Russell Galbut wants to redevelop Miami-Dade courthouse in exchange for $1.8 billion over 99-year lease

Developer Russell Galbut made an unsolicited offer to build Miami-Dade a new, $300 million courthouse in exchange for a 99-year lease and the right to redevelop the existing courthouse. Under Galbut’s proposal, his firm Crescent Heights would collect at least $18 million a year in rent from the county on the new 35-story courthouse, which would be built on a lot across the street at 54 West Flagler Street. At $18 million, it would amount to nearly $1.8 billion over 99 years. Galbut would get to convert the historic courthouse, which…

Restaurants Key To Retail Developers In South Florida

Miami residents’ stomachs are becoming key to the future of the retail experience in South Florida. Bisnow Franklin Street senior vice president of investment sales Greg Matus, Comras Co. CEO Michael Comras, Kimco Realty president Paul Puma, Terranova Corp. development director Joshua Gelfman, CBRE senior associate Danny Diaz and Plaza Construction president Brad Meltzer “Food is the future,” Terranova Corp. development director Joshua Gelfman said. “Human beings are social animals, and we want…

Chris Marlin: Targets realty buyers abroad, EB-5 investors for Lennar

Before becoming president of Lennar International, the global engagement arm of one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, Chris Marlin was an Arkansas native working as a labor and employment lawyer in Orlando. Today, Mr. Marlin is still an Arkansas native – the only American on his team at Lennar International

County in bed with casino giant Genting, sells out cheap

County commissioners sold out the area around the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts to one of the globe’s biggest casino operators last week and knew exactly what they were doing. To fund a small sliver of a vast mass transit upgrade, they took from Malaysian giant Genting a free bus station and $10 million up front plus long-term rent in return for partnering with Genting, which has touted what was going to be the world’s largest casino on our bayfront. And you think native Americans…

Jorge Perez of Related Group named Lifetime Achiever

Internationally recognized as a visionary developer, Jorge M. Pérez, chairman, CEO & co-founder of The Related Group, is the force behind many of the iconic residential  evelopments that comprise Miami’s skyline. He’s also a longtime patron of the arts, perhaps most visibly through generous donations to the coffers and collections of The Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County, often referred to as PAMM. For these contributions to the Greater Miami community, Mr. Pérez is Miami Today’s 2017 Lifetime…

Five Things You Need To Know About Industrial Real Estate

Investors and commercial real estate players should be aware of these five key trends within the red-hot industry. The first three months of the year boded well for the industrial sector, which remains red-hot, hitting record low vacancies nationally and record net occupancy gains. There are five key trends investors and commercial real estate players should be aware of within the industry. 1. Lowest Vacancies Levels In Three Decades: National industrial vacancy levels hit 30-year lows this quarter. Vacancies continued to decline…

Brickell Bridge traffic controversy just won’t quit

What started as an attempt to make bicyclists and pedestrians safer has mushroomed into a controversy that seems to have no resolution, observers say. Several years ago, the Florida Department of Transportation floated four alternatives to calm traffic on and near the Brickell Avenue Bridge for the sake of those on bike or on foot, and also to protect buildings from errant vehicles. Alternative 1 would have left all lanes on the Brickell Bridge as they were (three northbound and three southbound) and would have erected…

LLCs, rejoice! Cohn and Mnuchin debut tax plan that would be amazing for landlords

From TRD New York: The Trump administration unveiled its long-awaited tax reform plan on Wednesday, proposing massive cuts to individual, corporate and other business taxes in what would be the largest change to the tax code since at least 1986. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Director Gary Cohn briefed reporters on the plan at the White House. Cohn spoke first, detailing the changes the plan would bring to individual…

ESJ Capital Partners Pays $60M for Jungle Island in Miami

ESJ Capital Partners LLC, an investment management company, acquired the Jungle Island zoological park at 1111 Parrot Jungle Trl. in Miami, FL for $60 million, or about $373 per square foot, from PJG Watson Island. The 182,799-square-foot entertainment building has been the home of the park since 2003. The 18-acre site is encumbered by a ground lease with the City, which gave its approval on the sale. Both parties handled the direct deal…

How an Uptick in Collaborative Workspaces Could Affect the Demand for Commercial Real Estate

Workspace evolution contributes to the CRE revolution: The world of work – or at least the world of the workspace – is undergoing a major evolution as a result of a changing workforce, technology, and the twists and turns of the modern economy. As a result, the commercial real estate market is also seeing a shift in demand due to how that space is utilized. CRE and the mobile generation: Advances in technology have allowed workers, particularly those in Generation Y and Z (who are most comfortable…

Multi-Tenant Infill Industrial: Unicorn Of CRE Investment?

Getting caught up in the thrill of the chase can sink an investor in the long run, when what seemed like the golden ticket ends up revealing hidden surprises. A savvy investor will counteract that urge by relying on careful study, specific market knowledge and proven relationships. Multi-tenant industrial real estate is hot, especially in…

Hyatt may rebuild Miami hotel and convention center

Hyatt Hotels Corp. and the Miami city government are discussing a deal to redevelop the company’s Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Miami and the adjacent James L. Knight Center convention complex. The hotel and convention center opened on the north bank of the Miami River in 1982. Terms of a potential redevelopment plan would give Hyatt 12 months to produce a master plan for construction of a new hotel with meeting space, plus a mixed-use project, at the 4.5-acre site at 400 Southeast 2 Avenue.

