Procacci sells two office buildings near Dolphin Mall for $29M

Procacci Development Corp. sold two office buildings in Sweetwater for a combined price of $29.3 million. Boca Raton-based Procacci Development sold the buildings at 11430 Northwest 20th Street and 11410 Northwest 20th Street, near Dolphin Mall, to New York-based Innovatus Capital Partners, according to records. Procacci Development sold the 88,484-square-foot…

Innovatus Capital Partners Buys Miami Office Portfolio

Innovatus Capital Partners has acquired Dolphin Corporate Park, a two-building Class A office portfolio in Doral, Fla. Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets negotiated the deal on behalf of the seller, Procacci Development Corp. The deal comes days after Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the $510 million refinancing of a historical Manhattan skyscraper. The 164,509…

Musician Pitbull, Miami Mayor Use Paramount Miami Worldcenter to Signal 10 p.m. Curfew

With Miami under a citywide curfew since March 27 to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, musician Pitbull and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez have teamed up to help Miami residents know when 10 p.m. strikes and the city’s curfew goes into effect. The curfew ends at 5 a.m. daily. The side of the recently delivered Paramount Miami Worldcenter, a 700-foot condo…

Video: CCIM Chief Economist K.C. Conway on the Impact of Coronavirus on Economy, Commercial Real Estate

The Federal Reserve reduced rates by 50 basis points, and the stock market is soaring, well, today. The media is scaring everyone about the coronavirus. Numbers of events are being canceled. Companies are lowering their earning expectations. Should we be concerned? In this video from America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, CCIM Senior Economist…

Miami Beach orders 57 Ocean and Hotel 18 construction sites to shut down

5775 Collins Avenue and 1775 James Avenue The city of Miami Beach issued stop work orders at 57 Ocean and Hotel 18’s construction sites, saying they failed to comply with safety regulations during the Covid-19 emergency period. Miami Beach Associates LLC was issued the stop work order for the 57 Ocean project at 5775 Collins Avenue, after an inspection on Monday.

Not so fast, vultures: Multifamily among better “food groups” poised to weather pandemic

Lightstone’s David Lichtenstein would like to make one thing clear: Not all property classes are in immediate peril. “Read my lips: You are not going to see distress in multifamily,” he said during a TRD Talks Live panel discussion on Tuesday. “Everybody listening who thinks ‘this is my opportunity to sharpen my claws. I’m a hedge fund, and I’m going to find…

How the coronavirus could change the office of the future

When the coronavirus crisis subside, offices could do away with hot-desking (Credit: iStock) Most people around the globe have wondered what long-term impacts the coronavirus pandemic could have on their jobs, the economy, and culture. The verdict is very much out on all those fronts, but some in the real estate industry are already planning for a big change…

Mortgage forbearance surged on April 1: report

As tenants struggle to pay rent, homeowners are struggling to make mortgage payments. The rates of mortgages in forbearance surged April 1 to 2.66 percent from 0.25 percent at the start of March, according to Bloomberg. It comes as Moody’s Analytics’ chief economist expects that up to 30 percent of homeowners may stop making mortgage payments.

Hotel occupancy rate across US drops to 22%

The coronavirus pandemic continued to batter the U.S. hotel market in the first week of April. The national hotel occupancy rate plunged to 21.6 percent for the week ending April 4, a nearly 69 percent drop from the same time last year, according to data from hotel research firm STR. The rate for the last week of March was 22.6 percent. For the top…

Troubled RedSky lists Miami Design District portfolio

RedSky Capital’s entire Miami Design District portfolio, encompassing 14 buildings with 125,000 square feet of space, is hitting the market as the troubled Brooklyn-based development group seeks to sell much… The listed properties include 1, 10, 28, 35, 40, 50, and 56 NE 40th Street, 3925 and 3995 N Miami Avenue, and 19, 21, 45, 53, 55, 75, and 81 NE 39th Street.

Early April sees 15% drop in rent-paying nationwide: report

Only 69 percent of tenants paid rent in the first five days of April — a 12-point drop from the same period last month. From March 1-5, some 81 percent of tenants paid at least some rent, and the figure was 82 percent in the initial days of April a year ago over the 13.4 million rental apartments tracked by several data firms, the National…

Starwood scores $76M construction loan for Miami Beach HQ

Starwood Capital Group scored a $76 million loan to build its new headquarters in Miami Beach. The investment firm, led by Barry Sternlicht, secured the loan from Citizens Bank for its planned six-story office building at 2340 Collins Avenue, records show. The company received its notice of commencement from Miami-Dade County in September to start…

Boom’s over, but industrial brokers keep busy

Soon after Gov. Andrew Cuomo put New York’s strict social distancing rules in place, industrial broker Thomas Donovan’s phone stopped ringing. It was a sudden shift in what had been one of real estate’s hottest sectors. But in recent days, Donovan said, folks have begun sniffing around again for space. “We have seen people that we’re speaking to say…

Silicon Valley heads to Wynwood’s office market

Wynwood has changed quickly from the early 2000s, when it was home to a number of galleries that came alive the second Saturday of the month, to an established tourist destination with an active nightlife scene. Today, it has residents and short-term rentals, restaurants, breweries and bars, and hotels on the way. Now, it’s also emerging as a new office submarket in…

Rent In The Time Of Coronavirus: Tips for CRE Landlords and Tenants

Proactive advice for landlords and tenants who are navigating the COVID-19 crisis As soon as the coronavirus began its relentless march around the world, one phrase was repeated by world leaders, experts, local officials, and neighbors: “We’re all in this together.” In many ways, that sentiment applies as we all try to negotiate the economic impacts of the COVID-19…

State accelerates Signature Bridge and related projects

Miami’s notoriously crowded streets have become the road less traveled with the sweeping impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. With most businesses, stores and shops shut down and social distancing being preached and practiced, the highways and byways are seeing meager traffic in comparison with the bumper-to-bumper of not so long ago. The governor…

Miami looks at trolley reorganization after coronavirus siege lifts

The reworking of the countywide transportation network is in its third phase, and the City of Miami administration has weighed in on the proposed realignment of its trolley system, albeit without much force. In an interoffice memo, signed by City Manager Art Noriega and directed to Mayor Francis Suarez and commissioners, the administration makes…

A quarter of Prologis’ tenants request a break on rent. Most won’t get it

Hamid Moghadam Even the booming industrial real estate sector isn’t immune from the effects of the pandemic. Prologis, one of the biggest logistics real estate companies in the world, announced this week that nearly a quarter of its tenants are seeking rent relief. On average, 24 percent of tenants are requesting 69 days of rent relief, Prologis chief…

Congress fixed tax code “retail glitch” and gave real estate a tax windfall

SReal estate owners can thank a fix to the “retail glitch” — rectified in the $2 trillion economic bailout — for a new tax windfall. The economic stimulus package that the federal government passed last month corrected what is widely considered to be a drafting error from President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which allowed businesses to write off the costs…

Coronavirus distress is “opportunity of the century” for real estate investors

As the coronavirus crisis sends property values tumbling, funds focused on opportunistic and distressed-asset investments sense a greater opportunity than that seen during the 2008 financial crisis. (Credit: iStock) As the coronavirus crisis sends property values tumbling, real estate investors sense an even greater buying opportunity than the 2008 financial crisis.

WeWork sues SoftBank for scrapping $3B bailout

It’s official — WeWork is suing its biggest backer. And this probably won’t be the last time. The embattled co-working giant is alleging that SoftBank wrongfully pulled out of an agreement to buy $3 billion worth of WeWork shares. That infusion would have helped stabilize WeWork as it worked to rebound from its failed IPO, as it faces a wave…

Must do’s and need-to-knows for SBA stimulus loans

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench in the world’s economy, specifically impacting small businesses, where day-to-day operations have been stunted, if not completely halted.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is an economic aid stimulus package which was formulated by the federal government and signed into law to…

Related’s Blau on tenants with cash: “It’s their obligation to pay”

With a $97 billion real estate portfolio, Related Companies faced a reckoning this month. But after bracing for a major loss of rental income, Related CEO Jeff Blau said “the results have been pretty good so far.” Read more Landlords brace for impact of pandemic With curfews and public assembly restrictions, what will happen to malls? For US retailers…

SoFla prepares for flood of foreclosures and evictions after governor’s freeze

With hundreds of Floridians losing their jobs on a daily basis and the economy on crutches, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended evictions and foreclosures for a period of 45 days. But experts say it is far from enough. The move, announced on Thursday, allows homeowners and renters to stay in their homes if they can’t pay their mortgages or rent due to Covid-19.

Peebles Files $585M Suit Calling ‘Shenanigans’ On Miami Project That Slipped Away

Developer Don Peebles is suing a business rival, accusing him of conspiring with Miami city officials to ice Peebles out of a project in Miami’s historically black neighborhood, Overtown. His lawsuit hints at backroom dealing and alleges criminal activity by one city Community Redevelopment Agency. But the defendants say Peebles backed out of the deal voluntarily…

Real estate and retail shutdowns drive economic slump

The economic slowdown that is throttling the U.S. has seen economic output drop by three-quarters in some industries, including food services and arts and entertainment. In the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the coronavirus-caused slowdown is most acute in the real estate and retail sectors, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a…

How will hotels and retailers survive until their customers come back?

Most stores throughout the state, such as Bergdorf Goodman, are closed indefinitely by executive order as the coronavirus pandemic ravages New York City. By early March, Terminal 1 of John F. Kennedy Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, was nearly a ghost town. The novel coronavirus was sweeping East Asia and spreading around the world…

Bernie Sanders calls for rent, mortgage freeze

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is calling for a freeze on rent and mortgage payments as part of the next federal relief package. Sanders urged Congress on Friday to suspend monthly expenses, including rent, mortgage payments, medical debt and consumer debt collection, for four months, as part of a list of priorities he believes legislators should include…

Nation’s biggest department stores could run out of funds in a month: Goldman Sachs

While experts debate how long the economy will be shut down, some major department stores and apparel retailers have as little as one month’s worth of funds to tough it out. Major department stores like Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Macy’s could run out of capital within a month, according to a liquidity “stress…

Tenants Should Be Fully Transparent With Financials To Get Fairest Deal When Renegotiating Leases

This week, the No. 1 topic among real estate professionals everywhere is how rents will play out this month and beyond. “The goal here is sum zero,” said Vagabond Group CEO Avra Jain, known for trendy, adaptive reuse projects and affordable housing initiatives. If a landlord gets paid by tenants, then he or she should in turn pay mortgage obligations, she…

AvalonBay partners with Mast Capital on mixed-use project near Coral Gables

AvalonBay Communities purchased a stake in a mixed-use apartment project near the Collection luxury car dealership in Coral Gables. Property records show an affiliate of AvalonBay paid $12.9 million for the property at 3811 Shipping Avenue in Miami. Mast Capital is a joint venture partner with AvalonBay, according to a source. Coconut Grove-based Mast Capital…

Flex office startup Industrious slashes a third of its workforce

Industrious is the latest flexible-office startup to make significant cuts to its workforce. The company laid off 90 employees, or 20 percent of its total staff, in addition to reducing hours and imposing furloughs on another 10 percent, Commercial Observer reported. Most of the cuts were in the company’s design, real estate development and finance departments.

