This Week's South Florida Deal Sheet: Condos At Miami Worldcenter Score $95M Loan
Merrimac Ventures and Aria Development Group locked in a $95M construction loan for 600 Miami Worldcenter, a 42-story condo tower with 606 fully furnished units that have all been sold.
The financing is coming from Banco Inbursa, based in Mexico City, according to a release.
600 Miami Worldcenter, located at 600 NE First Ave. inside the 27-acre mixed-use downtown development of the same name, is slated to break ground next month with a targeted delivery date in 2026. The project is being marketed for short-term rentals and will have units ranging from 407 SF studios to 830 SF two-bedroom condos. Prices started above $400K.
The developers were represented in the debt financing by Newmark’s Jordan Roeschlaub, Dustin Stolly, Nick Scribani, Daniel Matz and Holden Witkoff, along with Bilzin Sumberg attorneys Joseph Hernandez, Salomé Bascuñan and Anthony De Yurre. OneWorld Properties, led by Peggy Olin, handled sales and marketing of the condos.
Nitin Motwani, managing partner of Fort Lauderdale-based Merrimac Ventures, is one of the master developers on Miami Worldcenter, along with Falcone Group’s Art Falcone and their partner, Los Angeles-based CIM Group.
FINANCING
An undisclosed New York-based lender provided a $90M construction loan to Continuum Co. for a luxury condo project in Bay Harbor Islands, according to a release.
The eight-story project called La Baia South broke ground in April 2022 at 9201 E. Bay Harbor Drive, and its 68 units are all sold. Condos range from one to four bedrooms and were priced from $810K to $3.5M. The project has an expected delivery date in the summer of 2025.
New York-based Continuum Co., led by Ian Bruce Eichner, is also planning a second tower called La Baia North, located two blocks away at 9481 E. Bay Harbor Drive. The 57 condos at that property are 50% sold, and it was recently refinanced with a loan from Miami-based Benmark Capital, according to the release. The developer declined to disclose the value of the loan, but The Real Deal reported it was $13M.
Continuum paid a combined $29.5M for the two properties in 2021, the South Florida Business Journal reported at the time.
***
Miami-based Terra Group and New Valley Realty, which has offices in New York and Miami, secured a $127M permanent refinancing for their Natura Gardens apartment complex in West Hialeah, according to a release.
The funding from MF1 Capital, a joint venture of Berkshire Group and Limekiln Real Estate, pays off and replaces a $65M construction loan provided in 2021 by Bank OZK.
Natura Gardens, completed last summer at 17351 NW 94th Ave., includes 460 garden-style apartments across 23 acres. Its units range from one to three bedrooms and are more than 97% leased, with rents ranging from $2K to $3,350 per month.
The debt was arranged by Walker & Dunlop’s New York capital markets team led by Keith Kurland, Aaron Appel, Jon Schwartz, Adam Schwartz and Michael Diaz.
SALES
Calta Group completed a 1-acre assemblage in Allapattah with the $7.2M purchase of a 15K SF parcel at 1469 NW 13th Terrace, according to a release.
The latest buy adds to lots the Coral Gables-based developer had purchased in December at 1415, 1433, 1435 and 1453 NW 13th Terrace and 1410 NW 14th St. The deals total $17.2M in purchases from Enis Realty, a Coral Gables-based entity controlled by Colleen Enis, and Grupo Park, a Brickell-based entity registered to the same address as law firm Kluger Kaplan.
The latest acquisition was financed with a $9.5M cross-collateralized loan from Coral Gables-based Benworth Capital, according to records collected by data intelligence firm Vizzda.
Calta Group is planning a mixed-use development called Revv at the River District on the sites, a project that is slated to include multifamily, retail and office space. A representative for Calta declined to give specific details about the project’s size and scope.
***
An entity tied to New York-based Joined Development Partners paid $22M for a 214-unit affordable housing complex in Brownsville north of Allapattah, data from Vizzda confirms. Lincoln Fields LP, an entity controlled by Tampa-based multifamily developer Southport Financial Services, sold the property, called Lincoln Fields Apartments, at 2020 NW 63rd St.
The deal was financed with two loans totaling $25.7M from Merchants Bank of Indiana. The 8.7-acre complex spans 32 two-story buildings, with some units income-restricted to tenants earning no more than 50% of the area median income and others capped at 80% of AMI, according to Vizzda. Miami-Dade County’s AMI was $74,700 as of May.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Miami-based Newgard Development Group announced plans for a 40-story short-term rental condo tower in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, according to a release. The development is the only short-term rental project proposed in Broward County, in contrast to Miami, where thousands of units are under development, according to a recent report from ISG World.
Natiivo Fort Lauderdale, located at 200 W. Broward Blvd., is slated to have 384 fully furnished units ranging from 500 SF to 1,200 SF and priced from more than $500K to $1.5M.
The building, planned to deliver in 2028, is being designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica with interior design from ID & Design International, which is based in Pompano Beach. Cervera Real Estate is the project’s exclusive sales and marketing representative.
Newgard’s Natiivo brand will provide owners assistance in renting out units. The developer has several short-term condo projects in the pipeline, including under-construction projects Natiivo Miami and Lofty Brickell in South Florida and Natiivo Austin in Texas.
Newgard paid Kushner Cos. and Aimco $31M in December to acquire the 1-acre parcel, property records indicate.
***
Baltimore and Palm Beach-based developers are teaming up on a 28-unit, 10-story luxury condo building in Boca Raton.
Glass House Boca Raton, located at 280 E. Palmetto Park Road, is slated to break ground in early 2025, with delivery planned for fall 2026. Condos will range from 2,550 SF to 3,990 SF and are priced from $2.5M to $6.9M.
The developer is 280 E Palmetto Park Road LLC, an entity managed by Brandon Chasen, the CEO of Baltimore-based developer Chasen Cos. Adam Gottbetter, the owner of Palm Beach-based ASG Development, is also listed as a partner of the entity.
Chasen and Gottbetter paid $9.8M for the 0.7-acre site in May, according to property records.
The project, designed by West Palm Beach-based architect Garcia Stromberg, is billed as the first modern glass building to be built in Downtown Boca Raton. Douglas Elliman Development Marketing was tapped as the building's sales and marketing team and plans to launch sales this month.
LEASES
Two subsidiaries of Seaboard Corp., a conglomerate of shipping and commodity companies, renewed leases totaling 308K SF at Prologis Palmetto Tradeport in Medley, according to a release.
Shipping firm Seaboard Marine and logistics company Seaboard Solutions signed two long-term leases at the 880K SF industrial park at 7800 NW 80th St. The tenants were represented by Colliers Vice Chairman Jonathan Kingsley, while the landlord, warehouse giant Prologis, was represented by Brian Smith at JLL.
Seaboard Marine is the largest cargo operator at PortMiami and has approximately 25 vessels that transit 26 countries in the Western Hemisphere, according to the release.
THIS AND THAT
JLL has been selected as the listing agent for the planned 51-story office building at 848 Brickell Ave. that is being developed by Key International and Sterling Bay. Leasing at the 750K SF project will be led by brokers Steven Hurwitz, Doug Okun, Kevin Probel, Clark Finney and Madeline Fine.
Sterling Bay was announced as a partner on the project last month, and the tower is scheduled to break ground next quarter. It will replace a 13-story building that serves as Key International’s headquarters, which the developer acquired for $12.5M in 1989, property records indicate.