Alta acquires assemblage near Dadeland Mall for $14.4M

Miami-based Alta Developers this month paid $14.4 million for an assemblage of land on South Dixie Highway near Dadeland Mall for a mixed-use development with 400-plus apartments. Alta, led by principal Henry Pino, paid $11 million for a 1.45-acre industrial site at 9600 South Dixie Highway. The seller was WLPW2 LLC, managed by Wendy L. Whitmire. Alta bought two other parcels for the assemblage. The company paid $2 million for a site measuring 6,250 square feet at 9514 South Dixie Highway. The seller…

Inside CMX Movie Theater, Brickell City Centre’s New “VIP Cinema Experience”

Down the street from the bums on Brickell and around the corner from Blackbird Ordinary, there is a gleaming, chrome and concrete monolith poised to transform one of the more blighted and ignored areas of downtown. Brickell City Centre, a luxurious, open-air shopping center, opened in November of last year, but is still taking its final shape. Recently, BCC unveiled its latest crown jewel: CMX – the VIP cinema experience. It’s a concept familiar to anyone who’s frequented an upscale movie theater. Other worthwhile…

Avesta Communities Snags $95 Million In Loans For Miami Multifamily Buy

Avesta Communities, a real estate company that focuses on properties in Texas and Florida, secured $94.7 million in loans for its purchase of a North Miami multifamily property, commercial real estate lender Walker & Dunlop Inc. said in a Friday statement. The first loan was short-term, six-month bridge financing worth $48.4 million. Walker & Dunlop then transitioned that loan into a permanent Freddie Mac floating-rate loan worth $46.3 million, according to the statement. It was not immediately clear when Avesta…

The rise and fall of the mall that changed Miami

Forty years ago, a mall opened for business in Miami. But it wasn’t just any mall. This one had a carousel. A multiplex movie theater. A bakery with killer cinnamon bread. A hotel. The mall gave workers in downtown Miami somewhere to spend their lunch hour. It gave kids in Miami Beach, Little Havana and Overtown somewhere cool to hang out. The Omni International Mall opened on Biscayne Boulevard at 14th and 15th streets in February 1977 on the site of the old Jordan Marsh department store, which was melded into…

Construction of American Dream Miami may not be completed for another five years

Speaking to a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce crowd, an American Dream Miami consultant said construction on the massive theme-park-oriented mall may not be completed until 2022, when all roads and expressway interchanges into the development have been finished. In the meantime, fostering more development around public transit hubs is the key ingredient in creating the kind of critical mass that will transform Miami into a true urban center, according to a panel of downtown and Brickell evelopers.

Bridge Completes $80 Million Sale To Duke For 700,000 SF Of Industrial Assets

Bridge Development Partners, one of South Florida’s most active industrial real estate developers, today announced the disposition of three Class-A, industrial buildings totaling 676,835 square feet—Bridge Point Crossroads East and South located in Hialeah Gardens. CBRE’s Capital Markets team including Chris Riley, Vice Chairman in Atlanta; Christian Lee, Vice Chairman in Miami; and José Antonio Lobón, Senior Vice President in Miami represented Bridge Development in the sale to Duke Realty Corp.

American Dream Miami Construction May Not Begin For Another 8 Years

Speaking to a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce crowd, an American Dream Miami consultant said construction on the massive theme-park-oriented mall may not begin until 2025, three years after all roads and expressway interchanges into the development have been completed. In the meantime, fostering more development around public transit hubs is the key ingredient in creating the kind of critical mass that will transform Miami into a true urban center, according to a panel of downtown and Brickell developers.

Tour Brickell’s new CMX movie theater

Located in Brickell City Centre and now open for business CMX has opened its VIP cinema experience in Brickell, bringing 10 screens and two bars to a 35,759-square-foot space in Brickell City Centre. The state-of-the-art cinema features all-laser theaters and cutting-edge audio technology from Meyer Sound Laboratories, including one Dolby Atmos room, the crown jewel viewing room within the complex due to the rich audio traveling from all directions of the room. This is the first CMX theater in…

Miami’s historic Biltmore Hotel to undergo lobby renovation

A collaboration between D’Shakil Designs and Studio 5 Design + Architecture Step inside Miami’s historic Biltmore Hotel this summer and you’ll notice some enhancements to its already distinct main lobby, as the landmark hotel in Coral Gables has announced D-Shakil Designs and Studio 5 Design + Architecture are collaborating on a redesign. The renovation is expected to conclude this July and will include new materials, drapery, and furniture in an effort to modernize the 91-year-old hotel…

Richman breaks ground on Edgewater rentals with $59M loan

Multifamily developer the Richman Group just broke ground on an apartment building in Edgewater with a nearly $58.6 million construction loan, property records show. Bank of America provided the financing to Richman affiliate Biscayne Apartments LLC for Biscayne 27. The 330-unit building will feature a sixth-floor amenity deck, about 9,600 square feet of retail on the ground floor, a parking garage, courtyard, pool and spa, according to a notice of commencement filed…