Florida governor freezes evictions and foreclosures for 45 days

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended evictions and foreclosures for a period of 45 days in Florida in an emergency order issued late Thursday. DeSantis is providing the relief to single-family homeowners throughout the state, as people struggle to pay their bills during the pandemic. The state’s unemployment system has become overwhelmed with filings from…

Thousands of CRE borrowers call on banks for debt relief

The number of commercial real estate borrowers who requested debt relief during the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. has lurched to 2,600, with borrowers against hotel and retail assets among the most asking for help, one ratings agency found. The borrowers represent some $49.1 billion of mortgage loans, according to new findings from Fitch Ratings…

What the $2 trillion stimulus does for real estate

“In moments of crisis,” the legendary developer Big Bill Zeckendorf was fond of saying, “one’s world tends to become simplified.” Even those with big dreams (pretty much every successful real estate professional) get down to the basics: survival. This is a crisis unlike any we’ve ever seen. The world has stopped. “It’s the first time ever that we’ve had a chain of supply…

WeWork asks landlords to cut rent bill as SoftBank abandons bailout

SoftBank is abandoning plans to buy $3 billion of WeWork shares from investors, a major blow to the company as it struggles to stabilize during the pandemic. The announcement was made to a board committee Wednesday evening, according to The New York Times. WeWork’s former CEO, Adam Neumann, is among the shareholders who will no…

Developer Moishe Mana is getting into the dairy business

Real estate investor and developer Moishe Mana is adding a new business to his portfolio: dairy production. Mana’s Mana Saves McArthur was named the winning bidder of Dean Foods’ South Florida facilities, including the McArthur Dairy plant at 6821 Northeast Second Avenue in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, and distribution centers in West Palm Beach and…

Pelosi proposes SALT rollback in next stimulus

Ahead of another stimulus package to address the coronavirus pandemic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly considering a retroactive rollback of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. The $10,000 cap went into effect in 2018 as part of President Donald Trump’s 2017 sweeping tax overhaul. A Democrat-led effort to repeal it in 2019 was unsuccessful.

“They don’t deserve rent”: Tenants weigh rent strikes as landlords plan for the worst

Tenants and landlords are preparing for what to do when tenants do not pay rent this month. (Credit: iStock) April rent checks are due today, but tenants in cities across the U.S. say they won’t pay, either due to economic hardship or to increase leverage for political demands. In California, Illinois, New York and Missouri, organizers are urging tenants to pay…

Miami hotels see 60% drop in room rates

Hotels across the country — including the Plaza Hotel in New York and Chateau Marmont in LA — have shuttered and laid off and furloughed staffers. (Credit: Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images; iStock) The picture for the country’s hotels continued to grow ever worse last week, as more than three quarters of the nation’s…

Sergio Pino re-opens construction site after workers test positive for Covid-19

Days after shutting down his construction site after workers tested positive for Covid-19, developer Sergio Pino said the project is open again. Pino, who has been pushing for a shutdown of construction in South Florida, said there is a limited crew on the site at 850 LeJeune Road, near Miami International Airport. About 40 workers are on site out of about 220…

Carlos Mattos’ family buys Hialeah assemblage for $8M

The family of Colombian businessman Carlos Mattos bought an assemblage in Hialeah for $8 million. Nisa Navarro LLC, controlled by Isabella and Nicolas Mattos, purchased seven parcels at 802 East 25th Street from 4th Avenue Developer LLC, led by Daniel Abreu, records show. The property totals 58,362 square feet, equating to a price of $137 per square foot…

Related, Shoma, PGIM sell Doral apartments for $100 million amid coronavirus pandemic

The Related Group, Shoma Group and PGIM Real Estate Investors sold The Flats Apartments at CityPlace Doral for $100 million, marking the largest deal to close in South Florida during the coronavirus pandemic. Harbor Group International paid $330,000 per unit for the two-tower, 303-unit multifamily development at 3555 Northwest 83rd Avenue in Doral.

Strategic Storage Acquires Miami-Area Asset

Strategic Storage Growth Trust II, a private trust affiliated with SmartShop Self Storage REIT, has acquired a 91,400-net-rentable-square-foot facility in Homestead, Fla. A joint venture between Angelo Gordon and Andover Properties sold the asset, according to public records. The seller… Located on 3 acres at 1235 NE 12th Avenue in Homestead, the 970-unit property…

WeWork offers rent discounts as incentive to secure long-term leases

WeWork has reportedly offered some customers generous discounts on their rent if they agree to sign long-term lease agreements. The co-working giant made the offers to reduce the number of cancellations during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter. WeWork regularly uses price adjustments as incentives for its…

AMLI launches leasing of massive Midtown Miami project during pandemic

Apartment developer AMLI is launching pre-leasing of its massive Midtown Miami project, offering virtual tours due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Chicago-based multifamily giant is completing construction of AMLI Midtown Miami, a 719-unit complex at 3000 Northeast Second Avenue, near Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Monthly asking rents for studio…

North Miami offers grants to business owners hurt by coronavirus

Struggling small business owners in North Miami who are severely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak may be able get some help. The North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (NMCRA) has created two emergency relief grant programs for North Miami businesses. In one grant initiative, the city is offering 25 North Miami businesses grants up to…

Brightline reborn a Virgin: Some key numbers ahead of the train’s rebranding

Brightline passenger train in West Palm Beach Brightline completed its first full year of express rail passenger service linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in 2019. Enjoying growth in revenue over that time, the company is moving ahead with development of commercial and residential properties along the railroad’s route. Brightline launched…

$5 billion Miami International Airport upgrade bonds head to vote

Miami International Airport’s (MIA) $5 billion capital improvement work is already underway, and after several delays, OK of bonds to fund the 15-year job may finally take flight Tuesday. Whether the airline industry’s massive coronavirus hit factors into the decision remains to be seen. Lawmakers last year OK’d the program to overhaul Miami-Dade’s greatest economic…

More major retailers furlough employees, withhold rent

The retail bloodbath continued Tuesday as more major chain retailers said they would furlough employees, suspend rent and institute executive-level pay cuts to get through the coronavirus crisis. The parent company of Urban Outfitters, for instance, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it was furloughing a “substantial number of store…”

The Cheesecake Factory Tells Landlords Across the Country It Won’t Be Able to Pay Rent on April 1

The Cheesecake Factory, one of the most popular sit-down restaurant chains in the country, says it will not be able to make upcoming rent payments for any of its storefronts on April 1 because of significant loss of income due to the coronavirus crisis. The Calabasas Hills-based company informed all of its landlords in a letter dated March 18 (reproduced below) that a severe…

Airbnb announces relief package. Some hosts say it’s not enough

Once again, Airbnb is in damage control. After facing backlash from hosts for changing its cancellation policy in response to Covid-19 — offering guests full refunds without penalties — the startup’s CEO has announced a relief package and issued an apology. “I’m sorry that we communicated this decision to guests without consulting you—like partners should,” Brian…

Retail rout continues as Simon furloughs a third of employees

Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall owner, is furloughing 30 percent of its workforce, the latest in a wave of coronavirus-related layoffs and furloughs in the battered retail industry. Among those furloughed are employees at Simon’s Indianapolis headquarters and at malls and outlet centers across the country, according to CNBC, which first reported the…

Homeland Security says real estate is “essential business”

As the real estate industry remains split on whether the services it provides are “essential” during a pandemic, one federal agency has weighed in with an emphatic “yes.” Workers in both residential and commercial real estate, including settlement services and government workers who facilitate mortgage and real estate deals, were included in a “Essential Critical…”

Evictions put on hold in South Florida

All three South Florida counties have put evictions on hold amid the pandemic as Gov. Ron DeSantis consider a move statewide. The move could provide some comfort to renters as April 1 arrives on Wednesday, which is when rental payments are typically due. The Miami-Dade Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Department and Palm Beach Sheriff’s…

Major shopping center owner offers relief for tenants

Publix has purchased a lot of the shopping center real estate it occupies, which is turning in to a major bonus for its tenants these days. Publix announced it is offering rent relief to businesses operating in Publix-owned shopping centers that have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The relief package includes waiving rent for two months, as well as waiving…

Publix Is Offering Rent Relief To Tenants In Its Plazas

One of the South’s most prominent grocers, Lakeland, Florida-based Publix, is offering rent relief to tenants in the 282 shopping plazas that it owns of its 1,243 locations across seven states. “Rent relief assistance is being offered as we understand that these are unprecedented times, and smaller businesses, who are tenants to Publix, may need additional assistance as…

Miami Attorney Executes ‘Funky’ Air Rights Deal for Downtown Apartments

Downtown Miami has very little available land, but that’s not stopping developers from getting creative by planning towers above existing low-rise buildings under air right deals. That’s how Grand Station Partners LLC found room for its 31-story multifamily project on a coveted location on the southwest corner of Miami Avenue and Northeast Third Street south of….

Retail Along Miami’s 36th Street Trades for More Than $2 Million

An 8,978-square-foot, two-story retail property at 3410 Northwest 36th Street and 3450 Northwest 36th Street. in Miami with several buildings constructed in 1948 and 1955, according to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s office. The entire property is roughly three-quarters of an acre, including a 13,500-square-foot parking lot.

EB-5 is back in the doghouse

EB-5 was left out of Congress’ $2 trillion federal stimulus package bill, crushing developers’ hopes of getting cheap financing as real estate deals come to a halt. The federal program that allows foreign investors the ability to obtain a U.S. green card in exchange for an investment in a U.S. business was not mentioned in the stimulus package that passed Congress on Friday.

Miami-Dade, city of Miami suspend permitting and inspections

Miami-Dade suspended the county’s building code functions in unincorporated areas, including plan review, permitting, inspections and completions, as more employees have tested positive for Covid-19. The city of Miami followed the county on Monday, announcing it was suspending building inspections for existing properties effective Tuesday. The county…

Publix to offer rent relief to retail tenants

Publix has become the latest landlord to offer rent relief to its retail tenants due to the impacts of Covid-19. The Lakeland-based grocery store giant is waiving rent for two months for businesses operating at Publix-owned shopping centers, according to a press release. Publix is also waiving two months of payments for common area maintenance fees and taxes.

Berger Commercial Realty Sells Cypress Creek Corporate Corridor Building

The Cypress Creek Center, among the most desirable buildings in the popular Cypress Creek corporate corridor, was sold for $4.8 million on March 11. Berger Commercial Realty/CORFAC Senior Vice President Steve Hyatt and Vice President Brian Batchelder represented the seller, Bright Angel, Inc. Previously, Berger Commercial Realty represented the seller…

Coronavirus casts shadow over commercial real estate

Trade war hangovers, election year jitters and the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that sent shockwaves through the equity markets and predictions of an ugly global slowdown: Welcome to 2020. The verdict is still out on how bad and deep this first-quarter macro pummeling will be, but South Florida’s office market is still boiling with leasing, sales and development…

Government office closures stop commercial deals in their tracks

Physical copies of paperwork is needed for most commercial real estate deals Broad economic anxiety isn’t all that’s tamping down on commercial real estate deals these days. States and municipalities across the country are shuttering document recording offices to contain the spread of COVID-19 and that means parties can’t close deals, according to Commercial Observer.

