Month: January 2019

Brickell City Centre OK’d for major expansion

Brickell City Centre is poised for another major growth spurt, adding 972 residences in two towers, stores and entertainment venues, parking, a ground-level plaza, and enhancements around the South Miami Avenue Bridge. The sweeping development from Swire Properties Inc. continues to transform the Miami neighborhood south of the Miami River. The city commission on Jan. 24 approved…

South Florida by the numbers: Seizing the Opportunity (Zones)

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of big money rushing into Miami’s new “Opportunity Zones,” which are government-designated areas where real estate developers have been offered tantalizing tax incentives to invest. In most cases, the zones fall within historically distressed…

Lawsuit alleges “vague and ambiguous” language could hamper David Beckham’s soccer complex plan in Miami

Miami attorney David Winker filed his second lawsuit in a week against the city of Miami, attempting to derail David Beckham and his partners’ plan for a multimillion-dollar soccer complex. In the latest lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Tuesday, Winker focuses on the ballot language that was used in the November referendum that voters approved. The referendum, which waives competitive…

New Lawsuit Is Another Roadblock For David Beckham’s Miami Soccer Stadium

David Beckham has a beautiful family, a legendary career and millions in the bank. But so far, the soccer and fashion star has been having a hard time getting a soccer stadium built — in Miami, of all places, where developers famously get what they want. A new lawsuit has added one more hurdle for him. It has now been six years since Beckham and his business partners, including “American Idol” creator…

AJP Ventures, Mas Group to Break Ground on $40 Million Medical Office Building in Miami

Completing a demolition has cleared the way for the development of a new $40 million, 116,000-square-foot medical office building next to Baptist Hospital of Miami, according to AJP Ventures and Mas Group, the project’s owners and developers. The site is at 9408 S.W. 87th Ave. and 8790 SW 94th Street, essentially across the street from Baptist Hospital, a 650-bed facility that’s one of metro Miami’s largest…

Lawmakers look to change zoning to allow banks on wheels

A business model that transformed part of the restaurant industry could soon be used by financial institutions to reach out-of-the-way and underserved Miami-Dade residents, as lawmakers are looking at changing zoning strictures to allow for banks on wheels. Commissioners last week forwarded to a Feb. 2 hearing a proposed ordinance change that would allow mobile banking…

Mast Capital, AEW Capital Secure $59.7 Million Construction Loan for Multifamily Project in Miami

A joint venture between Mast Capital and AEW Capital Management LP has secured a $59.7 million construction loan for its Miami River Walk project. The 688-unit multifamily development will be built in two phases on 6.3 acres of land, situated less than two miles from downtown Miami. The first phase is expected to break ground in the first quarter of this year and will comprise 346 residential units.

Will on-demand and trolleys slay county transit?

As Miami-Dade residents continue leaving county transit for city transportation services and other alternatives, some county commissioners are wondering aloud if the shift could be permanent – and what should be done if it is. Cities get more than 20% of about $300 million generated annually through the half-percent sales tax voters approved in 2002 to expand transportation across the county.

Miami backs Bacardi buildings for National Register of Historic Places

Two unique and colorful structures in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood have been recommended by the city for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. The city commission on Jan. 24 approved a resolution supporting the nomination of the Bacardi Buildings Complex, at 2100 Biscayne Boulevard. City code requires the City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board to…

County transit closes gap to begin a ridership turnaround

Good news echoes for Miami-Dade County transit: fewer riders are fleeing trains, buses and the Metromover. If that sounds like saying that your favorite team is still losing games but by far smaller margins, it should. That’s what’s happening. We’re closing the gap, so what we’re trying is succeeding, but we’ve got a lot of work to do to rebuild. Last month we were pleased to note “transit ridership takes…

Easement opens Watson Island to heliport

Miami city commissioners have approved a large easement on city-owned Watson Island to free up space for a long-planned heliport. The heliport’s construction is planned for the southern portion of the barrier island, adjacent to city-leased land used as a seaplane base. The city administration recommended that the commission adopt a non-exclusive easement of approximately 55,807 square feet of…