Miami Hotel Tour: The redesigned Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami has unveiled a multi-phase renovation which includes redesigns of the lobby, all 450 guest rooms, and a new signature restaurant called Lightkeepers under Executive Chef Raul A. Del Pozo. The “re-imagination,” in the words of the hotel, is inspired by “Florida’s ocean hues and the effervescent spirit of the Caribbean.” Spearheading the upgrading of the beachfront resort’s rooms is Wimberly Interiors, which utilized subtle blues and grays, “with pops of green.” New room…

CMC Group Lands $236 Million Loan for Miami Luxury Condo Project

Miami-based CMC Group has secured mezzanine and senior loan financing totaling $236 million to completion development of Brickell Flatiron, a 64-story luxury residential condominium tower in Miami’s Brickell financial district. The 549-unit project under construction at 1001 South Miami Ave. across from The Shops at Mary Brickell Village and near Brickell City Centre received a $138.3 million senior loan and a $97.97 million mezzanine loan, with…

Lloyd Jones Capital Appoints New, Miami Based, Operations Group President, COO

Holly Costello has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Lloyd Jones Capital’s operations group. Based in the firm’s Miami, FL office, Costello will manage the firm’s Florida, Texas and South Carolina offices. She joins Lloyd Jones Capital’s executive and investment committees. Costello has been in the multifamily real estate industry for more than 25 years, working with CPM Services, Balfour Beatty and Walden Residential…

Jones Joins Monument Real Estate Services Mgmt

Monument Real Estate Services (MRES) hired Lesly Jones as its vice president of marketing and leasing with Monument Capital & Asset Management in Miami, FL. In her new role, Jones will oversee and develop marketing services in support of the company’s multifamily portfolio. Prior to joining Monument, Jones was responsible for regional property management with Pegasus Residential. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Jones also worked…

Whalen Joins NorthMarq Capital

Paul Whalen has joined NorthMarq Capital, a leader in financing commercial real estate in the U.S., as a vice president in the firm’s Miami Lakes, FL office. In his new role, Whalen will deploy the full range of investor capital on behalf of clients, including fixed rate first mortgages, subordinate debt, equity and other financial products. Whalen brings more than 37 years of industry experience, most recently serviung as the managing director…

Sale of Miami-Dade industrial buildings worth over $60 million

Commercial real estate transactions of any kind can be complex and involve a number of negotiations during the process. A high-end real estate company based in Boston, TA-Realty, was involved in a transaction that could mean major changes to the Miami-Dade commercial real estate scene. Realty Associates Fund IX, part of TA-Realty, recently sold 45 properties to real estate funds belonging to Brookfield Property Group based out of New York as part of a national portfolio deal worth $854.5 million…

The old mall is dead and Florida’s largest retail developments are showing what comes next

When Victor Gruen designed the first contemporary American malls in the mid-1950s, he changed the changed the way Americans shopped. Much to his chagrin, however, what malls would become over the next 50 years would be far from the civic social suburban spaces that he had envisioned. He would eventually distance himself from the typology. Today, malls, as a typology, are going through major change. Whether due to a changing economy or a changing customer base, malls—as 1990s mall rats knew them…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report First Quarter 2017

The new year starts off with a slightly lower average lease rate of $9.54 per sq. ft. and a higher vacancy rate to 3.9%. The positive absorption was a mediocre 602,988 sq. ft. The most significant disposition so far this year was TA Associates’ sale of seven warehouses totaling 550,000 sq. ft. to Brookfield Asset Management for $60M. The largest lease transaction was a renewal by Bel USA of 342,750 sq. ft. in Medley Logistics Park worth an estimated value of $30M. While most of the…

Southcoast Simulation Lands in Miami Warehouse

Southcoast Simulation, Inc. has recently moved into its brand new 17,000 sq. ft. class A warehouse space at South Florida Logistics Center located at 3200 NW 67 Avenue in Miami, Florida. Southcoast is based in Montreal, Canada and specializes in Visual System Technical Support for flight simulators originally produced in England and Canada. “Southcoast employees offer years of  highly experienced systems engineering and program…

Gambling giant Genting wins Miami-Dade joint development

Miami-Dade’s County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved joint development at the Omni bus terminal with access to the Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover station for Resorts World Miami LLC, which is planning a 300-room hotel over the bus terminal. This will include air rights over the property for the Department of Transportation and Public Works. Attorney Albert E. Dotson Jr., representing the developer, said Tuesday this is an atypical deal. “Your staff (including the county attorney’s office, Leland Salomon…

Scarface’s Chainsaw Scene Location on Ocean Drive Is Turning Into a CVS

All the painkillers, Band-Aids, and antibiotics in the world wouldn’t have made much of a difference to Angel Fernandez, the Scarface character whose dismemberment by chainsaw was the 1983 gangster flick’s most infamous scene. But today the building where the grisly attack was set is being converted into a CVS. Renovations have already begun at 728 Ocean Drive in South Beach, with the back portion of the building now demolished. The façade and its iconic porthole windows, one of which served as a backdrop for the…

Martin Pinilla II: Realty investor give urban neighborhoods ‘some love’