11 Reasons to Invest in Florida Commercial Real Estate

Disclaimer: This is a post from 2018 that has been updated to reflect Florida’s current economic and demographic data. Some of the figures (such as current unemployment rates) will surely change in the coming weeks / months due to the effect of Covid-19 on the global and local economy.  Florida is not just a sunny paradise…

Michael Shvo on the Bible, Batman and why NYC will bounce back

After seven months of due diligence, developer Michael Shvo bet on New York real estate emerging from the coronavirus pandemic last week — by making an offer to buy a building on Fifth Avenue. “What we’re facing now — we don’t know the end of this, but we know eventually there will be an end,” he said. With the global economy in limbo, Shvo spoke with The…

South Florida lenders and landlords battle new coronavirus reality

As businesses shutter across South Florida and unemployment skyrockets to record highs, landlords are facing a difficult dilemma: How to offer rent deferrals to tenants and at the same time pay their mortgages? Landlord Shane Neman said he has offered deferrals to commercial tenants, but claims two of his lenders have yet to give him final guidance on whether…

WeWork to miss 2020 targets because of coronavirus

WeWork says it won’t be hitting its targets this year because of the coronavirus. In a letter to bondholders, CEO Sandeep Mathrani and Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure wrote they no longer expect to meet their 2020 targets, Bloomberg reported. The co-working firm’s gloomy outlook came in a lengthy footnote to the letter. “We are in the process…”

Fed to mall and hotel owners: Drop dead

The central bank’s multi-trillion-dollar intervention to help companies facing a credit crunch leaves struggling malls, hotels and other properties out in the cold. Earlier this week the Federal Reserve announced it would launch an unprecedented program to buy up corporate bonds so companies hurt by the coronavirus pandemic will have money to borrow. But the…

House passes $2 trillion stimulus package

After a brief procedural hiccup, Congress’ $2 trillion economic stimulus package is on its way to the desk of President Trump. U.S. Representatives raced back to Washington on Friday to pass the coronavirus response measure by voice vote after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie threatened to hold up the bill by a…

Lennar scores $45M construction loan for Wynwood apartment project

A subsidiary of Lennar scored a $44.8 million construction loan for an apartment project on the former site of Wynwood Yard. The Miami-based company secured the loan from Santander Bank to construct the 11-story, 189-unit apartment… The property is at 48, 56, 64, 70, 82, 90 and 98 Northwest 29th Street, as well as 63 Northwest 28th Street, i Wynwood…

Video: Discussing COVID-19 Implications with Michael Shvo, Developer with Big Plans for Miami Beach’s Raleigh Hotel

In this COVID-19 social distancing policy compliant remote interview done by TRD’s Amir Korangy, Michael Shvo, CEO of SHVO, a real estate development company based in New York City with additional offices in London and Dubai, and highly active in Miami, discusses the implications of COVID-19 on commercial real estate and lifestyles overall. The core of…

Real estate investors will get $170B windfall from bailout package

Tucked inside the federal government’s massive economic rescue package is a $170 billion windfall for real estate investors. Washington’s $2 trillion bill is a provision that allows investors to write down the depreciation on properties beyond the previous limit of $500,000 a year, the New York Times reported. According to a draft congressional analysis, it’s the…

Stay home, folks: Miami-Dade joins Broward with safer at home order

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued a safer at home order, urging residents and visitors to stay home, as officials try to contain the spread of Covid-19. The order comes hours after Broward County put out a similar one. In Miami-Dade and Broward, residents and visitors can only travel to essential businesses, including grocery stores and pharmacies.

Sergio Pino shuts down construction site near MIA after workers test positive for Covid-19

Sergio Pino and rendering of 850 LeJeune Developer Sergio Pino shut down his construction site near Miami International Airport after two workers tested positive for Covid-19. Pino’s Century Homebuilders Group informed its general contractors, Wechsler Construction and Conconcreto, to stop work on the 850 LeJeune mixed-use project this morning, Pino said.

Shoma nabs $18M construction loan for condos near Lincoln Road

Shoma Group closed on a construction loan for Ten30 South Beach, a condo project near Lincoln Road with units starting in the $400,000s. Shoma, led by CEO Masoud Shojaee, secured a $17.6 million loan from Acres Capital Corp., a New York-based balance sheet lender. The financing closed on Wednesday, amid the coronavirus pandemic. The developer launched…

Shoma Group Closes $17.6 Million Construction Loan for Condominium Development in Miami’s South Beach Market

South Florida developer Shoma Group announced today that they have closed on a $17.6 million construction loan for Ten30 South Beach. New York-based ACRES Capital Corp. served as the lender. “We are very proud to secure construction financing with ACRES Capital for Ten30 South Beach as we step closer to delivering this compelling project to Miami Beach…”

Centennial Bank Issues $33M for South Miami Student Housing

A South Miami student housing project rising near the University of Miami just got a $33.25 million boost. Developer Treo Group LLC secured the senior construction loan from Centennial Bank for VOX Miami, a transit-oriented development with student housing and a separate office building.
Centennial Southeast Florida division president J.C. de Ona and senior…

Virgin Trains USA’s Impact On SoFlo CRE

For developers, it’s all aboard. When it comes to commercial real estate, railroads have long been considered a development incubator. Capable of moving people and goods across all distances, rail is a big reason why East Coast cities boomed, why the west was won, and why Henry Flagler was able to attract tourists and developers to South Florida. Wherever a…

Video: Costar Director of U.S. Office Analytics Michael Roessle Discusses Office Property Performance

In this two part video series, Michael Roessle, Director of United States Office Analytics with CoStar, a leading provider of information, analytics and marketing services to the commercial property industry, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about office property market performance. Among the topics discussed are absorption, growth…

Del Valle Brands Inks New 126,000-SF Industrial Lease In Medley

TRE represented the landlord, Seagis Property Group, in a new, long-term industrial lease totaling 125,976 square feet with Del Valle Brands at 8150 NW 76th Avenue in Medley. Del Valle Brands, a brand development and distribution company, will occupy the entire building. Transwestern’s South Florida industrial team comprised of Managing Director Thomas Kresse…

Massive stimulus package has limited upside for real estate

U.S. markets started Wednesday with a burst of optimism, as a $2 trillion stimulus deal had been reached between the White House and Congress. But as the day went on, the proposed legislation became mired in new disputes about unemployment benefits and assistance to corporations. In any case, this historic legislation — the largest stimulus package in U.S….

Mac Papers inks deal, sells warehouse near MIA for $15M

A major paper supplier sold its warehouse near Miami International Airport for $14.6 million. Jacksonville-based Mac Papers sold the 137,872-square-foot warehouse at 5900 Northwest 176th Street in Miami for $105 per square foot, records show. Spirit Master Funding X LLC, tied to Dallas-based Spirit Realty Capital, purchased the property. The warehouse is on…

Sam Zell’s Equity Residential halts evictions, rent hikes on 80K-unit portfolio

Sam Zell’s Equity Residential said it will halt evictions and rent increases for 90 days on its thousands of apartments across the country in response to the coronavirus emergency. The move, first reported by Crain’s, comes after several states like California, New York, and Illinois have called for or have suspended eviction proceedings and rent hikes. The real estate…

South Florida commercial real estate closings face delays and cancellations due to coronavirus economic meltdown

Jay Sakalo and Jaime Sturgis A month before the closing date, commercial broker Jaime Sturgis just had to kiss goodbye a nearly $1 million multifamily deal. Sturgis, founder and CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based Native Realty, said he represented the seller of an eight-unit apartment building in Miramar who canceled the sale after the buyer requested “unreasonable…”

Seagis Property Group Inks Full-Building Lease in Miami-Dade

Del Valle Brands, a Miami-based brand development and distribution company specializing in Caribbean markets, has leased an entire 125,976-square-foot building owned by Seagis Property Group in Medley, Fla., a Miami-Dade submarket. The building has Palmetto Expressway frontage and is located at the southeast quadrant of… at 8150 NW 76th Avenue…

“It is catastrophic:” Sam Nazarian, Kobi Karp talk coronavirus toll

Last week, The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy sat down for another episode of Coffee Talk with luxury hospitality group SBE’s Sam Nazarian and leading architect Kobi Karp. This time, though, coffees were kept at home, with Karp and Nazarian joining TRD for a virtual conversation. Nazarian detailed the difficulty in maintaining his large workforce…

Hotels get pummeled as demand nosedives for a second week

The hotel industry suffered another devastating week, as cities like New York and San Francisco saw more than eight out of every 10 hotel rooms sit empty. Occupancy levels in those two cities plunged more than 80 percent last week as the Covid-19 pandemic obliterated demand for hotel stays, new figures released Wednesday by the…

TRD Talks: How developers are contending with coronavirus

One called for a total shutdown of business. Another advised startups to plan for zero revenue for six months. And a third had harsh words for impatient lenders. All three New York developers, Miki Naftali, Ryan Freedman and Steve Witkoff, made their views known about how they would deal with the deepening coronavirus pandemic. The trio spoke…

Back-of-the-Envelope Estimates of Next Quarter’s Unemployment Rate

As state and local governments implement social-distancing measures to suppress and contain the spread of COVID-19, many businesses are faced with a large decrease in sales and revenue. This slowdown of economic activity could inevitably lead to solvency and liquidity problems that result in workers being laid off. This negative shock does not equally affect all…

Target store signs for planned Overtown block

Retail giant Target has signed a letter of intent to open a store inside a planned mixed-use retail and residential development in Overtown called Block 55, according to the developer of the expansive project. The developer, in concert with the board of directors of the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), plans…

Transit hub to feature University of Miami student housing

New student housing is a key component of a major mixed-use project in South Miami destined to become a transportation hub for the region, according to the developers. The TREO group, in collaboration with Miami-Dade County, is building the mixed-use, transit-oriented student housing development to be called VOX Miami. Officials from The TREO Group…

New blueprints are coming for hospitality industry’s future

Miami-Dade’s hospitality sector is under economic siege from the coronavirus. How it recovers is crucial to the future for us all. Of course, whatever industry we look at is struggling while society battles a peril with no track record to indicate when the siege might ease up.  Hospitality is in the same boat – but hospitality has been what Miami was built on…

Edgewater condo tower’s retail space sells for $15M

The commercial space in an Edgewater condo tower sold for $15.45 million. Biscayne Plaza II LLC, led by Javier Cevera, sold the 11 commercial condos at 1800 Biscayne Plaza to Delorean Holdings LLC, led by Daniel Serber, a lawyer in Aventura, records show. The commercial… The space at 295 18th Street is occupied by a Chase bank branch and restaurants 3 Chefs…

CenterPoint buys an industrial property near MIA for $30M

CenterPoint Properties CEO Bob Chapman and South Florida Logistics Center CenterPoint Properties Trust bought an industrial property near Miami International Airport for $29.5 million. Oak Brook, Illinois-based CenterPoint Properties purchased the 42.5-acre property at 3200 Northwest 67th Avenue for $694,117 per acre, records show. FDG Hialeah, tied to…

Expected U.S. Macroeconomic Performance during the Pandemic Adjustment Period

The coronavirus has the potential to create catastrophic health outcomes in the U.S.2 In order to mitigate this, public health officials have recommended a variety of social-distancing policies to slow the spread of the virus. In addition, social interaction has declined dramatically due to voluntary withdrawal by individuals, corporate work-from-home policies and…

Miami condo tower shuts down amenities due to confirmed coronavirus case

A downtown Miami condo tower has shut down its amenities deck, pools and barbecue, and asked visitors to stay away after a resident was confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19, The Real Deal has learned. The condo association of Marinablue, the 57-story, 516-unit tower at 888 Biscayne Boulevard, sent an email blast alerting residents of the…

Tom Barrack predicts commercial mortgage market crisis

Colony Capital chairman and CEO Tom Barrack thinks the commercial mortgage market in the United States is on the verge of collapsing. Barrack wrote in a white paper, posted to Medium late Sunday, that the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdown of sectors of the U.S. economy could lead to margin calls, foreclosures, evictions and potential bank failures.