Miami International Airport joins Brazil’s post office to aid e-commerce

Shipments that took weeks and sometimes months to travel from the US to Brazil will now arrive in days as part of a new expedited shipping service partnership between Miami International Airport and Correios, Brazil’s post office. Compra Fora, which translates to “Buy Outside,” will allow for e-commerce packages of all sizes from all over the world to be shipped to Miami International Airport…

Baptist Health acquires Collection Residences site in Coral Gables for $37 million

Baptist Health South Florida just closed on a site in Coral Gables for $37 million that was at the center of a contentious lawsuit between developers Masoud Shojaee and Ugo Colombo. Shojaee, a homebuilder, and Colombo, a developer and owner of the Collection luxury car dealership, had previously planned to jointly develop the Collection Residences on the 2.8-acre property at 250 Bird Road. They…

Privé opponent scores $200K settlement from Aventura police tied to protest of condo project

Three years after she was arrested for protesting construction of a sidewalk by the developers of Privé at Island Estates, Dara Clarke is claiming a resounding victory over the two Aventura police officers who allegedly manhandled her. The Williams Island homeowner settled her lawsuit last week against Sgt. Terry Scott and fellow policeman Joseph Craig, alleging they violated her fourth amendment…

Midtown Miami developer buys former Toys “R” Us in Cutler Bay

A company led by Midtown Miami developer Jon Samuel just picked up a former Toys “R” Us property in Cutler Bay. Samuel’s Trikon Cutler Bay LLC paid $7 million for the 39,000-square-foot building at 19525 South Dixie Highway in south Miami-Dade County. Samuel is a principal at Midtown Group and Trikon Capital, according to his LinkedIn profile. A number of Toys “R” Us properties have sold in the…

Miami’s latest luxury condos have landing pads for flying cars

As transportation drones and ‘air taxis’ get closer to becoming a reality, developers for the super-rich are already planning towers with their own landing pads. With its abundance of uber-wealthy residents and notoriously high traffic, Miami has been one of the first cities to embrace futuristic modes of transportation — three new luxury properties will have flying car docks on the penthouse of its tower.

Sergio Pino scores $21 million construction loan for West Miami-Dade development

Sergio Pino’s Century Homebuilders Group just scored a $20.58 million loan to build 156 new townhomes and villas in western Miami-Dade County, as he sees demand for lower-priced homes. The Coral Gables-based company secured the loan from Capital Bank to build the community, Century Park South, at 15700 Southwest 136th Street, southwest of the Miami Executive Airport. Century Homebuilders…

Video: JLL Chief Economist Ryan Severino on 2019 Economy Now

Chief Economist at JLL Ryan Severino appears on a commercial real estate related show to discuss the current status of the economy and related implications for commercial property investors. He notes that he does not expect a big slowdown, projecting 2% to 2.5% growth in the coming year. He thinks the fundamentals of the economy look pretty good, and in fact thinks the market are overly pessimistic in…

Majority owner of Bâoli Miami and El Tucán nightclubs sues former business partner alleging fraud and embezzlement

The majority owner of the popular South Florida nightclubs Bâoli Miami, El Tucán and Marion is suing his former business partner alleging fraud and embezzlement over expenses at his venues. Mathieu Massa, president and CEO of Massa Investment Group, alleges in a suit filed last month in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court that Michael Ridard, who managed the three nightclubs, had about $1.5 million in…

City of Miami greenlights Brickell City Centre expansion, Wynwood zoning change

The Miami City Commission approved Brickell City Centre’s expansion, changes to Wynwood’s zoning code and a deal allowing the Adler Group to move ahead with its Miami Riverside project at its meeting on Thursday. Commissioners granted final approval to a more than 100,000-square-foot expansion of Brickell City Centre, as well as changes to Wynwood’s zoning code meant to encourage single…