Martin Pinilla II is co-founder and co-managing partner of Barlington Group, a Miami-based real estate investment and development company that he said is committed to revitalizing emerging neighborhoods in Miami’s urban core. In 2002, Mr. Pinilla began investing in small-scale residential properties in Little Havana and as a commercial real estate broker. Two years later, he met Bill Fuller, one of the owners of the Ball & Chain, a bar/lounge on Southwest Eighth Street, as each was independent…

Facing Rising Sea Levels And Greater Insurance Risk, Southern Florida Braces For Relocations, New Flood Design Standards

The moon over South Florida looked like a swollen grapefruit in November, its reflection rippling off pools of ocean water that bubbled up through storm drains, crept over seawalls, and swallowed Miami streets. It was a “supermoon,” about 17,000 miles closer to Earth than usual, according to NASA, arriving just in time to supercharge the seasonal high waters known as king tides. The water made an island out of the lifeguards’ shack on Matheson Hammock Park, swept “No Wake” signs from…

PortMiami Traffic With Asia Rises 11% In 2016

According to the port, the growth in the cargo side of the business comes as a result of $1.3 billion in capital infrastructure investments made to handle larger Post-Panamax ships.

Judge issues restraining order to stop Miami from enforcing ban on short-term rentals

A Miami judge issued a temporary restraining order late Wednesday, stopping the city of Miami from enforcing its ban on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. The ruling by Judge Beatrice Butchko of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit came less than a week after Airbnb and five Miami homeowners sued the city to stop Miami officials from enforcing bans on short-term rentals and for targeting Airbnb hosts who publicly identified themselves.

The Nightmare Scenario for Florida’s Coastal Homeowners

On a predictably gorgeous South Florida afternoon, Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason sat in his office overlooking the white-linen restaurants of this affluent seaside community and wondered when climate change would bring it all to an end. He figured it would involve a boat. When Cason first started worrying about sea-level rise, he asked his staff to count not just how much coastline the city had (47 miles) or value of the property along that coast ($3.5 billion). He also told them to find out how many boats dock inland from the bridges …

Yotel condo-hotel project in downtown Miami gets approval for massive parking reductions

Miami’s Urban Design Review Board approved changes to a proposed condo-hotel in downtown that will reduce parking at the development site by 30 percent and shrink setbacks around the new building. Kuwaiti company AQARAT and Miami-based Aria Development Group are proposing Yotel Hotel, a 45-story tower at 235 Northeast Second Street, which will have some condos on the upper floors, commercial spaces for restaurants and retail and 263 “cabins,” smaller, minimalist…

Video: Development Company CEO Discusses Potential Impact of Trump Policies on the Industrial Market

Larry Callahan, the CEO of Pattillo Industrial Real Estate, joins Michael Bull on an episode of The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss some of the potential effects the Trump administration might have on industrial real estate.  Potential changes in the tax code, tariffs, and regulation, and how they might affect commercial real estate, in particular industrial property, are discussed.  The post Video: Development Company CEO Discusses Potential Impact of Trump Policies on the Industrial…

Banks Lend Aggressively On CRE Despite Downturn Fears

Banks are aggressively lending on commercial properties even as developers and equity investors are starting to pull back amid fears of a downturn. “It’s tougher right now,” Craig Bender of ING Group’s U.S. real estate lending arm told the Wall Street Journal. “The banks are hungry. The life insurance companies are hungry.” Total U.S. commercial
The post Banks Lend Aggressively On CRE Despite Downturn Fears appeared first on SVN South Commercial Real Estate Advisors.

Four Miami-Dade Industrial Buildings Trade As Part Of $854M Portfolio Deal

The largest local part of this deal was the $28.58 million sale of two Doral buildings that last traded for $19 million in 2011.

Real estate developers set their sights, and wallets, on city of Miami candidates in March

Some of Miami’s biggest developers made donations last month to city of Miami candidates running for commissioner and mayoral seats in the November election. Companies tied to the Related Group, Manuel Grosskopf, Oleta Partners, Tate Management, the Treo Group, Shahab Karmely, Flagstone Island Gardens, Jeff Berkowitz, Adler Group, Craig Robins and Turnberry Development all made donations to the candidates, the Miami Herald reported. The candidates include Miami commissioner Francis Suarez, who’s running…

Whole Foods-anchored retail center coming to U.S. 1 corridor south of Miami

Regency Centers Corporation announced plans to build a 70,000-square-foot retail center just south of Miami anchored by a Whole Foods Market grocery store. Jacksonville-based Regency will build the retail center, called Pinecrest Place, next to an existing 173,000-square-foot Target department store off U.S. 1. Regency expects to complete construction of the $16.4 million Pinecrest Place project in the second quarter of 2018. “Pinecrest Place is an ideal blend of best-in-quality anchors with substantial parking, and visibility…

‘The dominoes are starting to fall’: Retailers are going bankrupt at a staggering rate

Retailers are filing for bankruptcy at an alarming rate that’s quickly approaching recessionary levels. It’s only April, and nine retailers have already filed for bankruptcy since the start of the year — as many as all of last year. “2017 will be the year of retail bankruptcies,” Corali Lopez-Castro, a bankruptcy lawyer, told Business Insider after she attended a recent distressed-investing conference in Palm Beach, Florida. “Retailers are running out of cash, and the dominoes are starting to fall.” Payless ShoeSource, hhgregg, The Limited…

Could Trump’s Trade Policies Ripple Through Miami’s Industrial Real Estate?