Fannie, Freddie offer multifamily landlords a break — strings attached

Some relief from the federal government is on the way for multifamily landlords, but it comes with strings attached. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced that the two mortgage insurers will give multifamily landlords a break on their loans on the condition that they do not evict any renters impacted by…

CFH Group picks up Allapattah bank branch

Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic some deals are closing. Truist sold a bank branch in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood for $6.9 million to a company tied to CFH Group, records show. The branch, at 1400 Northwest 20th Street, is on a 19,604-square-foot lot, equating to a price of $349 per square foot, according to records. Truist is the bank holding…

Bankruptcy, restructuring lawyer outlines strategies

By Adam Marshall The impact of the coronavirus will result in a lot of tough financial and legal decisions for many business. These are topics  I know intimately as a veteran bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer. For some stressed businesses, negotiating with creditors and lenders could be imminent while restructurings, bankruptcy filings and liquidations are…

Feds looking to lease warehouses for coronavirus triage, testing centers

The federal government is reaching out to commercial property owners and brokers to lease empty warehouse space for temporary triage centers, as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases nationwide continues to grow. As of Friday afternoon, more than 15,000 people had tested positive for the virus in the U.S., with more cases expected as the number of…

All hotels, short-term rentals in Miami-Dade ordered to shut down due to coronavirus

Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami Beach ordered all hotels, motels and short-term rentals shut down effective Monday, March 23, in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19. Guests and renters must be out of all commercial lodging establishments by midnight on Monday night, according to the city of Miami Beach’s or…

Diplomat, Acqualina, Biltmore hotels closing amid coronavirus

Major hotels across South Florida are closing voluntarily amid the coronavirus pandemic. Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles Beach, the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, and the Biltmore in Coral Gables are all closing by this weekend, as Covid-19 sends shock waves through South Florida’s economy. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an executive order…

Coronavirus And The Future Of SoFlo CRE

There’s no easy way to begin. As you all are very much aware, coronavirus is taking an incredible toll on lives and livelihoods. Anxiety is high, nerves are frayed, and because the situation is rapidly changing, there is no way to predict the short- and long-term outcomes accurately. It wasn’t so long ago, in fact, that investors were excited because the Federal Reserve had…

Treo Group scores loan for mixed-use student housing project in South Miami

Rendering of Vox Miami The Treo Group closed on a $33.25 million construction loan for Vox Miami, a mixed-use project under construction next to the South Miami Metrorail station. Centennial Bank is providing the senior construction loan to Treo. It closed on Wednesday, amid the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. J.C. de Onda, division president…

Miami-Dade orders all non-essential businesses closed due to coronavirus

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has expanded his order of businesses that must close — and those that can remain open — during the coronavirus pandemic. All malls and casinos will have to shut down. Construction sites, hotels and banks can remain open. Medical facilities, grocery stores, gas stations and restaurant kitchens can…

Coronavirus COVID-19 Real Estate Task Force | Jordan + Lawyers Provides Tactical Step by Step Guide

As mentioned in our previous post, the number of COVID-19 coronavirus (“Coronavirus”) cases continues to increase, and with the World Health Organization raising its threat assessment of Coronavirus to its highest level, businesses in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties are becoming increasingly aware of the many challenges that are ahead. At Jordan…

SoFla landlords, retailers brace for coronavirus impacts

FroCommercial landlord Scott Sherman is trying to get ahead of potential losses and hardship South Florida retail tenants are facing. His Miami-based Tricera Capital is giving them the ability to defer rent payments for the near future, as bars and restaurants are forced to close and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic unfolds. Across South Florida, from…

Barry Sternlicht calls coronavirus “World War III for 90 days”

Barry Sternlicht has voiced worries of the next “calamitous recession,” but now he is optimistic that the epic disruption of the global coronavirus pandemic will be over in three months. “I don’t think in the history of the world have you ever had this many labs, this many people focused on a cure or a vaccine with technology that didn’t…

Insight into the coronavirus impact on commercial real estate

There’s a lot of economic comparisons between the Great Recession and the coronavirus, but there are a couple of key differences this time when it comes to commercial real estate, says Marc Shuster, a partner at the Berger Singerman law firm. Shuster brings a lot of insight from representing family offices, high net worth individuals and private equity funds. Those…

Social distancing? Coronavirus not stopping South Florida construction projects — for now

The concrete will continue pouring at South Florida construction sites. As other aspects of everyday life are shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the building industry is still forging ahead — for now, according to general contractors, trade association representatives and government officials. Peter Dyga, president and CEO of Associated Builders and…

Starbucks transitioning to temporary “To-Go” model

In light of recent public health concerns, all company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. will be open for to-go and delivery orders only. This decision was made public on March 15th and, according to Starbucks representatives, will remain in effect for at least two weeks. Though the high-traffic chain has shut down all indoor and outdoor seating…

International Council of Shopping Centers requests federal help amid massive shutdowns

The International Council of Shopping Centers is requesting aid from the Trump administration amid a host of restaurants, retailers and entertainment operators shutting down. ICSC wants the federal government to directly pay for or guarantee business interruption coverage for retailers, restaurants and other impacted businesses, according to the Wall Street…

Trump suspends HUD evictions, foreclosures amid coronavirus pandemic

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development will suspend all foreclosures and evictions through April in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium would apply to mortgages insured by the department’s Federal Housing Administration, or around 8.1 million households, according to…

“We are not close to the bottom in the US”: Hotels suffer declining revenues, mass layoffs

By every conventional measure, the hotel industry took a beating last week as the country went further into lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Occupancies, average daily room rates and revenues per available room fell drastically last week, according to new figures from the hospitality research firm STR. “Through comparative analysis of the…”

Miami Self Storage Portfolio Commands $44M Refi

Two of the properties are situated in Miami, at 490 NW 36th Street and 1100 NE 76th Street, while the third one is located at 812 NW First St., in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. CubeSmart manages the Miami facilities, while Public Storage operates the one in Fort Lauderdale. The portfolio encompasses 1,836 units spread across three multi-story buildings, which came online…

Airbnb calls for federal aid as hosts voice anger over policy changes

Airbnb’s business model relies on making both hosts and guests happy, but the startup is facing pushback from both sides as it flip-flops over who should cover the cost of cancellations. With demand for short-term rentals falling amid a global coronavirus pandemic, the company is now seeking government support for its hosts. But many of them have voiced anger…

Miami lacks appetite for new food truck regulations

Legislation that would add additional food trucks regulations in the City of Miami has stalled, as the discussion among commissioners centered on the ways food trucks operate in the city among brick-and-mortar businesses. Last week, city commissioners deferred an item sponsored by Commissioner Ken Russell that would address food trucks operating…

Property insurance costs likely to soar

There may be bright spots on the commercial insurance horizon – workers’ compensation among them – but property insurance won’t be one of them, said Mark Schwartz, CEO of Corporate Insurance Advisors. “In general, we are a cat-exposed state,” he said, meaning frequent hurricanes dampen the profitability of insurers and re-insurers in Florida, causing many to leave…

Allapattah midrise plans 47 micro-unit apartments

A developer plans to build a midrise building in Allapattah that will include smaller micro unit apartments. 2323 Pointe Group LLC is asking the City of Miami to approve its plan to construct an 8-story mixed-use residential building at 2323 NW 36th Street. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval. The project’s working name is 2323…

State to order bars shut for 30 days

The normally festive St. Patrick’s Day took on a very somber note Tuesday as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis planned a 5 p.m. press conference to issue an order for bars to close for 30 days, multiple media outlets were reporting. Bars are being defined as establishments where more than 50 percent of sales are from alcoholic beverages. Restaurants will be told to reduce…

Real estate pros weigh in Fed and Trump’s moves to bolster economy from COVID-19 pains

The Trump administration’s effort to work with Congress on an $850 billion stimulus package to bolster the economy may be getting a positive response from investors, but it may not be enough to ultimately calm markets and those same investors. As the U.S. fights to contain the coronavirus epidemic, the Federal Reserve on Tuesday resurrected a program…

SoftBank may bail on WeWork bailout: report

SoftBank no longer plans to proceed with all of its bailout of WeWork, justifying its decision to back out of its $3 billion pledge to buy shares back from investors by citing several regulatory investigations of the troubled shared office–space giant. According to the Wall Street Journal, WeWork’s shareholders were sent a notice Tuesday stating that SoftBank believes…

Eric the Jeweler blames Mondrian South Beach owners for $2M heist: lawsuit

Eric the Jeweler suing Mondrian South Beach owners Eric Mavachev, a New York City jeweler who counts Sean “Diddy” Combs and Drake among his A-list clientele, is blaming the owners and two employees of the Mondrian South Beach Hotel for the theft of nearly $2 million in baubles from his hotel room last month, according to a recently filed lawsuit. Mavachev…

Restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters ordered to close in Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County ordered all restaurant dining rooms, bars, gyms, movie theaters, bowling alleys and other businesses closed due to coronavirus, or COVID-19. Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon made the announcement along with Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber on Tuesday morning at a press conference at Joe’s Stone Crab in South Beach. The order will go into…

CenterPoint Properties Acquires Airport-Adjacent Land Site In Miami-Dade County

CenterPoint Properties has announced the acquisition of a 17.14-acre land site in the Miami-Dade County submarket. Located at 3200 NW 67th Avenue in Miami, this site is currently 100% leased to a leading e-commerce retailer. Located in the highly coveted “Airport West” submarket of Miami-Dade County, the property is directly adjacent to Miami International…

With curfews and public assembly restrictions, what will happen to malls?

As cities around the country curtail large public gatherings, institute curfews and shut down schools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, questions hang over the fate of malls — which have already been on a knife’s edge thanks to retailer bankruptcies and store closures. Some industry watchers have said retail will be among the first industries to…

Coronavirus closures hit South Florida restaurants and stores

Popular Miami restaurants like Mandolin Aegean Bistro and Cafe La Trova are temporarily closing their doors amid the coronavirus crisis. National retailers are announcing closures by the hour. In Miami-Dade County, all bars and clubs must close by 10 p.m., and all restaurants by 11 p.m. The wave of closures is expected to continue locally and throughout the county…

Starwood snags Homestead apartment complex for $28M

An affiliate of Starwood Capital Group bought the Villa Biscayne Apartments in Homestead for $28.3 million, reflecting growing demand for multifamily properties in south Miami-Dade County. A company tied to Michael J. Hornbrook, president of Lakeside Capital, sold the 180-unit complex at 15350 Southwest 284th Street for $157,222 per unit to…

Building towers with stone could be the future, architects say

A group of architects wants to bring their practice back to the stone age. Groupwork and structural engineering firm Webb Yates collaboratively designed a 30-story office tower built of stone they say could be cheaper and more sustainable than a similar tower built with steel or concrete, according to Dezeen. The project was an investigation of how tall one…

Miami Beach orders all restaurants with occupancy over 250 to close or reduce capacity due to coronavirus

The city of Miami Beach late Friday ordered all restaurants and nightclubs with occupancy of over 250 people to cease operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants and nightclubs can remain open if they maintain a capacity of fewer than 250 people, according to the city’s announcement. Miami Beach’s mayor and commission extended the…

Carl Icahn’s biggest short? Commercial real estate

The U.S. commercial real estate market is ripe for a meltdown, according to activist investor and notorious corporate raider Carl Icahn. And he’s putting a lot of money where his mouth is. “You’re going to have this blow up, too, and nobody’s even looking at it,” Icahn said on CNBC. The investor revealed that he’s shorting the commercial mortgage bond market, noting that it…

Miami-Dade suspends evictions due to coronavirus

Miami-Dade suspended all eviction activities amid the coronavirus pandemic. The county’s police department announced it would not assist with evictions now that Miami-Dade County is under a state of emergency. Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who self-isolated after a meeting with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s aide, declared the state of emergency on…

Coronavirus threat could help sink Anbang’s $5.8B hotels deal: report

CEO Andrew Miller and clockwise from top left: JW Marriott Essex House in New York, the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco and the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole Anbang Insurance Group’s pending deal to sell a $5.8 billion portfolio of 15 U.S. hotels to a South Korean money manager could be in doubt. A group of lenders led by Goldman Sachs failed to receive enough…

Edgewater condo building hits market as dev site

An older condo building on a 3.4-acre waterfront site in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood is hitting the market and could be redeveloped into a 60-story tower. The older condo building, called Biscayne 21, at 2121 North Bayshore Drive, could be sold in a bulk deal. It represents one of the last remaining waterfront development opportunities in Miami’s Edgewater…

Developer breaks ground on mixed-income rentals in Little Havana

Rendering of Bonsai I with Ivanna Jimenez, Fernando Murzi and Jesus Luongo A Miami developer is taking advantage of the city’s mixed-income housing program to build a rental development in Little Havana. Forth Development, founded by Ivanna Jimenez, Fernando Murzi and Jesus Luongo, broke ground on Bonsai I, an eight-unit building at 519…

Wynwood BID proposes to allow outdoor music until 3 a.m.

