment deals plunged worldwide last month, the latest example of the coronavirus’ all-consuming effect on the global economy. And so far, April has been even worse. Commercial real estate deals were down nearly 43 percent in March year over year, according to data from research firm Preqin. North America was…

Coronavirus portends a less dense world, Sam Chandan says

The coronavirus pandemic is causing the future of real estate to arrive ahead of schedule, according to Sam Chandan, dean of NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. Greater space between office workers. More working from home. Less business travel and fewer hotel rooms. And, most worrisome for places like New York City, perhaps a shift away from…

These are the real estate execs Trump tapped to help restart the economy

In a bid to restart the economy, President Trump this week tapped prominent business leaders from across industries to help advise him, including some of the highest-profile real estate executives in the country. The roster of names chosen to help steer the economy in a post-coronavirus world include longtime supporters of Trump’s presidential…

MV Group plans $26M Town Center Killian Park retail project

MV Group USA filed plans for a town center retail project in south Miami-Dade County. The Miami-based development firm and builder, led by Manny Varas, is proposing to build Town Center Killian Park, a 42,000-square-foot project on a 5-acre plot of land near the intersection of U.S. 1 and Killian Parkway, Varas said. His company is under contract to…

Banks get extraordiary 120-day deferrals on appraisals

In an extraordinary move meant to keep real estate lending flowing, regulators are permitting banks to move ahead with closing loans without having an appraisal completed in advance. Federal banking agencies released an interim ruling Tuesday that will allow financial institutions to temporarily close on certain commercial and residential loans without…

What to expect in the Main Street Lending Program

Through the Main Street Business Lending Program, the U.S. Treasury will make a $75 billion equity investment to enable up to $600 billion in new financing for medium-sized businesses. The program is designed for businesses with up to 10,000 employees or $2.5 billion in 2019 revenues. The program encompasses two types of loans, both with interest rates…

COVID-19’s impact on tenants, landlords and brokers

The commercial real estate industry was relatively unprepared to manage the COVID-19 crisis. Landlords, tenants, property managers and brokers have honed their skills and protocol with regard to natural disasters and terror attacks, but a worldwide health pandemic was in very few catastrophe plans and playbooks. Fortunately, we are a resilient…

Major South Florida airports get $378 million in funds, $207 Million for MIA

Federal grants to support airports will provide $207 million for Miami International Airport, $135 million for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and $36 million for Palm Beach International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration announced. “We are extremely pleased with the $207 million in relief funding for MIA,” said Miami-Dade County…

$2.3M Sale Arranged of Industrial Building in Opa-Locka

Lee & Associates has arranged the $2.3 million sale of a 32,897-square-foot industrial and office building in Opa-Locka. The property is situated at 4600 NW 128th Street, two miles from the 850,000-square-foot Amazon Mega Distribution Center and nine miles north of Miami International Airport. The building comprises 22,620 square feet of warehouse space and 10,277…

Private Lending Trends in South Florida

Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations ended 2019 with the strongest quarter on record since the second quarter of 2007, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. With a tax-friendly business environment and highly educated tenant pool, South Florida is a preferred destination for both investors and developers. Although it launched only…

Freddie Mac extends loan forbearance period on multifamily landlords

Freddie Mac is extending the forbearance period for multifamily borrowers and beefing up the eviction ban requirement for landlords who receive the relief. The program, which offers landlords forbearance on multifamily loans if they can show coronavirus-related hardship, will be extended to the end of the year or the end of the federal emergency period, whichever…

Video: PwC Partner Mitch Roschelle Discusses Coronavirus Impact on Economy, Commercial Property

The is significant and growing international concern with regard to the potential human and economic impact of coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19. Mitch Roschelle, Partner withPricewaterhouseCoopers , joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about how markets may react and in turn how commercial real estate might be impacted.