President Trump’s intentions to curb America’s trade deficits by beefing up US exports and curbing imports drive could drive policy changes that trickle down to industrial markets around the nation, according to a new Cushman & Wakefield report. “President Trump says he believes in ‘free trade but also fair trade,’ and as policy details emerge, companies will start looking at their supply chain networks to determine the impact on operating costs,” says Jason Tolliver, head of Industrial Research, Americas at CushWake.

Miami rents decreased by 5% in the last year, per report

For one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms Miami, Miami Beach, and Boca Raton are the three most expensive areas to rent in Zumper’s latest Miami metro report, which looked at over 56,000 active listings in March across 18 areas throughout South Florida. There is good news for renters in two of those areas, however. Prices are down in Miami and Miami Beach, by 5.3 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, year over year for one-bedroom units. While Homestead was the most affordable city to rent in, it…

A new vision for Wynwood will make your eyes pop

Entrepreneur Moishe Mana has unveiled new eye-popping animated renderings of his massive Wynwood redevelopment as he drums up investment and international interest in his plan for a trade center linking Latin America with China and other parts of Asia. The conceptual images, by far the most detailed Mana and his architects have issued, depict a dense cluster of irregularly spaced towers that would house offices, showrooms, hotels and a conference facility on the western portion of his extensive Wynwood holdings.

Airbnb sues the city of Miami for going after hosts, enacting short-term rental rules

After threatening to crack down on Miami Airbnb hosts who spoke up at a city commission meeting, the home-sharing platform is fighting back — with a lawsuit. In a suit filed Friday afternoon in Miami-Dade County circuit court, Airbnb claims the city of Miami is both violating the First Amendment rights of the hosts it is pursuing and flouting a state law that prohibits municipalities from enacting regulations post-2011 to further limit short-term rentals in private homes. On March 23, dozens of Airbnb hosts packed into…

UF/IFAS scientists find Zika RNA in a second mosquito species

A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences molecular biologist has found Zika RNA in a type of mosquito not often associated with the virus. UF/IFAS entomology associate professor Chelsea Smartt led a research team that found Zika RNA in Aedes albopictus. That’s not the species — known as Aedes aegypti — most often associated with Zika. But scientists have never discounted Aedes albopictus as another possible carrier of the potentially deadly virus. Brazil has the highest number of reported…

Leaked docs show hotel industry’s role in anti-Airbnb laws

Newly leaked documents show how the hotel industry systematically pushed for anti-Airbnb legislation last year and worked to sway public opinion against the short-term room rental website. In early 2016, trade group American Hotel and Lodging Association launched a “multipronged, national campaign approach at the local, state and federal level,” focusing on major cities like New York…

Walnut Street Capital flips commercial property near Miami Design District

Walnut Street Capital just flipped two commercial properties near the Miami Design District for more than double the price the firm paid two years ago, clearing it a cool $1 million.
Fort Lauderdale-based Walnut Street sold the adjacent properties at 185 Northwest 45th Street and 4501 Northwest Second Avenue for $2.05 million, after buying the sites for $800,000 in April 2015. In the interim, the firm paid more than…

Video: United States Restaurant Trends 2017

Robin and Eric Gagnon, Chief Marketing Office and President, respectively, of We Sell Restaurants, join The Commercial Real Estate Show in Studio One to discuss various performance and trends in the United States restaurant sector, which affects retail properties. Highlights include: Escalators in excess of revenue growth can be problematic; Seven in ten restaurants are owned by single unit operators; Minimum wage laws can be a death blow to restaurants owners; Legal environment an issues as…

Video: Managing Director of the Center for Realtor Technology Highlights Building Technology Resources

Chad Curry, Managing Director at the Center for Realtor® Technology, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss building technology  resources for commercial buildings. Highlights of this video include: The Array of Things, a micro-climate monitoring system out of Chicago; Various online resources for commercial space technology; CRTlabs.org; FastCoDesign.com; FastCoLabs; TheNextWeb; ReadWrite; CityLab. CRT Labs is a research group that is operated by the National Association…

Additional Opportunity for Increased Extension of Building Permits and Development Orders

Interested parties must notify issuing governmental agency by September 7th to receive a new extension. Due to Governor Scott’s recent expansion of the State of Emergency issued for the Zika Virus, holders of permits and development orders have another opportunity to toll the period remaining to exercise rights under the permit or order for nearly 18 months. Section 252.363 of the Florida Statutes permits a tolling of development orders and permits upon the declaration of a state of emergency…

Secretary Ben Carson Kicks Off Public Housing P3

Yesterday, Miami-Dade County hosted Dr. Ben Carson, the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, at the Liberty Square public-housing development, one of the oldest in the nation.  The meeting formally commenced an exciting public-private partnership for the complete redevelopment of Liberty Square.  The project will be transformative for the community and a model for new public-housing projects throughout the country, and we have been fortunate to have been …

Miami On The ‘Leading Edge’ Of New Movements In Retail Real Estate

Food halls, entertainment options, going-out-of-business sales are some of the latest developments in South Florida retail real estate.

