This Week’s South Florida Deal Sheet: Ares Pays $140M For Boca Raton Apartments
Ares Management paid $140M for a 284-unit apartment building in Boca Raton, marking the largest multifamily deal to close in South Florida so far this year.
Texas-based Main Street Capital sold the Ceru apartments at 5205 Congress Ave. for around $492K per unit, according to records collected by data intelligence platform Vizzda. The eight-story, 373K SF apartment building was built on 4.1 acres in 2022.
Apartments range from one to three bedrooms and are available for between $2,695 and $5,050 per month, according to Apartments.com.
Main Street Capital broke ground on Ceru in February 2021 after locking in a $60.5M construction loan from Pacific Western Bank. It acquired the 27-acre site, which also includes the North 40 office building at 5201 Congress Ave., for $68M in 2019, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
SALES
The 108-unit San Sherri Apartments at 1330 and 1310 W. 29th St. in Hialeah sold for $20.6M, according to records collected by Vizzda.
Plaza Gardenia LLC, an entity managed by David Gorson, a principal at Coconut Grove-based Vantage Capital Partners, purchased the property from two entities controlled by Brooklyn-based Alfred Sayegh.
The sale breaks down to around $190K per unit, with the buyer financing the purchase through a $13M mortgage from Miami-based Grove Bank & Trust. The seller acquired the property for $16M in June 2017, property records indicate.
The 2.2-acre property includes three two-story buildings totaling 61K SF. They were built in 1967 and 1968. An online listing for the property has no availability but says apartments range from 752 SF to 800 SF.
LEASES
JPMorgan Chase is among nine new tenants that have signed leases for a total of more than 50K SF across four Related Cos. office properties in Downtown West Palm Beach.
The nation's largest bank is taking a small office space at 360 Rosemary, a building that is now more than 100% leased because the developer is converting garage space into offices, according to a release.
The New York-based developer announced six new tenants for One Flagler, a 25-story tower with 270K SF of office space that is slated to finish construction in the third quarter. The tenants are:
- Bessemer Trust, an investment management firm that will relocate from Palm Beach Island in 2025.
- Baron Funds, a New York-based asset manager opening its first South Florida office.
- Highpost Capital, a private equity firm relocating from Esperanté Corporate Center, another Related Cos. property.
- Paulson Capital, an investment firm founded by John Paulson that is opening its first Southeast office.
- Lancer Capital LLC, the family office for the late Malcom Glazer, the investor and owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United.
- The Johnson Family Foundation LLC, a community development nonprofit.
A spokesperson for Related declined to specify the square footage of each lease. Other tenants that were previously announced at One Flagler include Diameter Capital, Siris Capital, GTCR and Estiatorio Milos.
Northwell Health also signed its first lease outside the Northeast at Esperanté Corporate Center, bringing the building to full occupancy. Clear Sky, a venture capital and fund manager, also signed a headquarters lease at CityPlace Tower.
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Seven tenants signed leases to move into recently completed spec suites at the 47-story Miami Tower, according to a release.
The new leases, along with two renewals and an expansion, total nearly 40K SF in the 636K SF tower in Downtown Miami, which is undergoing a renovation following its 2022 acquisition for $164M by CP Group and DRA Advisors.
The landlords were represented by CBRE brokers Gordon Messinger and Randy Carballo. The new tenants are:
- Two Chairs, a behavioral health company that leased 2,600 SF, with representation from Newmark’s Clay Snider.
- GTS Group, a new-to-market financial services firm that took 2,900 SF, with representation from Noa Figari of the Corcoran Group.
- Shubin Law Group, which leased 5,200 SF, represented by CBRE’s Carballo.
- Weisberg Kainen Mark PL, a tax and criminal law firm that leased 2K SF to relocate from Brickell, with representation from Fairchild Partners’ Tony Puente.
- Latin Securities, an investment advisory firm that leased 4K SF and will also relocate from Brickell, with representation from Sebastian Faerman of FA Commercial.
- NormanMax Insurance Group, a reinsurance firm that leased 4,500 SF for its first Miami office, with representation from Michael Feuerman and Daniel Silver of Berger Commercial Realty.
- Mamone Villalon, a business law firm that leased 2,600 SF.