If they agree to keep the volume down, Wynwood nightclub and bar owners could get a reprieve for playing outdoor music into the wee hours of the night. On Wednesday, a Wynwood Business Improvement District committee proposed legislation that would carve out an exemption for the trendy neighborhood from adhering to a Miami ordinance that prohibits…

How Quickly Does Fiscal Policy Get Implemented?

There are recent calls for fiscal policy intervention to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak. It is worth recognizing that fiscal and other stabilization policies exhibit “long and variable lags,” as noted by Nobel-prize winning economist Milton Friedman.1 These lags involve moving from (i) the initial proposals to conduct a stimulus policy to (ii) the…

Complex Miami Riverside plan criticized but advances

The ambitious plan to provide the City of Miami with a new government administrative building near the current Miami Riverside Center on the Miami River has taken a step forward. But not before a city review board criticized the proposal for its lack of a grand or distinctive public entrance to the city’s new structure. The project, with a working title of Riverside…

As Miami Worldcenter rises, deals to sell its land continue

Even as the giant Miami Worldcenter builds up and out, deals continue to take place. Recently, Miami Worldcenter Associates sold a 1-acre parcel for $27 million, and Miami’s Urban Development Review Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the 52-story Miami World Tower, which will house 560 residential units and about 3,000 square feet…

Multifamily Execs On Coronavirus: Keep Calm And Nab Those Low Mortgage Rates

Faisal Ashraf woke up Monday morning ready to work on $200M worth of deals in London hotels when fears about the coronavirus rippled through the world and caused the largest single-day stock market drop since the Great Recession. Ashraf, who, as founder and CEO of advisory firm Lotus Capital Partners, connects lenders and borrowers, didn’t sweat it. The…

US hotels report plunging occupancy rate on coronavirus fears

It’s official: the coronavirus outbreak has hit the fundamentals of U.S. hotels. The occupancy rate nationwide plunged 7.3 percent from this time last year to 61.8 percent, according to data released Wednesday by hotel research firm STR. Figures reflect changes from March 3-9, 2019, compared to March 1-7, 2020. Revenue per available room also sank, 11.6 percent…

Coronavirus spurs refinancing spree as rates sink to 50-year lows

Homeowners are rushing to refinance amid historically low mortgage rates. The volume of refinance applications grew 79 percent in the first week of March — the highest since the post-recession period, Yahoo Finance reported, citing data from real estate finance trade group the Mortgage Bankers Association. The increase was the largest week-over-week since…

Airbnb settles litigation with Miami development group alleging fraud

Harvey Herndandez Two months ago, Airbnb alleged Miami developer Harvey Hernandez’s NGD Homesharing defrauded the short-term rental company in a partnership and stole $1 million. NGD struck back a few days later alleging Airbnb engaged in bad faith and breached its contract. Now the two sides have settled and voluntarily dismissed both lawsuits…

East End Capital launches co-living platform with first project in Wynwood

Rendering of East End Capital East End Capital scored initial approval to build two mixed-use projects in Wynwood that will include the company’s first branded co-living development. New York City-based East End is launching its co-living brand, called Foyer. The developer plans to build Foyer-branded, operated and managed buildings nationwide and is…

Coronavirus could expose US hotel owners with high debt

Hotel owners who seized on low interest rates and took on big loans are facing greater exposure as the coronavirus pandemic puts a dark cloud over the industry. At the end of the third quarter of 2019, the U.S. hotel industry had $300 billion of mortgage debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. That figure is a 7.8 percent jump from the same time in 2018…

Industrial e-commerce plays by the numbers

Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam and Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray In industrial real estate, it’s a close race to the top. Blackstone and Prologis are going head to head to be crowned the firm that holds the most industrial space on the planet. But the logistics real estate investment trust has bested the private equity giant, at least for now. Prologis has ownership stakes…

Connect Capital Miami, Miami’s Affordable Housing Plan, and CRE

The affordable housing crisis hits close to home Let’s cut right to the chase. Across the country, there is an affordable housing crisis. And in Miami, despite robust development and investment opportunities, the city is a high-rent/low-income region, making it one of the least affordable cities in the country. One study reports that 71% of the households in the City…

$5 billion Miami International Airport upgrade ready for takeoff

Miami-Dade lawmakers are days from authorizing $5 billion in bond debt to fund a long list of overhauls aimed at the county’s greatest economic engine, Miami International Airport. The county Aviation Department’s 15-year capital improvement program, approved last year, is focused on growing airport capacity and efficiency. Unlike prior MIA improvement…

Ex-manager quickly becomes architect for Palmetto Bay showcase work

Two major players once thought to be finished with Palmetto Bay’s lengthy effort to transform its downtown area are back in the game, and their return could further delay progress on a new village square. Real estate firm NAI Miami, the second-ranked respondent to Palmetto Bay’s request for bids to redevelop 4.6 acres off US 1 encompassing Village Hall, did…

Vast Plaza Coral Gables rising in segments

At The Plaza Coral Gables, the largest multi-purpose complex ever to rise in that city, progress continues apace. “Our first temporary certificate of occupancy is within reach,” said a release by the developer, Agave Holdings, a group that includes Jose Cuervo spirits. “The office and residential buildings currently under construction in the north parcel are slated…

Moishe Mana land swap deal for Puerto Rican center marches ahead

Developer Moishe Mana has thus far delivered on his commitments in a land swap and construction deal with Miami-Dade for a long-planned Puerto Rican Community Center and Chamber of Commerce, a county official says. The billionaire businessman was by Jan. 31 to have given the county and City of Miami final designs and documents for the $8.36…

Omni mixed-use project to have 42 micro dwellings

A developer is planning a mixed-use residential project for the Omni neighborhood that would include more than 40 micro dwelling units. Wynwood Haus LLC plans to build a 20-story building at 1765 N Miami Avenue with 224 residential units, 5,204 square feet of commercial-retail, a 540-square-foot office, and a parking pedestal with space for up to 222…

Joseph Corradino: Brings urban planning mindset to Pinecrest mayor’s office

For Pinecrest Mayor Joseph Corradino, 2020 represents a triplet of anniversaries and, if he is elected to a second term in November, yet another. Twenty-five years ago to the day of his interview last week, March 4, he married his wife, Mia. That same year, he joined his family’s civil engineering firm, The Corradino Group, for which he today serves as…

Terra, partners pay off Eighty Seven Park’s $155M construction loan

Eighty Seven Park, David Martin of Terra Terra and its partners, developers of Eighty Seven Park, paid off the $155 million construction loan for the recently completed luxury condominium tower in Miami Beach. The 18-story, luxury tower at 8701 Collins Avenue is architect Renzo Piano’s first residential building in the Western Hemisphere. It was developed by…

“The coffee break room, actually, is more contaminated than the restroom”: Open floor offices add to coronavirus concerns

With tech companies and co-working firms leading the way, more office tenants have gravitated toward open floor plans, both to cut costs and encourage the sharing of ideas. But there’s something else the setups could encourage: the spread of a virus or disease. That possibility has increased as the coronavirus continues to spread across the…

Melo Group launches preleasing for latest Arts & Entertainment District rental tower

Renderings of Miami Plaza and Carlos and Martin Melo The Melo Group is getting ready to open its latest rental project in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District. Melo launched preleasing of Miami Plaza, a 36-story, 425-unit apartment tower at 1500 Northeast Miami Place, next to the Miami-Dade Metromover School Board Station, according to a press…

Latin American investors allegedly lost $250M in Miami real estate Ponzi scheme: lawsuit

For nearly a decade, a trio of Ecuadorian businessmen allegedly ran a real estate Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than $250 million from mostly South American investors, according to a recently filed lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court that seeks class action status. Last month, 162 of those investors sued Juan Carlos Cortes, Roberto Cortez, Ernest…

Investors Say They Lost $250M In Ponzi Scheme With Nonexistent Real Estate Projects

The members-only Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, just south of Miami, is one of Florida’s most exclusive communities. Formerly home to Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford, it has its own airstrip, a 175-slip marina, golf courses and a croquet lawn. Now, a complex and globe-spanning lawsuit filed by 162 investors claims they were lured into a Ponzi scheme based on the…

New Retailers Flowing To Lincoln Road After Price Correction

Lincoln Road stretches across the barrier island of Miami Beach, from the Atlantic Ocean on one side to Biscayne Bay on the other. Dotted with a koi pond, and Art Deco architectural elements, it is one of the country’s premier retail high streets. But as rents boomed over the past decade, independent shops gave way to huge brands. Nike, Apple, H&M and J. Crew all have…

Modell’s Sporting Goods prepares to file for bankruptcy

Modell’s Sporting Goods appears poised to become the latest major retailer to file for bankruptcy. The 130-year-old athletic gear company has stopped looking for an investor to help it renegotiate its leases and is no longer seeking better terms from its vendors, according to the New York Post. CEO Mitch…

Small Business Reorganization Act Levels the Chapter 11 Playing Field

By Jacqueline Calderín and Robert Charbonneau In the past, Chapter 11 bankruptcy has been cost-prohibitive for small businesses and often entirely barred their access to the bankruptcy courts. But this year, with the advent of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, the landscape is dramatically changing for small businesses, some high net worth…

Co-working operator NeueHouse expands to Miami

Mauricio Zapata, Lyle Chariff, and Luis Guevara, with a rendering of NeueHouse Miami Co-working operator NeueHouse signed a lease for its first Miami location. NeueHouse is partnering with Casa Tua to open its fifth location in the U.S., the company announced on Friday. It will open at 78 Northwest 37th Street in Miami, near the Shops at Midtown Miami.

For US retailers, coronavirus concerns come home. What are their options?