Check It Out: The View From The Top Of Florida’s Tallest Building

Developer Tibor Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty is celebrating the topping-off of its 830-foot luxury rental tower at 1101 Brickell Ave.. The ceremony is a customary way for builders to commemorate the completion of the top floor of a new structure. At 85 stories, Panorama Tower will be the tallest building in Florida and the tallest residential building south of Manhattan, according to the developer. The tower will house 821 apartments, ranging in size from one to three bedrooms and starting at 1,135 square feet., along with a sick array…

Airbnb and five homeowners sue city of Miami over vacation rental crackdown

Airbnb is teaming up with five Miami homeowners to take on city government and Mayor Tomas Regalado. The tech company, along with Yamile Bell, Toya Bowles, Gary Levin, Ana Rubio and Kenneth Tobin, sued the city on Friday to stop Miami officials from enforcing bans on short-term rentals and for targeting Airbnb hosts who publicly identified themselves.  An Airbnb spokesperson declined comment and The Real Deal was unable to reach Regalado or Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso, both of whom were not…

As sea levels rise in Miami Beach, raising homes and buildings may be next

For some property owners in Miami Beach, raising their homes and buildings may be the only solution to dealing with rising seas. Miami Beach officials say that as the city raises its streets, they expect more homeowners and building owners to look seriously at raising their structures – many of which will be lower than streets and sidewalks on their property line. “We have to adapt these buildings before the water gets here, because otherwise it will be too expensive to keep them, so we have to adapt them or let go of them and build…

Allapattah assemblage sells for $3.1 million

An assemblage of four parcels just sold for $3.1 million in Allapattah, as investors continue to target the gritty Miami neighborhood west of Wynwood for redevelopment. The properties include 2140 Northwest 36th Street (aerial), 2135 Northwest 35th Street, 2141 Northwest 35th Street and 2145 Northwest 35th Street. Records show the sites span 48,266 square feet of land with buildings dating back to 1935 and 1947 that house retail shops and restaurants, an auto sales center, two multifamily buildings, a duplex and a vacant lot.

Transit-oriented development in Miami Gardens awaited

With plans on the drawing board to extend Metrorail from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. station to the Miami-Dade/Broward County line in the median of Northwest 27th Avenue comes a renewed interest in a transit-oriented development in Miami Gardens. A Miami-Dade County request for proposals is in a cone of silence now, so transit officials won’t discuss it. But a September 2011 study hints at what eventually might take shape on the 14-acre parcel of county-owned land on the northwest corner of Northwest 215th Street…

Port of Miami Tunnel developer looks to transit deal too

The chief operating officer of a company that helped to fund, build and operate the Port of Miami Tunnel told a county committee last week how the firm’s aims might mesh with the now-unfunded plan to add six transit legs in Miami-Dade. Thilo Tecklenburg, COO for French group Meridiam, a global investor and asset manager specializing in public and community infrastructure, said his company is looking for early stage procurements and preparations in public/private partnerships (P3s) for transit that will come to a…

Bills That Property Owners And Insurers Should Watch This Legislative Session

Several proposed acts working their way through the Florida House and Senate will impact property owners and professionals working in the real estate industry. The measures fight abuse of the legal and insurance system and protect property owners. Here’s a rundown of the most important bills and where they stood one month before the legislature is scheduled to adjourn: House Bill 483 and Companion Senate Bill 398 To Cap Fees Charged By Community Associations For Estoppel Certificates; Florida…

TA Realty Sells Miami-Dade Portfolio To Brookfield For $60M

TA Realty sold a 45-asset portfolio to Brookfield Asset Management for $854.5 million, including at least five properties in Miami-Dade. Property records show the following just closed in Miami-Dade County, totaling more than 550,000 square feet of office and warehouse space. 8841 Northwest 23rd Street and 2180 Northwest 89th Place in Doral sold for $28.58 million. 10302 Northwest South River Drive in Medley (birdseye aerial) sold for $12.6 million. 6100 Northwest 74th Avenue in Miami sold for $19.58 million

Miami’s The Citadel to further transform Little Haiti

Including a food hall Little Haiti looks to continue its evolution as one of Miami’s fastest-growing neighborhoods with The Citadel expecting to open next Winter. Within the 60,000-square-foot MiMo building at 8300 Northeast 2nd Avenue will be a hub for dining, shopping, and working. A food hall will live on the first floor, with announced tenants including Stanzione (pizza), Bianco Gelato and Smashing Avo’s (specializing in avocado toast). Other components include a service-oriented…

Health officials warn Wynwood property owners and businesses to prepare for Zika

As the summer creeps closer, Wynwood landlords and tenants who want to avoid another round of the Zika virus and its impact on business got a sobering dose of reality on Wednesday. During a regular meeting of the Wynwood Business Improvement District, state health officials and city officials told the board and more than two dozen attendees that the only way to combat the spreading of the mosquito-and-sexually transmitted disease in the coming months is…

High-rise redevelopment of Hallandale golf property still pending as potential buyers emerge

