Oak Row Equities COO Adam Metzger On $520M Brickell Deal, Landing Amazon In Wynwood
Oak Row Equities is wagering more than half a billion dollars on the booming luxury condo market in Miami — although it plans to wait for the boom to dissipate before pushing its chips all the way in.
The New York and Miami-based firm is under contract to buy a 4.25-acre site at 1001 and 1111 Brickell Bay Drive from Apartment Investment and Management Co. for at least $520M, where it plans to construct several luxury condo towers.
“We were able to secure the deal based on an attractive structure that simultaneously met Aimco’s needs, as well as Oak Row’s, giving us time to design a best-in-class project prior to putting in significant capital,” Oak Row Chief Operating Officer Adam Metzger said.
Aimco said in a regulatory filing in December that the sale could close as soon as March, but Metzger told Bisnow, “All I can say for sure is, it's closing in 2025.”
It is the priciest land deal in Miami history — shattering the previous record of $363M that Ken Griffin paid in 2022 for the site of Citadel’s future headquarters — and the biggest splash yet for Oak Row, which was founded in 2018 by Erik Rutter and David Weitz, two Tishman Speyer alumni.
The property has 485 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage and allows Oak Row to build supertall, ultraluxury condo towers on what Metzger said is the best site in Miami on the market.
Aimco listed 1001 and 1111 Brickell Bay Drive, today home to a 32-story office tower and a 31-story apartment building, for $650M last March, The Real Deal reported.
Oak Row has already paid a $38M nonrefundable deposit, Aimco said in its filing. Its agreement allows for the price to rise to $540M if Oak Row and its partners opt for seller financing.
But the developer is in no rush to put shovels in the ground.
Brickell alone saw nearly $2B in construction loans in 2024 handed out to three luxury condo towers: $527M to Related Group and Integra Investments for the 50-story St. Regis Residences, $600M to Mast Capital for the 80-story Cipriani Residences, and a record $668M to Property Markets Group for the supertall Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences.
“Miami is currently seeing a number of successful condominium developments, and we believe that the timing of this acquisition is going to position us to deliver into a supply cliff,” Metzger said. “So, when we are delivering this asset and in presales for our luxury condominium business plan, the competition, so to speak, will be almost completely sold out prior.”
Oak Row still needs to choose an architect to kick off the design process, and it can take its time. It has the option to increase its deposit and delay closing until the end of 2025, Aimco said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.
“Our sights are really set on solidifying the schedule and the program for Phase 1, which will be the 1111 Brickell site demolition itself,” Metzger said. “In terms of the timing of that, it's a lengthy process. It takes approximately a year.”
In the meantime, Oak Row and partners L&L Holding Co., Shorenstein Investment Advisers and Claure Group are getting ready to deliver the 1M SF Wynwood Plaza this year. The mixed-use development at 95 NW 29th St. will have 509 apartments, 32K SF of retail and a 12-story office tower that last month signed Amazon to a 50K SF office lease, the largest in Wynwood history.
Metzger declined to say how much Amazon is paying beyond “market value” in a neighborhood where average asking rent is $87 per SF, according to a CBRE report. Metzger said the e-commerce giant was drawn to the project's design and location in Wynwood, Miami's public art-fueled creative hub.
Half of Wynwood Plaza's 266K SF of office space is still available, but Metzger said activity is picking up after Amazon signed on the dotted line.
“We're seeing the early days of increased inquiries from tenants and their brokers, as this location and building has been vetted by one of the most discerning tenants in the entire world,” he said.
Oak Row has roughly 4M SF in its development pipeline overall, including the 500-unit apartment complex First & Fifth at 49 NW Fifth St., across from the MiamiCentral Station. It is still looking for more sites to buy, but with macroeconomic uncertainty and the new administration's tariffs, Oak Row's investors are closely monitoring the impacts, especially with regard to new developments.
“I would say that there's a tendency for investors to focus on this, and rightly so, because it is an unknown,” Metzger said.
He said the team has dealt with tariffs before, and he believes the global financial system is complex enough that their impact has typically been less severe than initially feared. He believes Oak Row's focus on Miami — and confidence in its future — will allow it to navigate any choppy waters ahead.
“Generally, as whatever state of certainty or uncertainty the world is in at a given time, the United States, and Miami in particular, continue to be viewed as relative safe havens,” Metzger said.