Video: Miami developers Perez, Karmely, Defortuna discuss economy, dealing with coronavirus

In this video prominent MIami area developers Jon Paul Perez of The Related Group, Edgardo Defortuna, and Shahab Karmely of KAR Properties discuss dealing with coronavirus with Amir Korangy of The Real Deal. Among the topics discussed are the things that most keep the awake at night, i.e. their biggest concerns, how they plan to move forward on…

Miami’s Small, Boutique Office Market Could Be Coronavirus-Resistant

The year was off to a sweet start for the Miami office market: 100K SF of positive absorption focused in downtown Miami and Brickell, much of that driven by move-ins of WeWork and Industrious, according to JLL. Icahn Enterprises moved into the penthouse in the new Milton Tower trophy office property at 16690 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach. The average…

US hotel occupancy inches down to 21%

The hotel industry’s nightmare continued last week as occupancy nationwide dipped to a meager 21 percent. The country’s occupancy rate for the week ending April 11 was one point worse than a week ago and 70 percent lower than a year ago, according to the hospitality data firm STR. Revenues per available room, or RevPAR, declined nearly 84 percent from…

Non-traded real estate investment trusts limit withdrawals amid investor rush to retrieve cash

Fund managers for non-traded REITs are limiting withdrawal amounts to maintain some liquidity and avoid having to sell assets at a loss (Credit: iStock) Thousands of people who poured billions of dollars into non-traded real estate investment trusts are now discovering that taking money out is a little more complicated. Many fund managers are limiting how much cash…

March retail sales plunge is worst on record

Last month saw the largest one-month drop in sales in three decades of record-keeping. March was the worst month for U.S. retailers on record. Sales dropped a stunning 8.7 percent from February as the coronavirus pandemic caused governments to close non-essential businesses, unemployment to skyrocket and millions to hunker down…

‘Pretty Catastrophic’ Month for Retailers, and Now a Race to Survive

“Total sales, which include retail purchases in stores and online as well as money spent at bars and restaurants, fell 8.7 percent from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The decline was by far the largest in the nearly three decades the government has tracked the data. Even that bleak figure doesn’t capture the full impact of the sudden…

Miami bankers work to pull out of economic slide, plan ahead

The effects of Covid-19 have reached far and deep, spanning the globe and impacting individuals and businesses, governments and organizations of all types and sizes. But while the hurt is universal, albeit of varying severity, how successfully localities recover from what many are calling the greatest crisis of our lifetime will depend on a variety of factors. Key to that…

Processing small business loan program should get smoother

While the distribution of government aid to small businesses has been cumbersome in Florida, the process should be running more smoothly in the coming days, said the top executive from Florida Bankers Association. Alex Sanchez, the CEO and president of the organization, said bankers have been working around the clock to serve businesses in need of the loan…

Two key recovery acts

Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act The $2 trillion CARES Act offers help to businesses, individuals, federal agencies, state governments and local governments. Here are some of its provisions: • Paycheck Protection Program: The $350 billion program encourages businesses to keep workers employed by providing government-backed loans from…

“Be very careful what you ask for,” top broker warns borrowers seeking relief

As thousands of commercial real estate borrowers look for help to make their monthly mortgage payments, they should do so cautiously. “We’re advising our borrowers, be very careful what you ask for,” warned Ackman Ziff Real Estate Group president Simon Ziff. “Make sure you can back it up and have a need for it, or you may find yourself in special [servicing]…

Knotel says one-third of members want rent relief

Roughly one-third of Knotel’s members are looking for a break on rent, the flex office space company disclosed Tuesday. As Knotel grapples with its own financial woes, the figure sheds light on the dilemma facing co-working firms: a sudden loss of income from tenants, including many small businesses, as the coronavirus pandemic keeps people home across the…

Starwood Gets $76M Loan For New Miami Beach HQ

When Starwood Capital Group moved its headquarters from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Miami Beach in 2018, it bought prime South Beach property from Avis, the rental car company. It has now secured financing to build a six-story headquarters for itself. A Starwood subsidiary has secured a $76.16M construction loan from Citizens Bank to build a 144K SF building…