SoFla construction ends year strong at $12.7 billion

South Florida construction starts topped $12.7 billion in 2018, rising in both residential and commercial sectors, a recently released report shows. Overall, new construction was up 15 percent in 2018 from $11.1 billion in 2017, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Non-residential construction starts reached nearly $6 billion, up 5 percent over the previous year, while residential construction starts topped…

Mast Capital nabs $60 million loan for Miami River Walk project

Mast Capital and its joint venture partner AEW Capital Management scored a $59.7 million construction loan for Miami River Walk, a rental project. The developer secured approval from the Miami Urban Development Review Board a year ago for the 688-unit apartment complex planned for a 6.3-acre site at 1001 Northwest Seventh Street (this, this). It’s the largest ground-up development for Mast…

Riviera Schools scores $22 million loan for expansion

Riviera Schools scored a $22 million construction loan to expand its Preparatory School campus in Miami.
The private school secured the loan from BB&T to build nine tennis courts, additional parking, and a new building with classrooms and a theater, according to Peter Cohen, associate director of Riviera Schools. Riviera Preparatory School, at 9775 Southwest 87th Avenue…

Stronach family, known for Gulfstream in Miami, feud continues with daughter’s countersuit

Belinda Stronach, former Magna International CEO, has filed a countersuit against her father Frank Stronach — the latest episode in a complex and highly expensive family feud. In October, the elder Stronach filed a 73-page lawsuit against his daughter and other family members for $400 million, claiming they mismanaged the family’s assets and limited his control. The Canadian family built an empire…

3H Group buys for Brickell dev site to build hotel

3H Group paid $10.25 million for a property in Brickell with plans to bring a new hotel to the site. Tennessee-based 3H Group paid about $200 per foot for the site 1741 Southwest Second Avenue, totaling four properties and 30,000 square feet. Doral-based Hotelex Properties sold the site, where it planned to build a 206-room Residence Inn by Marriott, property records show. The company paid $6.05 million…

“We are starting to run, but the gun hasn’t fired:” Investors dash into Miami Opportunity Zones

Investors and developers in Miami-Dade County have been pouring money into Opportunity Zones. From April through September, property sales in those areas tallied $942 million, a 25 percent increase from the same time in 2017, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of records. Enacted as part of the December 2017 tax overhaul plan, Opportunity Zones began catching the eye of savvy investors last…

Ugo Colombo sues Craig Robins for defamation in ongoing legal battle

Now it’s Ugo Colombo’s turn to sue Craig Robins. In the ongoing legal battle between two of Miami’s most prominent developers over a shared $22 million private jet, Colombo is now seeking monetary damages, alleging that Robins and his attorney, Dennis Richard, made defamatory remarks that have hurt Colombo’s reputation. In a new lawsuit filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Colombo…

Terra bows out of joint venture with Related in Coconut Grove office project

Terra is no longer partnering with the Related Group to develop a new office building in Coconut Grove. Related is moving forward with the project without Terra, according to spokespersons for both developers. Records filed with the city of Miami show 2850 Tigertail Investments LLC is seeking a permit to build the 195,575-square-foot office building at 2850 Tigertail Avenue in Miami. In 2017, the city…

Aventura senior living facility sells for $23 million

SilverTree Residential paid $22.9 million for an Aventura senior living facility, property records show. Memphis-based SilverTree Residential bought the 186,965-square-foot building known as the Imperial Club at 2751 Northeast 183 Street for about $123 per square foot. Affordable Community Housing Trust Alpha led by Joe Palen of Edmond, Oklahoma, sold the property. The housing complex last sold in…

Video: Yardi-Matrix BI Director Doug Ressler on Multifamily Market Trends

Doug Ressler, Director of Business Intelligence at Yardi-Matrix, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss trends in the multifamily market, including market fundamentals, demographic trends affecting multifamily fundamentals, and opportunities for multifamily in growing markets. He first discusses general trends, generally predicting a firm market in the near term. He feels rental…

5 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Commercial Property in 2019

By the time this is posted, the New Year will already be weeks old – and in that time, many personal resolutions will have been tossed, amended, and forgotten. That fresh start gusto is difficult to maintain unless you have the drive and a great reason to keep it going. As much as the New Year is a time to reassess personal goals, it’s also a great time to do the same with real estate investments – including…

Can Tiny Multifamily Be Big In SoFlo?

