This Week’s South Florida Deal Sheet: Gencom Buys Back Stake In Ritz-Carlton Resort
Miami-based Gencom retook full ownership of the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, buying back a two-thirds stake in the property that it had sold in 2015, according to a release.
Brookfield Asset Management sold its majority stake to Gencom for an undisclosed price, but the deal valued the 275K SF, 291-key resort at more than $400M, Bloomberg reported. Citigroup and affiliates of Denver-based KSL Capital Partners financed the deal, according to the release.
Gencom plans a $100M renovation, slated to start in 2025, that would upgrade guestrooms, restaurants, public spaces and amenities.
Gencom developed the 13-story property on 17 acres at 455 Grand Bay Drive in 2000. It sold a majority stake in the resort in 2015 to Carey Watermark Investors for $325M, and Brookfield took control of the investment in 2022 when it paid $3.8B to acquire Watermark Lodging Trust, The Real Deal reported.
Brookfield had been looking to offload its stake in the resort since at least November and had tapped JLL to market the asset, according to TRD.
SALES
Cofe Properties sold a six-building industrial complex in Miami Lakes for $38.5M, according to a release. Cofe more than quadrupled its investment, selling the property six years after it acquired it for $7.8M, according to property records.
The buyer was Miami Palmetto Property LLC, an entity co-sponsored by Connecticut-based East Capital Partners and ABR Capital Partners’ GP Investment Program, a fund from the Baltimore-based firm targeting value-add assets.
The portfolio is located at the intersection of I-75 and the Palmetto Expressway at 6801-7500 NW 77th Ave. Its six buildings were built in 1982 and total 183K SF with clear heights ranging from 17 to 19 feet. The warehouses are 91% occupied, according to the release.
Idaho-based A10 Capital provided a $25.6M mortgage for the acquisition, The Real Deal reported. Cofe Properties was represented in the sale by a JLL Capital Markets team consisting of brokers Luis Castillo, Cody Brais and Wells Waller, with assistance from analysts Taylor Osborne and Aaliyah St. Louis.
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The family that owns The Breakers Palm Beach resort paid $11.5M for three properties at 249-253 Royal Poinciana Way, expanding its holdings along Palm Beach’s historic main street, Palm Beach Daily News reported.
The portfolio includes three occupied storefronts and seven apartments totaling 5,606 SF. It was sold by CSPB RPW LLC, a joint venture between Palm Beach real estate investors Spencer Schlager and Charles Rosenberg that paid $4.4M for the property in 2020, property records indicate.
The Breakers and its affiliated real estate holdings are owned by the North Carolina-based Kenan family, which has ties to the 19th-century railroad tycoon Henry Flagler.
An entity tied to the Kenan family called Flagler System Management was the buyer. A separate Kenan family entity also owns an adjacent former PNC Bank at 245 Royal Poinciana Way that it acquired for $9M in April. Paul Leone, CEO of The Breakers, said in a statement to Palm Beach Daily News that there are “no near-term development plans” for the property.
Companies affiliated with The Breakers have bought five properties on the north side of Royal Poinciana Way since 2010 in deals totaling $55.5M, the publication reported.
LEASES
MSC Group, an international shipping and cruise firm, plans to open a 130K SF office at the under-construction Block 55 at Sawyer’s Walk mixed-use development in Overtown, according to a release from the Miami-Dade Beacon Council.
The Swiss company’s office will have around 250 employees from MSC Cruises, MSC Cargo and Explora Journeys. The office will be the North American headquarters for MSC Group’s cruise division. MSC Cargo, which has had a presence in Miami for 25 years, will relocate from 8240 NW 52nd Terrace.
MSC Cruises has 30,000 staff worldwide across 675 offices in 155 countries and a fleet of 800 vessels. It signed a contract in 2021 to begin construction on a four-story cruise terminal at PortMiami that will accommodate 36,000 passenger movements per day.