“Community spread” of the coronavirus in the U.S. has led to a growing fear among retailers. Already grappling with supply-chain uncertainty due to the spreading epidemic, retailers are now contending with the prospect of a decline in sales as consumers opt to avoid public spaces. While American cities have yet to witness the…

Judge’s panel rules over Beach Towing and Deco Capital Group’s fight over Sunset Harbour project

As Deco Capital Group and Beach Towing battle over the development of a retail and residential project in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood, a panel of judges has issued new rulings. In the latest move, the panel of three Miami-Dade Circuit Court judges last week rejected a petition to overturn decisions by Miami Beach officials allowing…

The economic impact of a pandemic : Wages during the Spanish Influenza

How does a pandemic affect an economy? Obviously, it’s a multilayered topic and FRED has limits to what it can reveal. The good news, of course, is that large-scale pandemics are rare. So the economic effects for most of these outbreaks are hard to see by graphing data. But we can take two of the most extreme examples, which will have visible effects in the data…

Chanel to open store in Miami Design District

Chanel signed a lease for a space in the Miami Design District, The Real Deal has learned. The luxury French fashion company will open a store across from Gucci at the entrance to Paradise Plaza on 41st Street in Miami, sources said. Gucci is on the west side, and Chanel will open on the east side. Dacra, led by CEO Craig Robins, declined to comment. Dacra…

Kushner lands $18M loan for Wynwood projects

Rendering of Wynwood 28 and Laurent Morali Kushner Companies closed on a $17.55 million loan for its properties in Wynwood, records show. Wynwood 2 Owner LLC, an affiliate of the New York-based real estate firm, secured the financing from CIT Bank for the properties at 108 and 127 Northwest 27th Street in Miami, where Wynwood 27 and Wynwood 28…

Grand Station tower project in downtown Miami scores $53M loan

Grand Station Partners closed on a $53 million loan for a high-rise rental tower in downtown Miami that counts retired baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez among its investors. The developer, led by Rovr Development principals Oscar Rodriguez and Ricardo Vadia, is building the project as a public-private partnership with the Miami Parking Authority. Kayne…

Video | Integra’s Viewpoint 2020 Report: Macro Factors and the Economy; Office, Retail, and Industrial; Multifamily and Hospitality

Video 1 of 3: Macro Factors and the Economy Video 2 of 3: Office, Retail, and Industrial Properties Video 3 of 3: Multifamily and Hospitality Properties Anthony Graziano, CEO and Chairman of Integra Realty Resources, a provider of commercial real estate market research, valuation, counseling, and consulting services, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show…

Toronto REIT to buy Cypress Creek office building for $46M

Slate Office REIT is planning to buy Cypress Financial Center in Fort Lauderdale for $45.5 million. The Toronto-based REIT announced it will buy the 201,305-square-foot office building at 5900 North Andrews Avenue for $226 per square foot. Steelbridge CFC LLC, tied to Miami-based Steelbridge Capital, is the seller. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the…

Developers speak out against Moishe Mana as he compares Wynwood campaign to the Arab Spring

As Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and other elected officials urged a truce, Moishe Mana and current and former members of Wynwood Business Improvement District intensified their attacks on one another at competing meetings Tuesday. In recent weeks, Mana sent messages threatening the Wynwood BID…

Development site in Miami’s A&E District asks $21M

A development site in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District near the condo building Canvas hit the market for $21 million. The half-block property, at 1550 Northeast Miami Place, is in an Opportunity Zone. The Kluger family owns the 0.85-acre site, property records show. Jordan Gimelstein of Dwntwn Realty Advisors is listing the property. Zoning allows for 427…

Bridge Point Commerce Center in Miami Gardens inks lease with Caribbean grocery distributor

A rendering of Bridge Point Commerce Center and Kevin Carroll, Partner, Southeast Region at Bridge Development Partners (Credit: CBRE) Bridge Development Partners scored a 114,808-square-foot lease with a grocery distributor to the Caribbean and Latin America at Bridge Point Commerce Center in Miami Gardens. Chicago-based Bridge Development, which is…

Bridge Development Signs Grocer to 114,808 SF Industrial Lease in Metro Miami

Bridge Development Partners has signed HapCor, a grocer in the Caribbean and Latin America, to a 114,808-square-foot industrial lease within Bridge Point Commerce Center in Miami Gardens. Phase I of the industrial park was delivered in late 2019 and includes three buildings spanning 1.1 million square feet. The buildings feature 32-foot clear heights and are divisible…

Dezer picks up office building next to Intracoastal Mall

Gil Dezer’s Dezer Development paid $15 million for a missing piece of a waterfront assemblage in North Miami Beach where he is planning a mixed-use project. Property records show ASA College Inc. sold the three-story, 33,260-square-foot office building at 3909 Northeast 163rd Street, next to Dezer’s Intracoastal Mall. ASA provided a $7.5 million purchase money…

Treo Group Breaks Ground on $125M VOX Miami Mixed-Use Development

Locally based investment and development firm The Treo Group has broken ground on VOX Miami, a $125 million mixed-use project in South Florida. Treo Group will develop the transit-oriented site, which is located at the corner of U.S. Highway 1 and Sunset Drive, adjacent to the South Miami Metrorail station, in multiple phases. Phase I will feature an eight…

Challenge to Melreese lease enters appeals court

An advocate for green space continues to battle the legality of a referendum that cleared the way for the City of Miami to waive bidding for the development of the Melreese golf course site. Bruce Matheson has appealed a district court judge’s ruling that struck down his challenge to the voter referendum that allowed the city to engage in non-competitive…

Green light on horizon for more downtown Miami parks

It’s been a housing boom, following the Great Recession, that’s seen Miami’s downtown become home to nearly 100,000 residents and more than 100 residential towers. As more buildings go up and more people decide to live in the dense, vibrant neighborhoods of downtown and Brickell, residents’ call for more parks and open spaces could become all the more acute. 

US hotels brace for coronavirus impact

Hotel owners and investors in the U.S. are now in wait-and-see mode, bracing impact amid the spreading coronavirus. Businesses and vacationers around the world have already been canceling reservations and major events have been postponed as coronavirus cases continue to grow. In the U.S., there have been 115 cases in more than a dozen states.

Immocorp Capital pays $15M for site of Miami Gardens City Center

The city of Miami Gardens sold nearly 36 acres near Hard Rock Stadium to Immocorp Capital for $15.4 million, where the development group plans to build a mixed-use project. Immocorp, led by CEO Gilbert Benhamou, and Pascal Cohen, closed on the 35.6-acre assemblage about two weeks ago with plans to build Miami Gardens City Center, Benhamou said. The two…

Michael Stern is moving forward with massive Miami tower project

New York developer Michael Stern is moving forward with plans to build a $500 million mixed-use tower west of Brickell Avenue, which will include 1,000 residential units. The Miami City Commission cleared the way for Stern’s JDS Development Group to work with the city on developing the massive site. The 1.5-acre project calls for a 752-foot-tall tower. Part of…

Fed cuts interest rate amid coronavirus fears; hotel stocks sink

The Federal Reserve announced an emergency rate cut on Tuesday morning, a direct response to growing fears over the economic fallout of the coronavirus, which has already slammed real estate stocks and hit the hospitality industry particularly hard. Stocks began stabilizing Monday on word that the Fed could cut the benchmark rate, but fell Tuesday…

Thor Equities lists Lincoln Road building for $17.5M

Thor Equities is looking to sell a retail property on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road. The building, at 663 to 667 Lincoln Road, is on the market for $17.5 million, or about $3,500 per square foot – about 30 percent below the market’s peak price of about $5,000 per square foot on the pedestrian-only retail street. Thor’s 4,986-square-foot property is about 54 percent…

Hines CEO talks coronavirus, Opportunity Zones and WeWork

Laura Hines-Pierce and Jeff Hines Coronavirus and its impact on the real estate industry were top of mind at the University of Miami’s Real Estate Impact Conference. During a session on development opportunities with Hines executives, Hines President and CEO Jeff Hines said coronavirus is a “major, major concern at this point.” The Houston-based real estate…

2nd Annual Bilzin Sumberg South Florida Redevelopment Conference

Bilzin Sumberg’s Land Development and Government Relations Practice is hosting its 2nd Annual South Florida Redevelopment Conference on March 12 & 13, 2020 in Miami, Florida. This invite-only conference will highlight the latest in the redeveloping and reshaping of the Miami skyline. Expert keynote speakers and panelists will discuss the newest South Florida…

Spotify inks lease for South Florida headquarters in Miami’s Wynwood

Spotify signed a lease in Wynwood for its South Florida headquarters, The Real Deal has learned. The music streaming company has been looking for office space in the Wynwood, Brickell and downtown Miami submarkets for months, sources said. Spotify will be taking all of the 20,000 square feet of office space at the Oasis in Wynwood, a mixed-use adaptive reuse…

Spotify Signs 20,000 SF Office Lease Within Oasis at Wynwood in Miami

Spotify has signed a 20,000-square-foot lease to anchor the office component of The Oasis at Wynwood, a mixed-use development in Miami’s Wynwood submarket. The music streaming company is based in Stockholm and has its U.S. headquarters in New York City. The Oasis at Wynwood will feature 20,000 square feet of office space; 17,000 square feet of retail space…

Firm Arranges Miami Lease for Addiction Institute

Avison Young has arranged a 43,895-square-foot lease for Global Institutes on Addictions at Omni Center in Miami. Principals Scott Goldstein and Keith Edelman assisted the new tenant, while landlord Resorts World Omni was represented by Laurel Oswald, Cristina Glaria and Jon Blunk of Tower Commercial. Last year, Blunk was also involved in a 12,366-square-foot…

All Aboard: Transit-Oriented Development Is Expanding Miami

Driving through Coral Gables, the enclave about five miles west of Downtown Miami that’s home to the University of Miami, afternoon traffic was light from the vantage of Brent Reynolds’ Land Rover: a far cry from the clogged highways you’ll find in the city during the morning and evening rushes. But driving is still often the best option in a city whose public…

Bankers Healthcare buys Miramar office building for new HQ

Bankers Healthcare Group paid $29 million for an office building in Miramar where it plans to base its new headquarters. Bankers Healthcare Group, a financial provider to healthcare professionals, bought the 130,000-square-foot office property at 3700 Lakeside Drive for $223 per square foot, records show. MFC 3700 Investors LLC, led by David Berger and Ezra Katz…

Fort Lauderdale office tower sells for $18M

An office tower next to the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale sold for $18.2 million. A joint venture between Miami-based Highline Real Estate Capital and North Miami Beach-based Sefira Capital sold the 66,426-square-foot office building called Courthouse Place, at 12 Southeast 7th Street, for $274 per square foot. New Haven, Connecticut-based…

Bar Invest Group sells apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale for $58M

Serramar Apartments and Herve Barbera Bar Invest Group sold the Serramar Apartments in Fort Lauderdale for $58 million. The Miami-based company, led by Jacques and Herve Barbera, sold the 302-unit apartment complex at 6701 West Oakland Park Boulevard for $192,000 per unit, according to a press release. Manhasset, New York-based Milbrook…

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Moishe Mana Wants Wynwood BID Dismantled; Both Sides Call Emergency Meetings

This week, Moishe Mana, one of Miami’s largest landholders, has been circulating an online petition imploring people to “Save Wynwood,” warning that some stakeholders want to stop nightlife in the district at 11 p.m. At press time, it had over 22,000 signatures. He has called an “emergency meeting” next week to discuss the matter with city officials…

Miami-Dade Industrial Real Estate Sales Exceed $1 Billion In 2019

Institutional investors are gorging on industrial properties in Miami-Dade. In it’s Q4 2019 market report, Avison Young noted industrial investment sales totaled nearly $1.4 billion last year, representing a 27.5% increase from 2018. Close of half of the buyers were institutional investors. However, industrial developers are running out of vacant land to build warehouses…

Truck Parking Could Be The Next Real Estate To Benefit From the E-Commerce Boom

According to the American Trucking Associations, there are 36 million commercial trucks on the road. And they all need somewhere to park. Demand has only been increasing with e-commerce booming, plus “hours of service” rules that force drivers to take breaks, enforced by technology that logs drivers’ routes. The Florida Department of Transportation has…

MMG Equity Partners sells Homestead shopping center for $23 million

MMG Equity Partners sold a Homestead shopping center anchored by Presidente Supermarket for $22.7 million, reflecting growing demand for commercial properties in south Miami-Dade County. MMG Equity Partners sold the 85,714-square-foot Crystal Lakes Shopping Center at 3338 Northeast 7th Street for $265 per square foot. The buyer is VF4 Crystal Lake, LLC…

Video: Related Companies SVP Gopal Rajegowda Discusses the Power of Mixed-Use Developments

Gopal Rajegowda, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development with Related Companies, a New York based privately owned real estate firm with offices and major developments in Miami and other major cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, London, São Paulo, and Shanghai. appears in this episode of America’s Commercial…

MMG Sells Homestead Shopping Center for $22.7 million

MMG Equity Partners has sold Crystal Lakes Shopping Center, a 85,714 SF shopping center located at 3338 NE 7 St, Homestead, FL 33033 for $22.7M or $265 psf. Crystal Lakes Shopping Center is anchored by 24-Hour Fitness, Presidente Supermarket, and Goodwill. MMG developed the shopping…