For several years now, many Americans have had a love affair with the small things in life. Families and millennials embraced smaller homes and micro-units as a means of living affordably in the wake of the Great Recession, of embracing efficient and sustainable ideas, and of simply owning something. Whatever the reason, micro-living represents a popular shift in the collective mindset. It was only a…

Gun Scuffle Between Realtor, Payday Lender, Teens Brings Attention To Affordable Housing

A protest over affordable housing in Miami turned dangerous this week when the young protestors were confronted in the street by a couple including a man wielding a gun. Twitter was alive on Monday with a series of viral videos that showed a woman confronting a group of young black men on bicycles who were in an intersection in Brickell, apparently causing traffic holdups. The woman, later…

Estimating 2017 Commercial Property Sales Volume in Miami-Dade County

A big mystery is always exactly how much commercial real estate trades in a given year. The data is murky. Even if the county data is reviewed, many transactions show a total amount for a set of parcels for each of the parcels within, resulting in double counting of those sales, and many sales show a selling price of $1, obfuscating the actual selling price. However, I think I found a way to get reasonably…

Tax perk meant for mom-and-pop owners will instead benefit major property investors

Small-time real estate investors are being blocked from a tax break that was originally meant to benefit them. The Treasury Department recently released final rules detailing how owners of businesses including limited liability companies can receive a deduction of up to 20 percent, according to Bloomberg. The law, which was part of 2017 tax reform, lets real estate firms claim the deduction in full, but bars…

SoFla’s largest multifamily investment sales in December

There appears to be no end in sight for big apartment deals in South Florida’s suburbs. Vestcor bought a 77-townhouse affordable housing complex in Florida City in two transactions totaling $12.3 million. Florida Value Partners sold the 16.4-acre property at 350 Northeast Fifth Place to the Jacksonville developer. The sale equates to about $160,000 per townhouse. A company tied to…

Chief Economist at JLL Ryan Severino appears on a commercial real estate related show to discuss the current status of the economy and related implications for commercial property investors. He notes that he does not expect a big slowdown, projecting 2% to 2.5% growth in the coming year. He thinks the fundamentals of the economy look pretty good, and in fact thinks the market are overly pessimistic in how they view the economic outlook of late. He does believe changes in interest rates and willingness to lend have caused some adjustment to a greater degree than market participants expected. Recent events have also caused him to revise down the number of rounds of Fed tightening, now looking for 1 to 2 rate increases versus 2 to 3 if asked not so long ago.

A big mystery is always exactly how much commercial real estate trades in a given year. The data is murky. Even if the county data is reviewed, many transactions show a total amount for a set of parcels for each of the parcels within, resulting in double counting of those sales, and many sales show a selling price of $1, obfuscating the actual selling price. However, I think I found a way to get reasonably close to the number.

The total market value per Miami-Dade of commercial properties that sold in 2017 was about $7.45 billion. As astute commercial property investors know, however, the market value according to the county is seldom correct, leaving the question remaining as to how much actual value traded, i.e. what the real sales volume was.

I thus considered the ratio of sales price to market value per the county for properties that traded in 2018, excluding any noted as “multi-parcel sales” and any with a sales price of less than $100,000. The latter is principally to exclude $1 sales, which tells me nothing, but also smaller sales that may be essentially invalid, albeit for different reasons. The resultant ratio is 1.75. Now we’re getting somewhere.