Live Nation wants to renegotiate rents

Live Nation Entertainment is live music’s dominant force and among the biggest occupiers of space in the events business. But the company is now looking to make big spending cuts, including renegotiating on $2.3 billion in lease deals. The Beverly Hills-based company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that it hammered out a new…

Retail landlords are creating a blacklist of tenants who aren’t paying rent

While mom-and-pop retailers may be feeling the economic pain of coronavirus the hardest, some bigger companies have decided to forgo rent payments as well. But landlords aren’t buying it. Owners of malls and shopping centers have been putting together a “blacklist” of financially stable tenants that haven’t met their April rent obligations, the Wall Street…

How Will Lenders Respond to COVID-19?

Financial institutions face unprecedented measures in unprecedented times April 1 was a key milestone on everyone’s mind—the first date that many payments would be due in a COVID-19-weary world on lockdown. In the weeks leading up to that date, the Federal government negotiated, passed, and signed a monumental $2 trillion relief package. The post How Will…

Don Peebles: A leader’s role “is to look at things in balance”

Flattening the curve by keeping most of the country at home is what medical experts believe will allow the U.S. to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. But according to developer Don Peebles, doing so “with blinders on” will create an economic disaster that could be riskier than getting people back to work. “There are 17 million new unemployed Americans…

Only 20% of Related Group’s commercial tenants paid rent in April

Only 20 percent of the Related Group’s commercial tenants paid their rent in April, executive Jon Paul Pérez said during The Real Deal’s webinar on Friday. “If you get 20 percent you’re sort of happy and jumping up and down,” he said. About 90 percent of Related’s multifamily tenants paid rent, which Pérez said is much higher than the 50 percent the company…

Q&A – Commercial Real Estate Leasing – Remedies

Q.  If a tenant breaches the lease:  Are there any implied remedies available to the landlord, such as the acceleration of rent? Is there a limitation on the landlord’s ability to exercise self-help? Is there a common form of an eviction proceeding and, if so, what is the typical length of time for the proceeding? Are there specific mechanisms for expedited remedies…

Q&A – Commercial Real Estate Leasing – Rent and Security Deposits

Are there any legal restrictions on:  How much rent the landlord may charge? Whether certain operating expenses (or other additional rent) may be passed through to the tenant? Maximum Rent Under Florida law, there are no restrictions on the rent a landlord may charge on commercial leases. Operating Expenses There is no limit to the operating expenses…

Mounting bills could mean a wave of restaurant closures this summer

Many restaurant owners who’ve been forced to close their businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic wonder if they’ll be able to hold out long enough to re-open. Bills are mounting and many worry they won’t be able to pay up even with support through the federal government’s massive $2 trillion stimulus package, according to Bloomberg. That could mean…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Quarterly Market Report 1st Quarter 2020

The Miami industrial market starts Q1 2020 with a 4.7% vacancy rate and $12.53 per SF average (gross) lease rate. There was 1.4 million SF of positive absorption over the past 12 months, with deliveries totaling 3.7 million SF in the same time. Two significant deals include leases signed by Home Depot with a move-in date of September 2020 with 1.1 million SF in the…

Office Tenants of All Sizes Are Asking for Rent Relief. Some Institutional Owners Are Offering Them Deferrals

With the COVID-19 shutdown interrupting business operations across a large swaths of industries, office tenants have begun seeking rent relief. For example, Kenneth S. Fields, Los Angeles attorney at law firm Greenberg Glusker, says his office tenant clients are asking if they can stop paying rent, and landlord clients are seeking advice on what to do if tenants stop paying.