Block 55 at Sawyer’s Walk, located at 249 NW Sixth St., is being built by Coconut Grove-based Swerdlow Group and is slated to finish construction this summer. The project’s office space will be entirely occupied by MSC Group, and the 175K SF of retail space at the property is also fully leased, the South Florida Business Journal reported. Block 55 will also include 578 apartments and more than 1,000 parking spaces.
Cushman & Wakefield provided guidance to MSC Group in identifying the office space, according to the release.
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Key Point Academy signed a 62K SF lease at the Omni Center, where it plans to relocate its Brickell campus, according to a release.
The relocation to 1501 Biscayne Blvd. will allow Key Point Academy to expand its student count and go beyond the pre-K through eighth-grade classes it currently offers to include high school.
The ground-floor lease, which closed in mid-December, was the largest urban retail lease in South Florida in 2023 and the fourth-largest retail deal overall, according to the release.
The landlord, Resorts World Omni, was represented by a Colliers retail team of Jonathan Carter and Dave Preston. Key Point Academy was represented by Pablo Camposano, vice president at Colliers, with legal services provided by Michael Gil of Transaction Legal PLLC.
Key Academy's Brickell school is currently located at First Miami Presbyterian Church, where 13th Floor Investments and Key International are planning an 80-story luxury condo tower. The private school also has locations in Coral Gables, Doral and Aventura.
FINANCING
A Related Group entity locked in a $100M construction loan from Boston-based Santander Bank for an eight-story apartment complex in North Miami, the SFBJ reported.
The project, called Manor Biscayne and designed by Boca Raton-based RLC Architects, is slated to rise eight stories and include 382 apartments, 9K SF of retail and 668 parking spaces.
Related Group purchased the 3-acre site at 1650 NE 124th St. in 2022 for $13.7M, property records indicate. The land had been part of the Johnson & Wales University campus, which the school shuttered in 2021 and sold off piece by piece, the SFBJ reported.
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Deutsche Bank provided a $133M loan to refinance Hollywood Circle, a 1M SF mixed-use development built by Hollywood-based GCF Development at 1776 Polk St., according to a release. The loan refinanced an existing $117.5M in debt held by the bank on the property and increased its value by $15.9M, The Real Deal reported.
GCF, led by Chip Abele and Peter Jago, completed the 3.2-acre development in 2018. It includes the 25-story Circ Residences with 386 units, a 111-key hotel, a 48K SF Publix, 6K SF of retail, and a rooftop restaurant and bar.
Jay Miller at BayBridge Real Estate Capital brokered the transaction.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Constellation Group and The Boschetti Group broke ground on an office and retail project in Coral Gables’ Merrick Park district weeks after securing a $33M construction loan, according to a release.
The eight-story, Arquitectonica-designed project at 4225 Ponce de Leon Blvd. will include around 80K SF of office space, 5,500 SF of ground-floor retail and a 6K SF rooftop venue. It is slated to deliver in 2025.
The Miami-based developers acquired the half-acre site in February 2022 for $10M, property records indicate.
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Coconut Grove-based Housing Trust Group locked in financing and began construction on Naranja Grand, an age- and income-restricted apartment complex in Leisure City near the Homestead Air Reserve Base.
Located at the intersection of Southwest 280th Street and 147th Avenue, the project is a partnership between HTG and Miami Lakes-based Elite Equity Development. The first of two phases includes 120 apartments for residents 55 and older, with units restricted to between 30% and 70% of the area median income. Rents will be priced from $580 to $1,625 per month after the project's expected delivery in spring 2025.
Naranja Grand’s second phase is slated to add 200 units.
The project is being financed with $26M in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits syndicated through Raymond James, a $26M construction loan from TD Bank, a $9M permanent loan from Freddie Mac, a $4.3M Florida Housing Finance Corp. loan and $3M from the Miami-Dade County Affordable Housing Surtax Program.