The owners of the Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club in Hallandale Beach are still determining how to redevelop the 127-acre property as they turn away potential buyers. “We have been approached by people that have expressed interest in it. The property is really not for sale,” Louis Birdman, one of the owners, told The Real Deal. “We’re still working on some planning and design-related things. We’re just not ready to announce anything…

Co-Working Space Remains Popular Part Of Miami’s Office Demand

Co-working providers are still bullish on Miami’s office market. How bullish? A phone call a week, said one of the region’s top office brokers. “There’s more and more coming on a daily basis. I think our phone rings once a week with a new co-working operator,” said CBRE first vice president Grant Killingsworth, during Bisnow’s State of the Office event this month. He was part of a panel on the future of the workplace, along with Quest Workspaces CEO Laura Kozelouzek, Brightline senior vice president John Guitar, AEI founder…

Public-private partnerships for transit get rail developer’s input

Public-private partnerships (P3s) for transit should be flexible and competitive, with both parties feeling they come from a position of strength, Michael Reininger, executive director of Florida East Coast Industries, recommends. “There’s a need for motivational balance where both sides should have needs and resources for a partnership, and then you can take advantage of both sides,” he said during County Commission Chair Esteban Bovo Jr.’s Policy Council meeting April 6, explaining that his comments were mostly…

Aimco Acquires Rio Apartments in Miami

Nationwide apartment investor Aimco acquired Rio Apartments at 8855 Fontainebleau Boulevard in Miami from Brisas Del Rio, Inc. for $42 million, or about $143,000 per unit. The five-story, 366,237-square-foot Class C apartment community consists of one- and two-bedroom units in eight buildings. The complex was built in 1971 and is in the Fontainebleau East multifamily submarket. Brokers were not noted in the deal.

Coconut Grove bayfront project gets cost-shaving boost

Miami Parking Authority officials, working with architects and engineers, may have figured out how to shave millions in unexpected costs from a municipal garage planned for the Coconut Grove bayfront. The garage and its ground floor retail are a key part of a public-private partnership among the authority, the City of Miami and Grove Bay Investment Group LLC. The developer has leased about 7 acres from the city as part of an agreement to redevelop the waterfront north of City Hall into The Harbour. Authority CEO…

4 Trends That Will Affect Miami’s Office Market

From capital and tenant office demand to parking and the cool factor, there are many factors shaping the future of Miami offices. Here are the four biggest. Bisnow Cushman & Wakfield’s Brian Gale, The Allen Morris Co. CEO Allen Morris, Banyan Street Capital CEO Rudy Touzet, Crocker Partners’ Angelo Biano and IP Capital Partners’ Josh Procacci 1. Rents Could Pass $50/SF Office rents are hitting the $50/SF mark again, The Allen Morris Co. CEO Allen Morris said. “But it has gone above that in the past,” Morris said.

Developer Proposes 308 Apartments Near US 1 In Miami-Dade

The city will hold a zoning hearing on April 17 to consider the application for the Park View project proposal. A company led by Delray Beach developer Anthony V. Pugliese III wants to build an apartment complex just east of U.S. 1 in Palmetto Bay. The city will hold a zoning hearing on April 17 to consider the application for Park View on the 3.14-acre site at 9420, 9450 and 9500 Southwest 174th Street. The property currently has two single-family homes and a daycare facility separately owned by Jorge L. Morales, Pedro…

Developers And Property Managers Forced To Adjust To Growing Use Of Package Delivery

The front desk managers at Smith’s Landing Apartments at Virginia Tech handle countless packages every day. None left them as perplexed as when a carrier walked in one day dragging a full-sized kayak. Generally, kayaks are anywhere from 9 to 12 feet long, and about two and a half feet wide. Three weeks later, the plastic piece of marine equipment was still sitting in the front office at the Drucker & Falk-managed building, waiting on the student who ordered it and then left for winter break before picking it up.

Commercial Property Lending Slows As High Prices Stall Deals

Traditional lenders like banks and insurance companies have slowed their commercial real estate lending activity, and experts foresee the trend continuing well into 2017. Pexels Lending was down 3% last year from 2015 levels, and lenders closed $491B worth of mortgage loans in 2016, according to new statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The slowdown in lending was spurred by fewer property transactions taking place in need of loans, and the downtrend is expected to continue this year as investors grow…

Miami hospitality market shifts focus from beach to emerging downtown areas: ULI event

Ever since Miami pioneer Julia Tuttle sent Henry Flagler a box of fresh orange blossoms to get him to extend his railroad to Miami from frost-damaged West Palm Beach back in 1896, clever marketers have been trying to get investors to buy into Miami’s hospitality market. Now, instead of orange blossoms, hospitality professionals in the Magic City are promoting hotel investments in some of the city’s newly hip neighborhoods like Wynwood, the Design District and even Little Haiti. Panelists discussing the state of Miami’s…

Pollo Tropical HQ Moving To Airport West Property

A recently updated creative office project in Coral Gables now has a little chicken. Pollo Tropical, the chain restaurant division of Texas-based Fiesta Restaurant Group, has inked a 10k SF deal to move its headquarters, test kitchen and training space to The Landing at MIA, a 50-acre complex that is a mix of office and industrial properties, right at Miami International Airport. The property at 7255 Corporate Center Drive was part of a $17M renovation of the complex. CREC’s Carol Brooks and Katie Fernandez-Espinosa…

Regency Centers Announces the Development of Pinecrest Place in Miami, Florida

Regency Centers Corporation (“Regency” or the “Company”), a national owner, operator, and developer of grocery-anchored shopping centers, has announced the start of a new ground-up development in Miami, Florida. Pinecrest Place, with estimated net development costs of $16.4 million, will be adding 70,000 square-feet of high quality retail to an existing 173,000 square foot Target, anchored by a new, 46,000 square foot flagship Whole Foods Market. Construction completion is expected in the second quarter of 2018.