Verzasca Group’s Le Jardin Residences resolves bankruptcy

Verzasca Group’s Le Jardin Residences, Darius Kasparaitis and Tim Lobanov Verzasca Group’s Le Jardin Residences, a boutique condo project in Bay Harbor Islands, has avoided foreclosure and can now move forward with selling units. The condo project filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in July. The bankruptcy…

Bull’s-eye: Norway dart club lands on South Beach for first US location

A dart club entertainment concept from Norway targeted Miami Beach for its first location in the U.S. Oche, an Oslo-based hospitality concept, inked a 10-year lease to take over the former Cibo Wine Bar in South Beach, The Real Deal has learned. Oche is leasing the 12,000-square-foot space at 200 South Pointe Drive, near the Continuum towers, according to Brown…

Waterford at Blue Lagoon will have outdoor yoga and food trucks

One of Miami’s most prominent corporate office complexes is rebranding with yoga sessions, food trucks and bike sharing to appeal to millennial workers. Waterford at Blue Lagoon, home to the offices of Airbus, FedEx and Burger King, will be renamed the Waterford Business District after a $10 million capital improvement program. Nuveen Real Estate and…

Co-living and senior housing can produce higher returns: ULI panelists

Ralph Winter’s W5 Group and the Related Group are co-developing w28 in Wynwood Developers are counting on demand to be strong for co-living apartments in Wynwood, offering lower rents, shared common areas and amenities geared to promote face-to-face interactions among residents. “There is a real vibe in these buildings,” said Swiss real estate developer…

New addiction center leases large slice of Omni Center

A center dealing with treatment and research of substance addictions has leased 43,895 square feet in Omni Center – the former Omni International Mall – where it plans to open this spring with 35 to 40 employees. The former mall was once… plans of its owners, Resorts World Omni LLC… Genting… at 1501 Biscayne Boulevard is Global Institutes on Addictions…

Austrian developer financed for Little Havana resi project

An Austrian development firm has gotten $34 million in financing to construct a 194-unit market-rate residential building in Little Havana. Premium Group Inc. is building the $165 million, 157,000-square-foot project called First – Little Havana, at 702 SW First St. The financing for the development was from Man GPM, which has offices in the US, the United…

New designs of park surrounding Miami Marine Stadium

Tony Goldman had the vision to see the vast promise in a rebuilt South Beach, in a reborn Wynwood, and in a restored Miami Marine Stadium. So says Don Worth, Miami Beach resident and longtime champion of efforts to rebuild and reopen the iconic waterfront stadium on Virginia Key. Mr. Worth spoke of his admiration for the late Mr. Goldman, a well-known…

Brickell City Centre to build fire station, weighs expansions

As Brickell City Centre’s developer continues to reshape a growing and maturing City of Miami, it is prepared to deliver on its promise for a new fire station incorporated into the sweeping mixed-use development. “We expect construction to begin in the coming month,” said Kieran Bowers, president of Swire Properties Inc., in an email to Miami Today. The global…

Tim Meerbott: Cutler Bay Mayor plans for a community gathering site

Tim Meerbott’s first year as Cutler Bay mayor came at a pivotal time for the municipality. After more than a decade of operating in a space too big for its needs, the town’s government was close to securing a $17 million land swap deal to relocate its town hall and build a surrounding congregation space for residents. The project – the deal for which closed last month – is one…

How to Avoid an ADA Lawsuit

95% of commercial buildings violate of the ADA…and their owners don’t even know it. But some lawyers make it their job to know. Here’s how to avoid a costly ADA lawsuit. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a vital piece of legislation for ensuring that all Americans have equal access to the same resources. But it also means that property owners, builders…

E11even owner Marc Roberts returns to Miami Worldcenter with $27M purchase

Miami Worldcenter’s master developers sold another site within their project, for $26.78 million, to a buyer that previously invested in the property. IRR Parkway Investments LLC closed on a 1-acre site between North Miami Avenue and Ninth and 10th streets in downtown Miami, according to a press release. The property is zoned for mixed-use…

South Florida Retail Summary Q4 2019: Leases, Sales & Construction Projects

Market Snapshot for South Florida Retail A summary of the highlights, trends, and current market activity of Q4 2019 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.

Notable Retail Leases Signed in South Florida Q4 2019

South Florida Retail Leases 2019: We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the top retail leases signed by square footage in South Florida during Q4 2019. This quarter was very busy overall and saw several big box leases signed and sealed. Despite the sentiment that the traditional retail market is suffering due to several factors, particularly…

Cargill Leases 70 thousand SF At Codina Partners’ Beacon Logistics Park

Cargill, the largest privately-held corporation in the U.S. by revenue, has leased 70,000 square feet in Beacon Logistics Park– the new, Class A industrial park in Hialeah developed by Codina Partners and USAA Real Estate. “We designed Beacon Logistics Park with companies like Cargill in mind, and we are privileged to have them as our first tenant…

800-Key Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel to be a Grand Hyatt

The Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel will be a Grand Hyatt when construction is completed and the massive property opens in 2023. Designed by Arquitectonica, the 17-story, 800-room hotel will mark the first Grand Hyatt in South Florida, developers David Martin of Terra and Jackie Soffer of Turnberry announced Monday. In Florida, the brand also…

The Grand Hyatt Brand Selected as Flag for New Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel

The development team behind Miami Beach’s new Convention Center hotel announced today that an 800-room property will be operated by Hyatt under the luxury Grand Hyatt brand, when it opens to guests in 2023. Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will create a new hospitality option for visitors attending events at the adjacent Miami Beach Convention Center, which…

Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sunny Isles Beach gets TCO, starts closings

Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sunny Isles Beach secured its temporary certificate of occupancy and can now start closings at the 52-story luxury oceanfront condo development. Developed by Fortune International Group and Château Group, the 212-unit tower at 15701 Collins Avenue is nearly sold out and has recorded more than $150 million in pre-construction sales…

Full of Surprises: Where New Offices, Leases, Rent Hikes Are in South Florida

The South Florida office market is full of surprises. Big downtown buildings have the square footage, but the suburbs are landing some of the biggest leases. Miami’s Brickell Financial District leads on rents in Miami-Dade County. But offices near Miami International Airport enjoyed the biggest rent hikes. And across the region, developers are increasingly opting for…

South Florida by the numbers: Super Bowl LIV Impact

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. The Kansas City Chiefs may have scored the most points, but one could argue that Miami was the real winner of Super Bowl LIV earlier this month. A series of anecdotal and data-driven reports have confirmed the dramatic economic impact of…

Little Havana apartments project scores $34 million construction loan

The developer of a planned apartment project in Miami’s Little Havana scored a $34 million loan to begin construction, as the area sees growing interest from investors. An affiliate of the Vienna, Austria-based Premium Group secured the construction loan from Man Global Private Markets for the 194-unit apartment project at 736-760 Southwest First Street…

A-Rod Unloads o Wins, Strikeouts in Commercial Real Estate

Miami hometown favorite Alex Rodriguez, founder and CEO of A-Rod Corp., made his first real estate move 20 years ago. The 14-time All Star infielder bought a duplex where he “put in some value add” in the form of blue awnings and cream-colored paint. Best known for his accomplishments on the baseball field, A-Rod shared his insights from business to his basebal…

Transit-Oriented Development Tips for Developers and Governments

As transit-oriented developments move from planning to construction in South Florida, residents and surrounding businesses can expect multiple benefits. Benefits also accrue to the local governmental authorities that sponsor and approve such communities—and the developers that build them—if they approach the projects with an eye toward maximizing…

Bob Zangrillo is out at Avra Jain’s Miami River project

Developer Bob Zangrillo, who is embroiled in the college admissions scandal, is no longer an investor in a mixed-use project planned for the Miami River. Zangrillo, a Silicon Valley investor who’s known in Miami for… deed recorded in 2017 revealed Jain and Zangrillo’s partial ownership of the Hurricane Cove property, at 555 Northwest South River Drive.

Downtown Miami Owner Gets – Kaching – Windfall in Sale to Moishe Mana

A downtown Miami parking lot owner was rewarded with a windfall on an ultra-long-term, selling for $6.9 million to the acquisitive Moishe Mana. Kalback Holdings LLC, managed by Richard Kalback and Donald Martin, bought the lot for $80,000 in 1974, and sold it Feb. 5 with help from Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman partner Eduardo Soto and associate…

Sapir Corp. CEO jumps to Property & Building Corp.

Sapir Corp.’s CEO Baruch Itzhak is leaving the Israeli company. Itzhak will resign effective May 20, according to a document filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. He is joining the Property & Building Corp. as CFO, he confirmed. PBC is one of the top real estate companies in Israel, according to its website. Its U.S. subsidiary — run by Eli Elefant — owns the iconic…

Miami board approves five major mixed-use and multifamily projects

The Miami Urban Development Review Board approved a slate of mixed-use and multifamily projects that could add nearly 2,000 new apartments and more than 700,000 square feet of office and retail space between the Miami River in downtown Miami and North Miami Avenue in Wynwood. One development, Block 55, initially faced derailment, how…

Miami Beach Office Building Listed For $45 Million

Amid an upswing in Miami’s office market, a Class A office building in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood recently hit the market for $45 million. The 43,140-square-foot property is located at 119 Washington Avenue, near Joe’s Stone Crab and Prime 112. Amit Egan Datwani, founder & chief consultant of The Global Consulting Organization, is listing the…

Baptist Health sells Kendall apartment complex for $17 million

Baptist Health South Florida sold an apartment complex in Kendall for $16.9 million, a slight discount from its purchase price in 2007. Baptist Health sold the 100-unit complex at 10791 North Kendall Drive for $169,000 per unit, records show. CFH Group, led by Tom Cabrerizo, purchased the property. The apartments were built in 1968 and sit on 3.8 acres. The…

Miami’s Love Of Big-Box Retail Stores Defies National Retail Trends

Retail in South Florida is defying the harsh reality facing the rest of the country. Even with delivery of approximately 178K SF of new retail product in Q4 2019, vacancy rates remained at 4.5% in Miami-Dade County, same as the prior quarter, according to Colliers International research. Net absorption for the year was over 671K SF. Dave Preston, Colliers executive…

Near 14 thousand square feet office lease negotiated in Grov’s Mayfair

A broker recently negotiated a new 13,959-square-foot office lease with Tickmark Inc., doing business as Taxfyle, an on-demand tax filing app that connects users to specialized tax professionals within minutes. Located within Mayfair in the Grove, at 2911 Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove, the space marks Taxfyle’s expansion and relocation from Coral Gables…

Group Negotiates Sale Of Industrial Property In Medley

A group negotiated the sale of an industrial warehouse totaling 28,950 square feet located at 7500 NW 74th Avenue in Medley. Buyer SFM Services, Inc. purchased the warehouse, which is situated on 3.29 acres, from Murton Realty LLC, for $3,800,000. The deal closed January 30. DiGiacomo, Marquez and Zuniga represented the seller in the transaction.

