This Week's South Florida Deal Sheet
LEASES
Sky Technologies is debuting new digs in the U.S. after inking a lease in Downtown Miami.
Sky Technologies signed a 10-year lease for 36K SF of office space and rooftop rights for advertisement at Property Markets Group’s The Elser Hotel & Residences, Digital Journal reported.
The company will open a sales office and U.S. headquarters there in 2023, and its lease includes provisions for it to begin making rent payments in January 2024 and receive a $2.3M improvement stipend from the landlords for renovations. Sky said it intends to sublease out about half of the office space, according to The Real Deal.
“Securing a long-term lease for SKYX signage and offices in the heart of downtown Miami provides an incredible level of brand awareness for SKYX,” said Rani Kohen, founder and executive chairman of SKYX Platforms. “FTX paid $135M to secure a long-term lease for naming of our next-door neighbor’s building, the Miami Heat Arena, now called FTX arena — and that speaks for itself.”
The Elser Hotel & Residences, which debuted in August, was originally planned to be delivered as Society Biscayne Apartments but developers rebranded it in the completion phase to be a furnished condo that accepts short-term rentals.
PMG developer Ryan Shear said at Bisnow’s Blockchain and Tokenization event in August that the company had sold 60 units to buyers with cryptocurrency by listing properties on crypto exchange FTX US.
The firm is accepting large deposits from buyers in Chile, Colombia and Argentina who typically have trouble moving large sums of money quickly out of their home countries.
“Crypto is the first legal conduit to get money out of a country without violating the country’s laws, but I don’t think everyone has processed this from the buyer’s sense or the broker’s sense,” Shear said. “To me, it’s a total game-changer. So, whatever country you are in, I don’t know why you wouldn’t convert [to crypto].”
SALES
New York-based firm Renaissance Properties acquired South City Plaza in Boca Raton for $51M.
Sold by an entity called 1515 Associates Ltd., the building is nearly 400K SF and has 192K SF of leasable space, the South Florida Business Journal reports. The price rounded out to approximately $264 per SF.
Colliers International represented the seller, while Powerful Real Estate represented the buyer. Lantern Real Estate handled the financing package for the deal.
The South City Plaza building was developed in 1986. It sits on a 3.65-acre lot near the Boca Raton resort. Developers have plan to rename the complex as 1515Boca and include electric charging stations for cars in addition to a fitness center and creative office space.
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Bridge Industrial acquired two new industrial assets in Hialeah for nearly $27M.
The Chicago-based developer purchased the site totaling 124K SF with a 200-seat parking lot, the South Florida Business Journal reports.
The 6.19-acre warehouse was financed by CIBC Bank USA. Axiom Capital Advisors represented Bridge Industrial in the deal. Industrial Group Realty represented the seller, Sunway Holdings LLC, which, along with Daniel Murad, purchased the asset for $12.15M in 2018 from a gun manufacturing firm.
FINANCING
Shovels have hit the ground for Greystar’s new apartment development in the works in Palm Beach County.
After securing a $90M financing construction package from PNC Bank, Greystar broke ground on the first phase of The Elan, a 32-acre apartment complex near Boynton Beach, the South Florida Business Journal reports.
PNC Bank provided Greystar with $83.63M for the first mortgage and another $6M for the second. Additionally, the financial institution approved a $300M loan for the pending construction of the project’s commercial phase, which will culminate with 101K SF of self-storage space, 11K SF of retail, 5K SF for a proposed gas station and a 4K SF car wash. There will also be 9K SF of restaurant space available, the SFBJ reports.
Greystar acquired the land in 2021 for $27M. Plans for the complex include 384 units, and 88 of these apartments will be reserved for workforce housing. Designed by Spina O’Rourke Partners, the apartment complex's amenities will include a lake, clubhouse and pool.
DEVELOPMENTS
Key International has received a special exemption from the city commission that will allow development of its proposed Coral Springs apartment complex, once the home of a Publix Super Market.
The former Publix was knocked down in 2007 after suffering damages due to Hurricane Wilma in 2005, The Real Deal reports.
The slated apartment complex, to be located at 9201 West Sample Road, will offer 377 units, of which 175 will be one-bedroom apartments. It will also offer 44 three-bedroom units and 158 two-bedroom digs. There will also be two courtyards, an eight-level parking lot and a pool.
The development is at the corner of West Sample Road and University Drive. Key International will transform the project site to an eight-story complex that will include nearly 12K SF of retail space.