The law firm Assouline & Berlowe also expanded to 6,500 SF in the building, while H&R Block and Transwestern renewed their leases.
The owners built the spec suites as part of CP Group’s worCPlaces flexible office program. Two suites remain available, and the landlords plan to build out an additional floor of move-in-ready offices.
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The master developers behind Miami Worldcenter announced three new retail tenants set to move into the 27-acre development’s 300K SF of retail space, which is now 95% leased.
Free People leased more than 3K SF at 851 NE Second Ave. for a storefront set to open later this year. The Spot Barbershop signed a 1,700 SF lease at the same property, and Santander Bank leased around 4K SF at 150 NE Eighth St.
Miami Worldcenter Associates has yet to officially announce that an Apple store is set to open at a 19K SF freestanding space that is under construction. The developer revealed in February that singer Nick Jonas and menswear designer John Varvatos would open a 13K SF rooftop tequila bar at the property.
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Cuban eatery El Palacio de los Jugos signed a 3,400 SF lease for 10 years at Palm Plaza, landlord Terranova Corp. announced in a release. The restaurant, which first opened in Miami in 1977, will debut at its new location at 16709 NW 67th Ave. in the fourth quarter. It marks the chain's 11th location, all in Miami-Dade County.
The 8.5-acre Palm Plaza shopping mall was built in 1979, and Terranova completed a $1.3M renovation of the property. Other tenants include McDonald's, Skechers, First Watch and MD Now.
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Pura Vida opened its latest South Florida location inside the Racquet Club on the exclusive Fisher Island. The outpost makes the all-day café brand the only outside operator to have a hospitality business on the private island, according to a release.
The location will serve club members and their families and is one of more than 20 locations for the brand, which was founded in Miami in 2012 by Omer and Jennifer Hore. Fisher Island, accessible via ferry or private plane, is the third-most-expensive ZIP code in the country, with a median home listing of $5.7M.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
A new convention center at Fontainebleau Miami Beach will open in the fourth quarter, according to a release.
The 45K SF Coastal Convention Center has 15 meeting rooms and 15K SF of pre-function space across five floors. It includes a 17K SF divisible ballroom with an outdoor terrace and a nearly 10K SF junior ballroom.
Goldman Sachs provided a $73M construction loan to Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development in July 2023 to finish the center’s construction, Commercial Observer reported.
Development of the convention center at the 1,504-key hotel began in fall 2022, and the project was initially slated for delivery in 2025. It is being built on a 1-acre lot at 4360 Collins Ave., adjacent to the Fontainebleau’s condos, and is connected to the hotel via a skybridge.
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Miami-based Shoma Group is planning to leverage the Live Local Act to build a mixed-use project at 9595 N. Kendall Drive in Kendall, according to a release.
The 28-story tower, dubbed Shoma 88, would include 405 apartments, 105K SF of medical offices and 8K SF of retail space. At least 40% of the apartments, which would average 920 SF, would be designated as workforce housing to fit under the Live Local Act’s requirements.
Shoma 88, designed by Miami-based PPK Architects, is slated to break ground in early 2025 with a 30-month construction timeline. Shoma Group’s internal leasing and management team will handle the development’s operations.
FINANCING
The 40-story East Miami hotel in Brickell has been refinanced for $185M across two loans, Commercial Observer reported.
Deutsche Bank provided a $152.5M senior loan, and KSL Capital Partners provided $32.5M in mezzanine debt for the 352-key hotel at 788 Brickell Plaza. The hotel, part of Brickell City Centre, is owned by Honolulu-based Trinity Investments and New York-based Certares Management.
East Miami has 255 guest rooms and 97 suites, all of which have balconies, along with 20K SF of event space, a 20K SF outdoor area with four pools, and a restaurant. It was built by Swire Properties, the developer behind Brickell City Centre, and opened in 2016 before being purchased for $174M in November 2021 by Trinity and Certares.
The owner was represented in the debt transaction by Colliers’ hospitality group, led by Mark Owens.
CORRECTION, MAY 21, 3:30 P.M. ET: A previous version of this article misstated the total planned office space at Shoma 88. It's slated to have 105K SF of medical office space. The story has been updated.