Applying this ratio of 1.75 to the $7.45 billion in market value arrives at an estimated $13 billion in sales of commercial property in Miami-Dade in 2017. There are a couple of additional adjustments to make to this, however. First, excluding multi-parcel sales will largely exclude land sales, which likely have the largest sales to market value per Miami-Dade ratios. Thus, this 1.75 ratio may be a touch higher, but likely not much. Thus, my final answer (guess) is $13 billion.

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Another metric, not necessary for this calculation but interesting nonetheless, is that about 8.6% of commercial properties turned over during 2017 as compared with about 10% on average in the 5 years ending with 2018. Also worth noting is that total market value per Miami-Dade for commercial properties that sold in the year appears to be about 28% of that for residential properties.

 

Doug Ressler, Director of Business Intelligence at Yardi-Matrix, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss trends in the multifamily market, including market fundamentals, demographic trends affecting multifamily fundamentals, and opportunities for multifamily in growing markets. He first discusses general trends, generally predicting a firm market in the near term. He feels rental rates will continue to increase, forecasting specifically 2.8%, 2.77%, and 2.44% rental growth for 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. He also feels cap rates will remain on the low side, noting that U.S. Treasury Bill rates, in his opinion, just haven’t moved enough to have any real effect.

London, New York top list of global CRE investment in 2018, Miami misses the cut

Global commercial real estate investment topped $730 billion last year in the top 30 cities, as investors around the world poured in a record amount. The news wasn’t all good, as investment was expected to fall this year. London maintained its position in the top spot from 2017, according to a newly-released JLL report, which ranks 30 cities with the largest investment worldwide. New York overtook…

Opportunity Zones Are The Talk Of Miami, But Few Are Ready To Walk The Walk

Short of Marie Kondo’s new show about tidying up, few topics are dominating water cooler conversations, at least in the real estate business, like opportunity zones. “It’s definitely the hottest thing out there,” PEBB Capital co-founder and managing partner Todd Rosenberg said. “Everyone is talking about it. Everyone is thinking about it.” “It’s like the gold rush right now,” Vagabond Group founder…

Elvis Dumervil: After pro football career, he builds rental realty empire

Elvis Dumervil sits in his office underneath a large sign designed to look like the railroad property in the Monopoly board game. At the bottom of the sign beneath the image of the iconic Monopoly train, it reads “Keep Pushing.” That saying has been Mr. Dumervil’s personal motto from his upbringing in North Miami to a successful career playing 12 seasons as a defensive linebacker in the National Football…

Historic Ocean Drive hotel sells for $7 million

An affiliate of Casa Hotels paid $6.9 million for a boutique hotel on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach’s South-of-Fifth neighborhood. Casa Hotel purchased the 28-room hotel at 334 Ocean Drive for $246,428 per room. The seller was Hilma LLC, which is managed by Geraldine Hidalgo, property records show. It has been listed since 2016 for $7 million. The two-story, historic hotel totals 7,631 square feet.

Residents sue Miami-Dade to stop construction of Apeiron at The Jockey Club

Another legal offensive to put the kibosh on a new 45-story tower at The Jockey Club in North Miami is underway. Last month, the associations for Jockey Club I and II sued Miami-Dade County to overturn the Biscayne Shores Community Council’s approval of a site plan for Apeiron at The Jockey Club, an ultra-modern project being proposed by developers Muayad “Mo” Abbas, Horst Schulze and…

US home sales plummet, adding to fears of 2019 slowdown

The number of homes sold dropped sharply in December, raising fears that 2019 will be marked by a continued slowdown in the U.S. housing market. Sales of existing homes dropped 10.3 percent last month compared to the same time in 2017, and 6.4 percent from November, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors, cited in the Wall Street Journal. Many markets saw double…

The We Company launches its first no-membership-required space

The We Company octopus has grown yet another tentacle, after it launched a no-membership-needed service that allows people to book desk space on demand. The firm, until recently known as WeWork, announced on Tuesday the launch of a combined retail and co-working venture called Made By We. Similar to its single dedicated retail spot at 205 Hudson Street, Made By We will feature a market where…

20-story residential tower to be build in shadow of Metrorail

A developer plans to bring a residential building with 10,000 square feet of amenities to a fast-growing area of Miami, in the shadow of one of the busiest Metrorail stations. M-3811 Shipping Owner LLC owns vacant land at 3811 Shipping Avenue where it plans to construct Shipping Avenue Apartments, a 20-story building offering a mix of 254 residential units, a pool deck and ground floor public plazas.