Sears at Aventura Mall to shutter, be redeveloped into mixed-use project

The Sears at Aventura Mall will close this summer and the site will be developed into a mixed-use project. Sears, at 19505 Biscayne Boulevard, will begin its liquidation sale at the end of April and close by mid-July, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The landlord, Seritage Growth Properties, will break ground on Esplanade at Aventura, with 215,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, later this year. Aventura approved the site plan in December. Seritage purchased 235 Sears and Kmart…

Auberge Miami canceled amid cooling condo market

Previously delayed until 2018 Auberge Miami, originally planned as a 1,400-unit condo development in downtown Miami, has been canceled as deposits have already been returned to buyers, according to multiple reports. Groundbreaking was pegged for early 2017 for a 60-story luxury tower at 1400 Biscayne Boulevard (just north of the Adrienne Arsht Center) but a new timeline emerged last August, pegging construction for the end of 2018 amid stalling sales in an oversaturated market. Miami Condo…

Sign of the times: Related cancels Auberge Miami as condo market fizzles

The Related Group has shut down its Auberge Residences & Spa Miami project and returned buyers’ deposits amid a sluggish condo market, sources told The Real Deal. Related launched the development in February 2016, just as sales were slowing in Miami’s preconstruction condo market. In August, TRD reported that construction of the 290-unit, 60-story tower was on hold until at least year-end 2018. The sales center, at 1440 Biscayne Boulevard, has been closed since December, sources said. The phone number…

South Florida condo developers chopping prices, shifting strategies to close deals

South Florida’s preconstruction condo market is adjusting after a challenging year for developers and brokers. While the slowdown is sticking around, especially in Miami, agents and sellers have shifted their pricing and strategies to close deals. Generally speaking, condos spent more time on the market and sold for reduced prices last year, according to a fourth-quarter Douglas Elliman report. Sellers also had to temper their expectations more than in the past: In the Miami Beach luxury condo market, the difference between…

Triple Five expects to finish N.J. mall while developing American Dream Miami

A lawyer representing Triple Five, the developer of American Dream Miami, said the mega-mall project is advancing while Triple Five tries to resume construction of a New Jersey mall with the same name. Triple Five last year stopped construction of the American Dream Meadowlands in northeastern New Jersey, which could derail plans to open the mall in 2018. But Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, a land use lawyer who represents Triple Five, told the Miami Herald the development of American Dream Miami is moving forward…

Miami to Orlando in 26 minutes: A Hyperloop One finalist

Could planes be a thing of the past? The Hyperloop One could eventually come to Miami, creating a 26-minute route to Orlando, which would be a fraction of the four hours it would take to drive and less than half the hour it’d take to fly. Of the 2,600 submissions in a global challenge from earlier in the year, among the 11 U.S. finalists is the Miami-to-Orlando route, notes The Verge. The process works by using a linear electric motor to move an electromagnetically levitated pod through a tube…

Historic preservation board defers hotel conversion for Miami Beach’s South-of-Fifth

If developers want their projects approved in Miami Beach, they apparently had best not put off meeting with neighbors for nine years.  The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board on Monday deferred what could otherwise have been a routine request to change a building’s use (250 Collins Avenue) from multi-family residential to suites hotel after it learned the building’s owner had not met with the South-of-Fifth Neighborhood Association to address concerns about how the building…

Lennar restates Q1 earnings to account for potential $140M hit from litigation

Lennar Corp. on Monday restated its first quarter earnings to account for a possible $140 million hit related to litigation. The Miami-based homebuilder said that rather than the $130.8 million, or 56 cents per share first quarter earnings it previously reported, it is now reporting $38.1 million or 16 cents per share. Lennar said that since it released earnings on March 21, the United States Court of Appeals for the…

Video: Chad Curry, Director at the Center for Realtor Technology Labs, Discusses Aquaponics, Responsive Space

Chad Curry, Managing Director at the Center for Realtor® Technology, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss aquaponics, the use of plants and fish to enhance a work environment, and responsive workspaces.  This is a great video for innovative commercial real estate investors looking for an edge. as it has tips for saving money and enhancing a buildings environment relatively inexpensively, likely leading to more rent and net income. How fish and plants are used together (aquaponics)…

How the JOBS Act Is Affecting Commercial Real Estate Investment

Crowdfunding is the name of the game. Once upon a time, anyone with a commercial real estate (CRE) investment opportunity could only offer it, courtesy of a 1933 law, to a select group of people – only those with whom they had a substantial business relationship. That usually meant friends, family, and business associates. All that changed in 2012, when President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. One of the key components of the law was opening up that 1933…