Money, forbearance, and evictions: Landlords want it all from Washington

Trade groups representing the biggest residential players have asked the federal government for an array of relief measures, while also requesting the right to keep evicting renters. In an April 7 letter addressed to the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Congress, a dozen landlord and developer groups called for the creation of an emergency rental assistance…

South Florida contractors on edge over threats of shutdown

Gov. Ron DeSantis (Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Construction firms across South Florida are on edge over threats of a shutdown. Earlier this week, Miami Beach shut down construction sites for failing to follow social distancing guidelines, issuing stop work orders for two commercial projects. At the same time, the city of Miami issued an emergency order…

Missed loan payments to approach Great Recession levels: Fitch

Missed loan payments will approach Great Recession highs, a new report finds (Credit: iStock, Getty Images) Missed loan payments are expected to approach Great Recession levels in the third quarter of 2020, part of the continuing fallout from a U.S. economy that remains virtually frozen. The hotel and retail sectors are expected to have the highest delinquency…

South Florida property owners offer free rent in April, May

Some South Florida landlords are going beyond rent deferments and case-by-case deals, as the majority of tenants struggle to make rent this month and next. William Kakon, who owns 14 retail and multifamily properties in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, is forgiving rent for his commercial and residential tenants in April and May, plus creating a fund for families…

These US real estate titans made Forbes’ billionaires list

From left: Donald Trump, Jane Goldman of Solil Management, Jorge Perez of Related Group, Stephen Ross of Related Companies, Jeff Greene, Brian Chesky of Airbnb, Sam Zell of Equity Group Investments, Jeff Sutton of Wharton Properties with Adam Neumann, former WeWork CEO. More than 2,000 people — and hundreds of U.S. real estate titans — cracked Forbes…

Weiss Group scores $21M loan for mixed-use project near MIA

David Eyzenberg and a rendering of Towers at Blue Lagoon Weiss Group of Companies scored $21.3 million in bridge financing to build a mixed-use, multifamily and hotel project at the Blue Lagoon office complex near Miami International Airport. The financing will replace an existing bridge loan and fund predevelopment costs for the Kobi Karp-designed Towers at…

Eyzenberg & Co. Arranges $21.3M Construction Loan for Mixed-Use Development in Miami

Eyzenberg & Co. has arranged a $21.3 million construction loan for the Towers at Blue Lagoon, a planned mixed-use development featuring a multifamily community and hotel space. The borrower and developer, the Weiss Group of Cos., will build Phase I of the project to include 428 multifamily units across two buildings. The property will offer studio…

Fed ramps up lending with new $2.3 trillion program

The Federal Reserve is injecting an additional $2.3 trillion in loans to bolster a frozen economy, which continues to be on lockdown as the spread of the coronavirus accelerates. Thursday’s financing announcement came as the U.S. Department of Labor reported that another 6.6 million Americans filed jobless claims last week. That figure was down from the adjusted prior…

Norman Braman, Jorge Perez and homeowner groups sue to stop Edgewater jai alai facility

Billionaire auto dealer Norman Braman and developer Jorge Perez have teamed up with two Miami homeowner groups to file a lawsuit aimed at short-circuiting a settlement agreement between the city of Miami and the owner of Magic City Casino. It’s their latest effort to derail plans for a jai alai fronton on land in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood…

Hotels Are Being Impacted by COVID-19. What Can Owners and Lenders Do to Limit the Fallout?

COVID-19 is causing tangible disruption throughout the hotel industry. Daily decreases in travel and cancellations of meetings lead to quick drops in occupancy, followed by hotel pricing decreases (often irrational) that further exacerbate market jitters. A hotel market rate and occupancy shopping app, MSight, estimated downtown Los Angeles hotels had a…

Pandemic may bring the end of the office as we know it

If and when you return to your office after the novel coronavirus pandemic, you’ll probably notice some differences. Upon entering your building, the doors may open automatically so you don’t have to touch the handles. Before you board your elevator, you might tell the elevator where you’d like to go, rather than pressing the many buttons within the elevator.