Red flags dot a bright 2019 economic horizon for Miami

An economic program of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce last week pinpointed glowing pluses in Miami’s future but also raised five red flags that we shouldn’t ignore. Speakers at the 10th annual Economic Summit pointed to strong momentum here with job growth far outpacing a solid national gain, a good push from sports and entertainment, a thriving visitor industry, and the advantages of our…

Coworking Operator to Anchor One Cocowalk in Miami’s Coconut Grove Neighborhood

Spaces, an international coworking operator backed by Regus, has signed on to anchor One Cocowalk, the office component of Coconut Grove’s mixed-use development CocoWalk. Spaces will occupy a total of 42,883 square feet when construction of One Cocowalk is expected to be complete — first-quarter 2020. Spaces will occupy 2,029 square feet on the ground floor and space on the second…

Spaces Signs on as Anchor Tenant at Miami’s One CocoWalk

One CocoWalk, the office component of Coconut Grove’s CocoWalk lifestyle center in Miami, has added Spaces as its anchor tenant. The coworking giant will occupy 42,883 square feet within the Class A property, slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2020. According to the long-term lease agreement, the tenant will take up 2,029 square feet on the building’s ground floor and another 40,854 square feet on…

2019 employment picture for Miami appears solid

The 2019 employment picture for Miami appears solid, observers say, though some factors could tap the brakes on their optimism. “Overall, 2019 is going to be another year for South Florida,” said Charles Dougherty, a Wells Fargo economist. “We’ve seen strong growth in hiring in 2018. The leisure and hospitality sector has been a very strong driver of that. We’ve seen a lot of jobs increase…”

Brickell development site hits the market

Sage Developers is selling a vacant lot in Brickell for $7.2 million, where a new developer could build a boutique hotel, condo or apartment building. The Miami-based real estate firm, led by Felipe and Carlos Pineda, put the 19,850-square-foot development site at 1621 Southwest Second Avenue on the market for $362 per square foot. The site, marketed as VIDA | Brickell, is already approved for…

Brazilian billionaire plans boutique luxury condo on Ocean Drive

Brazilian billionaire developer Jose Isaac Peres submitted plans for a boutique, luxury condo building on Ocean Drive in South Beach.
An affiliate of Peres’ Multiplan Real Estate Asset Management is proposing to build 312 Ocean Park, a 10-unit, four-story condominium at 304 and 312 Ocean Drive in the South-of-Fifth neighborhood, according to documents filed with the city. Rio de Janeiro-based…

Miami board green lights Mast Capital’s apartments near The Collection

A city of Miami board approved plans for Mast Capital’s Shipping Ave apartments, a mixed-use project near The Collection luxury car dealership in Coral Gables. The Urban Development Review Board OK’d the site plan for the nearly 386,000-square-foot building at 3811 Shipping Avenue in Miami, near the Douglas Road Metrorail Station as well as a number of recently completed apartment buildings. A…

Video: PwC Partner Mitch Roschelle Discusses 2019 for Commercial Real Estate Investors

PwC Partner & Business Development Leader Mitch Roschelle joins the host of America’s Commercial Real Estate Show in-studio to discuss his analysis of the real estate market in 2019. Among the topics discusses are the current economic climate, including how the United States is linked to developments in other economies around the world, supply and demand conditions in multifamily and other…

Beckham-led group should have registered as lobbyists in MLS stadium bid: Lawsuit

