This Week’s South Florida Deal Sheet: JDS Buys Dolce & Gabbana Condo Site
Michael Stern's JDS Development Group paid $62M for the half-acre site at 888 Brickell Ave., where it plans to develop the Dolce & Gabbana Grand Residences supertall condo-hotel.
An entity tied to Grupo Mezerhane, a Miami Beach-based firm led by Mashud Mezerhane, was the seller, according to records confirmed by property data firm Vizzda. Mezerhane paid $6.3M in 1984 to acquire the site, which contains a seven-story office building slated to be demolished.
New York-based G4 Capital Partners provided JDS with a $36M loan to finance the acquisition.
The plan for a 1,042-foot-tall tower branded by the luxury fashion house was first announced in September 2023, and JDS unveiled an updated project design last month. The 250-unit condo hotel, originally proposed as a partnership with Major Food Group, is slated to include six food and beverage offerings.
Sales for units running up to three bedrooms are being led by Official Partners, which has six U.S. offices. JDS also recently brought on Mercedes-Benz to brand its 67-story, under-construction condo tower at 1 Southside Park in Brickell, a few blocks from the Dolce & Gabbana tower.
SALES
Crunch Fitness founder Doug Levine sold three adjacent buildings in Wynwood for $23.5M, according to a release. The sale comes roughly a decade after he paid a combined $6M for the assemblage, property records indicate.
Eric Benaim, the head of New York-based investment firm Benaim X Partners, acquired the properties at 2324-2328 N. Miami Ave and 38 NW 24th St. The three buildings, built in 1928 and 1950, total 26K SF, but the site is zoned for up to 215K SF of development by right, according to the release.
Benaim “plans to retain the existing structures for the foreseeable future” and is looking to commission new murals for the properties, the release states. The properties host an office for hospitality brand The Hotel Collection, the Backdoor Monkey nightclub and restaurant, the Amor Miami restaurant and other tenants.
The seller was represented by Dwntwn Realty Advisors brokers Devlin Marinoff and Tony Arellano. Benaim didn’t use a broker for the deal.
LEASES
Cigna Health & Life Insurance Co. renewed its 48K SF lease spanning two full floors at Sawgrass Corporate Center II, according to a release.
The 91K SF building at 1571 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise is owned by Chicago-based Vanderbilt Office Properties and Naples-based Barron Collier Cos. The landlords were represented by an Avison Young team of Greg Martin, Justin Cope and Lisa Blumer. Cigna was represented by CBRE.
The four-story property in western Broward County is nearly fully leased, with a 2K SF suite as the only availability on a LoopNet listing. Vanderbilt and Barron Collier acquired the property for $21M in 2019, property records indicate.
FINANCING
City National Bank of Florida provided a $25M loan for Dezer Development’s Bentley Residences, a condo tower that broke ground in February in Sunny Isles Beach, Commercial Observer reported.
The 62-story, 216-unit oceanfront tower at 18401 Collins Ave. is slated to deliver by the end of 2027 and includes a car elevator that allows unit owners to bring their cars to their front doors, a concept that was first introduced at Dezer’s nearby Porsche Design Tower Miami.
The new financing comes from an accordion feature on a two-year-old loan and brings the debt’s total value to $65M, CO reported.
More than 40% of the tower's condos have been sold since sales launched in 2022, totaling more than $550M in sales volume, a Dezer executive told CO. Units start at $5.5M, with sales being led by Douglas Elliman.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Oak Row Equities has commenced construction on a combination office and apartment tower at 2600 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, according to a release.
The 41-story tower designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica will include 399 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and 187K SF of office space, which the release stated is nearly 50% pre-leased.
The groundbreaking follows a $181M construction loan Bank OZK provided in March.
The project includes a 600-car garage at its base, with office space occupying the first 10 floors and topped by the apartments. 2600 Biscayne includes a wraparound amenity deck on the 12th floor for residential tenants that includes a pool, a 41st-floor coworking lounge and a rooftop deck.
Office tenants will have access to a rooftop terrace, padel court, yoga deck, business lounge and golf simulator.
Oak Row, which has offices in New York and Miami, tapped Florida-based Coastal Construction Group as 2600 Biscayne’s general contractor. It bought the full-block site for $35M in 2022, property records indicate.
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Sales have launched for the Four Seasons Private Residences Coconut Grove, the first standalone residential project for the hospitality brand in Florida, according to a release.
The 20-story tower is being developed at 2699 S. Bayshore Drive by CMC Group and Fort Partners, in partnership with Four Seasons. The project includes 70 condos from two to four bedrooms along with four penthouses, the largest of which spans 9,690 SF. Sales are being handled in-house by the developers with pricing starting at $7M.
Miami-based Luis Revuelta designed the tower, with interior design from Florentine designer Michele Bönan. The condos will be accessed via a private elevator and planned amenities include a restaurant, gym, Turkish bath, children’s area and pool deck with a bar that will be serviced by Four Seasons.
Fort Partners has previously developed four other Four Seasons properties across South Florida. An entity controlled by CMC Group called 2699 S Bayshore Owner LLC paid $29.5M for the 51K SF site in 2014, property records indicate.
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Boca Raton-based Grover Corlew completed the 355-unit Mayla Pompano apartment building at 11 NE 24th Ave., adjacent to an office complex it owns in Pompano Beach, according to a release.
Units at the Mayla Pompano, the first luxury apartment building to deliver under Grover Corlew’s planned Mayla Residences umbrella, range from 548 SF studios to three-bedroom apartments spanning 1,383 SF. The project delivered with 50% of its units leased. Apartments are listed from $2,105 per month to $4,515 per month on Apartments.com.
Grover Corlew is delivering the project while embarking on a $25M redevelopment of the adjacent office park that includes renovations and the addition of ground-floor retail and restaurant space.
The investment management firm is building other Mayla projects in Deerfield Beach and Delray Beach and has plans to break ground on the 312-unit Mayla Cypress Creek in Fort Lauderdale late this year.
Chicago-based Tortoise Properties received a temporary certificate of occupancy for Tortoise One, a 264-apartment project at 740 N. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, according to a release.
Tortoise One spans two eight-story towers connected by a sky bridge that straddles Eucalyptus Street. Its units range from 548 SF studios to 1,053 SF two-bedroom apartments that are listed for between $2,506 and $4,629 per month.
The project was designed by Miami-based MSA Architects with interior design from Maryland-based Builders Design. Amenities at the property range from a sun deck with resort-style pool to a coworking space with private workspaces and coffee bars. Leasing and management is being handled by Plantation-based Crown Residential.
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Miami-based Alta Developers launched sales of Cassia, a planned, 12-story building that will have 174 fully furnished condos designed for short-term rentals in Coral Gables, according to a release.
Cassia, located at 4011 Salzedo St., will have units ranging from one to three bedrooms and sized from 662 SF to 1,439 SF. Prices start at more than $700K and sales are being exclusively handled by Cervera Real Estate.
Cassia is named after the species of tree that can be found throughout Coral Gables, with specimens planted at a garden and pool area with an outdoor barbecue at the property. Other amenities include an indoor pool and spa and staffed reception desk for residents and renters.
Alta acquired the project’s 1.5-acre assemblage for $17.5M in 2020, property records indicate.