Edgewater: Miami’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood

Tracing the Biscayne Bay shoreline just north of Miami’s Arts and Entertainment District and the Venetian Causeway (NE 17th Terrace to I-95 and back along E. Coast Avenue) is the pocket-sized neighborhood of Edgewater. This water-facing community could be small in size but is definitely big on potential. Over the past decade, Edgewater has emerged…

Ready Capital Closes $5.4 Million Acquisition Loan for Office Building in Miami Gardens

Ready Capital has closed a $5.4 million acquisition loan for a 77,000-square-foot, Class B office building in Miami Gardens. The undisclosed borrower plans to upgrade the common areas and lease up vacant suites. The three-year, non-recourse loan features a floating interest rate and flexible prepayment options. Further details of the property were not disclosed.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach reveals proposed addition

Jeffrey Soffer wants to build a new garage at Fontainebleau Miami Beach, with top-floor ballrooms. The proposed garage will be strictly for employees, which means hotel guests will continue to valet at the entrance of the storied resort. Miami Beach’s land use committee on Thursday recommended the project after hearing details about the new structure…

Time Century Holdings Breaks Ground on $35M Renovation of Metro Mall in Miami

Time Century Holdings LLC has broken ground on its redevelopment of Metro Mall in Miami’s Jewelry District. The $35 million project includes… adding a three-story atrium, security system, valet parking and creating a new façade. The developer expects to reopen Metro Mall in spring 2021. Metro Mall is situated at 1 NE First Street, three blocks from downtown…

Bar Invest Group buys office condos in Coral Gables, plans new HQ

Real estate investment firm Bar Invest Group is choosing to buy instead of rent. The Brickell-based company, led by Jacques and Herve Barbera, paid $3 million for three office condos at Ofizzina, a luxury office building in Coral Gables. Bar Invest plans to move its headquarters to the over 4,000-square-foot space at Ofizzina, at 1200 Ponce de Leon Boulevard…

Bed Bath & Beyond to invest $1B in store upgrades and buybacks

Bed Bath & Beyond will spend $1 billion on upgrading its stores and lease buybacks in an attempt to turn around the business after an underwhelming holiday season. The company announced Tuesday it will spend $400 million on store remodelling and supply chain upgrades, according to CNBC. It has allocated a further $600 million to for share repurchases and debt reduction. New CEO Mark Tritton, who joined the..

‘A War’ In Wynwood: Developers In Miami’s Trendiest Neighborhood Battle Behind The Scenes

In Wynwood, the Miami neighborhood known for street art and trendy retailers, some developers have been clashing with businesses operating nightlife concepts and food trucks. Their tussle is emblematic of a bigger conflict over Wynwood’s future: whether it should be a party-centric “playground” or a calmer, round-the-clock destination.

Special Report: How Rising Sea Levels Threaten East Coast Commercial Real Estate

The hot, wet state of Florida is often held up as the poster child for climate change and rising sea levels, yet its real estate market has boomed despite the related risks. Prices have risen and investment has poured in, even as the warning drumbeat about the potential downsides related to climate change and rising sea levels have grown steadily louder. So it is not hard…

Smart Plan’s South Corridor ranks high for federal funds

The South Corridor of the Miami-Dade Smart Plan has received high marks from the federal investment arm for local public transit systems, bolstering confidence that the route will yield a maximum funding infusion. The county transportation department announced Feb. 11 that the South Corridor, the longest of six routes targeted for transit upgrades through…

Indoor salmon farming pioneer in Redlands seeks grant to add jobs

Still on schedule to finish by July the first of three stages for building its sprawling Redland facility, indoor fish farming company Atlantic Sapphire wants $5 million in public funds to start the next phase. Miami-Dade commissioners Wednesday (2/19) were to have considered the funding request. If approved, the county would disburse the money over 10…

Miami looks at what land can replace its Melreese golf course

A vote that could have torpedoed a lease to build a mega-project on Melreese Golf Course failed to gain enough Miami City Commission support, as debate provided a glimpse of ongoing negotiations with would-be developer Miami Freedom Park.  Commissioner Manolo Reyes proposed amending Miami’s comprehensive neighborhood plan to require that…

Miami Beach entranceway project given a city ‘go’

Miami Beach and developers at 500-700 Alton Road have reached a settlement that allows several signature projects to proceed. The commission agreed last week to settle with Park on Fifth developers after the city Board of Adjustment sided with developers’ interpretation of the city’s decades-old calculation of floor area ratio that excludes covered…

Signature bridge foundation next in I-395/SR 836/I-95 remake

Foundation work for the I-395 “signature bridge” will begin soon, a key feature of the ongoing I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project in the heart of Miami. That is the latest report from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), which says the massive project is well underway throughout the area. “Large cranes, visible along SR 836 and I-395 from…

Moss floats plan for short-haul sky gondola transit

Miami-Dade travelers today cross the county in a variety of ways, from personal vehicles, buses and railcars to boats, rideshares and e-scooters. According to Commissioner Dennis Moss, another piece may fit into the county’s growing mobility puzzle: sky gondolas. Mr. Moss raised the idea at a transportation committee meeting last week, noting that Super Bowl…

Pinnacle Housing Group affordable senior housing hailed

County officials joined developer Pinnacle Housing Group on Friday to hail the opening of new affordable transit-oriented housing for seniors in South Miami-Dade as they cut the ribbon at the 123-unit, seven-story Caribbean Village.  The project – the first new affordable senior-citizen housing in the area in 25 years – is a public-private partnership among Pinnacle…

Biggest private corporation in US inks lease at Beacon Logistics Park

Cargill signed a lease for 70,000 square feet at a new industrial park in Hialeah. The international food conglomerate, ranked as the largest privately-held corporation in the U.S. by Forbes, inked a lease at Codina Partners and USAA Real Estate’s Beacon Logistics Park, according to Armando Codina, executive chairman at Codina Partners. Cargill has…

How Blackstone became the world’s biggest landlord

Until about a decade ago, Blackstone Group derived most of its profits from traditional private equity. But following a dramatic expansion into real estate driven by CEO-in-waiting Jonathan Gray, massive property deals are now the company’s calling card. With an estimated real estate portfolio of $325 billion, Blackstone is now the world’s largest real estate company…

Senior living project in Westchester moves forward

A senior living project planned for Miami’s Westchester neighborhood is advancing to the next phase. AJP Ventures plans to break ground on MedSquare Place, a mixed-use development with a senior living facility and medical office space, in April. The developer secured approval from Miami-Dade County last month, according to Greenberg Traurig. Greenberg…

Can Coral Gables absorb all the new development underway?

At the corner of Malaga Avenue and Ponce de Leon Boulevard, work crews recently topped off a Class A office building and an apartment tower that make up the first phase of the Plaza Coral Gables, the largest commercial project in the city’s history. Agave Holdings, a commercial real estate firm that includes the family behind the Jose Cuervo spirits brand, is making…

Will Moishe Mana’s downtown dream ever become a reality?

Moishe Mana sits down at the head of a conference table in his Wynwood office and immediately slips off his Louis Vuitton shoes, leaving his bare feet to just brush the tile floor. “It is crazy, you know. Like I was in Colombia now, I was walking barefoot on the beach for three days,” said Mana, who has a habit of smiling while he talks. “I need to take the shoes off…”

Pier 1 files for bankruptcy, seeks sale

Pier 1 Imports is officially bankrupt, more than a month after the retailer began closing hundreds of stores. The Texas-based home goods chain, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday in the Eastern District of Virginia, said it intends to use the move to sell the company. The announcement comes after Pier 1 in January began closing 450 stores…

Developers are banking on co-living, but will it catch on?

Grove Central When Pebb Capital principal James Jago attended Tulane University in the early 2000s, he lived in “a dumpy house” with three roommates. But now, college students increasingly have the option to live off-campus in luxury student housing loaded with amenities like resort-style pools with cabanas, coffee bars, game rooms, movie theaters…

Court stops foreclosing lender from getting rents collected by property owner

It’s common for a commercial loan to include an “assignment of rents,” by which the borrower assigns to its lender the rents it gets from the property securing the loan.  In Florida, there’s a statute that governs how an assignment of rents works.  The assignment of rents can be a powerful tool in the lender’s arsenal.  The lender can even foreclose on its lien on the…

Cannabis legalization drives demand for warehousing and retail: study

Green makes green, apparently. Investors can’t get enough warehouse, retail, and land in states that have legalized recreational cannabis use, according to a National Association of Realtors study first reported by Yahoo Finance. NAR surveyed 600 commercial brokers across the country last fall for the study. Generally, the study found that demand was higher…

What Greystar’s belief in multifamily says about the health of the economy

Greystar CEO Bob Faith says he’s “very bullish” on the multifamily sector and so are investors, whether or not the economic cycle is past its peak. When asked if the South Carolina-based firm was looking to increase exposure to the sector or raise more funds for multifamily investments, Faith told Bloomberg that “capital is hungry for yield” and…

Miami Beach, Crescent Heights, Terra agree to settle dispute over floor-to-area calculations

The city of Miami Beach has reached a truce with developers David Martin and Russell Galbut that allows the duo to move forward with their planned luxury condo project at 500 Alton Road. After a contentious back-and-forth with Galbut over the city’s monetary demands, Miami Beach commissioners approved a settlement agreement that allows the developers to exclude…

Diamond in the rough? Downtown Miami Metro Mall to get $35M makeover

Developer Yair Levy is moving forward with plans to renovate a building in the heart of downtown Miami’s jewelry district, as development begins to ramp up in the area. Levy, who acquired the Metro Mall Miami building about two years ago, broke ground on a $35 million renovation of the circa-1926 building. It’s expected to be completed by the spring of next year…

Showfields to bring new retail concept to Lincoln Road

The popular New York City retailer Showfields is heading to Lincoln Road. Showfields will bring an indoor and outdoor food concept, a speakeasy bar, a theater for live performances, a tattoo parlor, piercing stations and space for art installations to a two-floor, 14,300-square-foot space at 530 Lincoln Road. The store is part of the new trend of experiential retail, and allows…

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 for…

Done deal: Forever 21 sold to Simon, Brookfield venture for $81M

A bankruptcy court judge on Thursday officially gave the green light on the sale of Forever 21 to a trio of investors — two of which are the retailer’s top landlords. Simon Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners and Authentic Brands Group will pay $81 million for the company. The deal means Forever 21’s founding family, the Changs, have given up ownership…

Mixed-use projects from Swerdlow, Kushner, TSG Group proposed in Miami

A handful of big name developers will present their projects in Overtown, Allapattah, Wynwood, and on the Miami River next week at the Miami Urban Development Review Board. David Martin and Michael Swerdlow with a rendering of Block 55 Target-anchored mixed-use project in Miami’s Overtown The Swerdlow Group and Terra are proposing…

Prologis buys 8 acres of land near Sweetwater

Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam Prologis paid $9 million for 8 acres of vacant land near Sweetwater, where it will likely build an industrial warehouse. Prologis acquired the site at the intersection of the Dolphin Expressway and Northwest 127th Avenue from Jose and Alejandrina Reboredo, a husband and wife, and Lizette Reboredo. The sale equates…

Clarity for Banks Serving the Hemp Industry

Banks serving hemp producers no longer have to automatically fill out reports used to detect money laundering activities. This reduction in regulatory burden can be traced to the 2018 farm bill (officially titled the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018), which legalized hemp by removing it as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Properly licensed industrial hemp…

Video: Michael Shvo, Jerome Hollo, Lissette Calderon, and Laurent Moralli from Kushner Discuss Next Wave of South Florida Development

The cyclical nature of the condo market in Miami has many developers shifting to rentals – but not Shvo… making a push in Miami Beach, says that as long as you have the right site and project… joined by Laurent Morali of the Kushner Companies, Florida East Coast Realty’s Jerome Hollo, and developer Lissette Calderon on the panel, “The next wave of South…”

Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s Miami warehouse project ignites billboard battle

Miami commissioners will rule over a billboard battle linked to a property owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. A deal to make improvements to the Midtown Miami warehouse owned by the Estefans at 70 Northwest 37th Street hinges on the city revoking a billboard permit at a neighboring property, according to an attorney’s letter. The correspondence is part…

9 Miami Architects You Have to Know

In the age of Starchitects, let’s not forget that Miami has been at the forefront of leading architecture for decades, which explains why tourists and architecture lovers flock here yearly to enjoy, and even live in, the Magic City’s eclectic subtropical architecture. So, who are Miami’s most notable architects, past and present? Want to live in one of Miami’s…