The city of Miami is facing another lawsuit stemming from David Beckham’s bid to build a Major League Soccer stadium. This time around, a local attorney is alleging the city broke its own lobbying laws when dealing with the group behind the star soccer player-turned investor’s bid. In the November referendum, voters gave the green light to move forward with plans for the site, at the Melreese…

Public boarding school scores $9 million loan to build new dorm

A public boarding school in Opa-locka just secured a $9 million loan from City National Bank of Florida to build a new student dormitory complex. The loan will fund a new two-story dorm for 400 students, as well as 16 faculty and staff members. The total cost of the project is $18.1 million, according to a release. The SEED School of Miami is a college-preparatory school at 1901 Northwest 127th Street that…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report for the Year End 2018

The Miami industrial market ends 2018 with a 4.0% vacancy rate and a $10.52 per sq. ft. average (gross) lease rate. There was 3,595,710 sq. ft. of positive absorption for the year; averaging about 1M sq. ft. per quarter is a sign that our market is relatively healthy. There was 4,398,422 sq. ft. of new construction completed giving a total now of 244,481,854 sq. ft. in total inventory. In addition, there is 4,373,255…

Lennar pays $17 million for Wynwood Yard, O Cinema site

Lennar Corp. paid $17 million for a site in Wynwood that’s currently home to the popular Wynwood Yard and the O Cinema movie theater. A subsidiary of the giant homebuilder purchased 1.26 acres at 48, 56, 64, 70, 82, 90 and 98 Northwest 29th Street, as well as 63 Northwest 28th Street, property records show. David Lombardi, principal of Lombardi Properties and one of Wynwood’s pioneering…

Investment group bets on Overtown’s Opportunity Zone status

An investment group is making a long-term play in Miami’s Overtown thanks in part to its Opportunity Zone designation. BrickOne Group, led by Costantino Cicchelli, Frank Rodriguez Melo and Stefano Garofoli, paid about $5.4 million for the three buildings with 66 apartment units at 149 Northwest 11th Street, 1232 Northwest First Place and 1201 Northwest Second Avenue in Miami, Melo said. The…

Opportunity Zones Create Funding Alternative for Social Infrastructure Projects

Under current legislation, tax-exempt and other low cost financing solutions are not typically available for social infrastructure projects. The resulting higher cost of capital for social infrastructure projects raises viability concerns when the public sector procures projects with private sector-driven financings. As a result, historically, social infrastructure P3s have been outpaced by their surface transportation…

Co-living firm Common is expanding to Miami, Brightline’s IPO delayed due to shutdown, other takeaways from Miami CRE panel

Co-living startup Common is expanding to Miami, developer David Martin announced at The Real Deal South Florida’s transportation and real estate event this week. Martin, president and co-founder of Terra, Brightline Chief Development Officer Mike Salzman, Miami Worldcenter developer Nitin Motwani, Blanca Commercial Real Estate CEO Tere Blanca, and Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance CEO Bob…

Leading South Florida lender Bank OZK signals appetite for big condo construction loans in 2019

Bank OZK, among the most aggressive real estate lenders in the country, has signaled it could continue to make big construction loans in 2019. The news, which came as part of the Arkansas bank’s fourth quarter earnings report, comes amid a general nationwide slowdown in the housing market. During an earnings call on Friday, CEO George Gleason said the bank was seeing strong sales on the condo projects…

South Florida Multifamily Rents Increase 4.5% in 2018 vs. 3.1% Nationally

RentCafe just published its year end rent report. The top line for area multifamily investors again got a boost. In Miami, apartments now cost $1,684 per month, a 4.5% increase from the prior year. By comparison, average rent grew 3.1% nationally. Within the South Florida area, Doral registered as the city with the highest average rent at $2,156 per month, followed by Miami…

Top 21 South Florida Shopping Center Transactions of 2018

2018 ended up being a very successful year for the South Florida commercial real estate market. Various factors contributed to the upbeat trends, including: foreign investments, the development of new properties, and major acquisitions across the region. These are positive signs, as even with changes in the retail market (such as the increased presence of…

Fewer multifamily deals closing in SoFla, yet apartment rents up and vacancies low amid heightened demand

Amid heated competition in South Florida’s multifamily market, the volume of apartment building sales has experienced a steady drop over the last two years. The decline reflects decreasing profit margins due to higher sale prices per unit, experts say. There were more than 350 multifamily deals totaling more than $5.5 billion in 2016, said Calum Weaver, managing director for Cushman & Wakefield’s…

Wynwood portfolio hits market at $50 million as mixed-use dev site

A portfolio of eight properties in Wynwood is on the market for $50 million, offered as a potential site for a major mixed-use project with apartments, a hotel, Class A office and retail space. The 1.7-acre portfolio includes 146 and 153 Northwest 25th Street, 2431-2455 Northwest 2nd Avenue, and 172 Northwest 25th Street and includes industrial and retail buildings. Avison Young’s Florida Capital…

Metronomic plans apartment projects in Little Havana and North Bay Village

Developer Ricky Trinidad closed on the land for three residential projects in Little Havana and North Bay Village. In Little Havana, Trinidad’s Metronomic Inc. bought a 7,200-square-foot lot at 620 and 622 Beacom Boulevard for TriniSuites Dos y Medio, a five-story, 20-unit rental building next to Miami Dade College’s InterAmerican Campus, according to a release. The firm recently paid $900,000 for the site, a…

German Co-Living Firm to Expand in Miami, Other U.S. Cities With $300 Million Deal

Medici Living Group, a provider of communal housing for millennials, is planning a $300 million U.S. expansion as it seeks to increase the global reach of its Quarters co-living brand. Over the next three years, the Berlin-based firm intends to add 1,300 rooms across U.S. cities with large pools of technology talent, it said in a statement. The expansion will be financed by W5 Group, a family office run by…

Which Office Markets Are Best Bets for Opportunity Zone Investment?

Opportunity Zone investments are a hot topic in the commercial real estate industry right now, but which office markets may be the best targets for this type of strategy? The establishment of Opportunity Zones offers investors a way to defer and reduce taxes on capital gains, while building equity in real estate assets and improving low-income, distressed neighborhoods. Common traits of Opportunity Zones…

Terrano Sells Doral Office Building

State Street Realty closed on the sale of an office property located next to the Miami International Airport. The property is approximately 25,000 square feet and is well-located at 7500 NW 26 Street in Doral. The building sold for $4,225,000. “This office property offered the Buyer an excellent opportunity to own prime real estate in the highly-desirable and coveted Miami Airport area. The property is…

German co-living company raises $300 million for expansion in Miami, other U.S. cities

A German company is attempting to force its way into the ever-tightening co-living industry. Medici Living Group raised $300 million as part of a joint venture with investment firm W5 Group to develop 1,500 units across the U.S. under its co-living brand, Quarters, the Berlin-based company said Tuesday. The company is entering a crowded U.S. co-living industry, a concept developed about a decade…

Hundreds of Sears stores could remain open after Lampert wins auction for firm: report

Hundreds of Sears stores could remain open if a bankruptcy judge approves Chairman Edward Lampert’s $5 billion bid for the ailing retailer. The Sears Holdings board picked Lampert’s offer over competing bids from liquidators after weeks of negotiations and two days of closed-door discussions in New York, sources told Bloomberg. The board was poised last week to ask the court for permission to…

WeWork inks big lease at OKO Group’s 830 Brickell project

WeWork signed a lease at OKO Group’s planned 830 Brickell development, which will mark its seventh co-working site when it opens in early 2021, The Real Deal has learned. WeWork will occupy 10 floors spanning 146,000 square feet at the planned 830 Brickell across from Brickell City Centre, where WeWork already operates a co-working site. The new space will be its second largest in the Southeast and…