Developers Score $101M HUD Loan For Biscayne Landing Mixed-Use Project

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Turnberry Associates and LeFrak are making moves at SoLēMia.

The developers’ SM Multifamily LLC just closed on a $101 million construction and permanent loan from Wells Fargo, according to a press release. The Housing and Urban Development-insured financing will be used for the development of two 17-story, luxury rental towers totaling 400 units.

The apartment buildings are part of the first phase of SoLēMia, $4 billion mixed-use, master-planned community in North Miami. The developers broke ground on both buildings in July and plan to complete them by the summer of 2019, a spokesperson told The Real Deal. Crews will pour the first elevated deck for the east building in November.

Turnberry, led by Jeffrey and Jackie Soffer, and LeFrak announced plans for the 183-acre development site at 15045 Biscayne Boulevard about two years ago and refinanced the North Miami land in October with a $66.5 million loan. The developers have said they’re footing the bill for the majority of the project’s $150 million worth of infrastructure, including roads and sewers, which is nearly completed.

The apartment towers will feature views of Oleta State Park and the bay, amenities that include a swimming pool and roof deck/sky lounge, a fitness center, community rooms and a business center, according to the release. In all, SoLēMia will have a 10-acre lagoon with beaches, 12 residential buildings with 4,300 units; a town center with shops, restaurant, a hotel and entertainment tenants; and a Warren Henry car dealership.

The former Biscayne Landing site has had a long and troubled history, including Superfund designation in the early 1980s and multiple failed bids for commercial development since 2003. Richard LeFrak bought out former partners Michael Swerdlow and Ezra Katz in 2015. 

Investors and developers in North Miami and nearby North Miami Beach have been picking up properties in the area, including CK Prive Group and Prestige Imports owner Brett David.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Miami Real Estate Mostly Spared From Irma’s Fury, Industry Players Say

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Just days after Hurricane Irma lashed downtown Miami and the neighboring Brickell financial district with vicious winds and surging water that took out two construction cranes and flooded major streets, industry players told The Real Deal that the deadly storm largely spared the city’s urban core and coastal communities from catastrophic damage.

Suzanne Amaducci, who leads the real estate group at commercial law firm Bilzin Sumberg, said 1450 Brickell Avenue, the office building where her firm is headquartered, reopened Tuesday morning,

“The power is on and we have air conditioning,” Amaducci said. “If you look at new construction, it withstood the storm very well.”

Carlos Melo, co-founder and principal of the Melo Group — which has developed 12 condo and apartment towers in Miami’s Edgewater, Little Havana and Allapattah neighborhoods — said he weathered Irma at his corporate office, which is on the second floor of his company’s rental building at 425 Northeast 22nd Street.

“We had about one foot of water at ground level,” Melo said. “It only affected the parking area, but it never reached the building. And about an hour-and-a-half after the hurricane passed, the water had receded.”

Melo said none of his buildings sustained extensive damage and that the only major problem is a lack of electricity.

“Nine of our rental buildings are without power and using generators,” Melo said. “The biggest problem is that there are too many downed trees and power lines to pick up.”

The Melo Group currently has two new projects under construction. Aria on the Bay, a 53-story, 648-unit luxury condo tower at 1770 North Bayshore Drive, topped off in May and is scheduled for completion later this year. The firm is also building Square Station, twin 34-story towers at 1424 Northeast Miami Place.

“Both sites are intact and did not sustain damage,” Melo said. “Aria is all glass windows. And none were damaged. The building is intact. The same goes for our neighbors. Square Station, where three construction cranes are currently in operation, was also unscathed. After inspecting the Aria construction site yesterday, we are fully operational again. But work has not begun again at Square Station because we don’t have power there.”

But a pair of projects will have to contend with damage caused by falling cranes. Irma took out the boom from a crane tower at Property Markets Group’s 300 Biscayne Avenue development in downtown Miami and another crane collapsed at the Related Group’s GranParaiso condo tower at 480 Northeast 31st Street.

Ryan Shear, a principal of New York-based PMG, declined comment. Carlos Rosso, president of Related’s condo division, said he couldn’t comment because he was not in Miami to assess the situation at GranParaiso.

A third crane in South Florida also fell at Related’s Auberge Beach Residences and Spa in Fort Lauderdale.  A spokesperson for the project said the crane is “fully contained within the job site,” adding that there was no damage to the tower structure and that power has been restored. The developer and contractor, Moss Construction, are working on a plan to remove the damaged jib, the representative said.

On Wednesday, Moody’s Analytics released a report estimating between $64 billion and $92 billion in property damage and immediate economic lost output caused by Irma, though specific assessments for much of South Florida have not yet emerged. The Florida Keys were battered, with the federal government estimating 90 percent of buildings sustaining damage, but the storm mostly drifted west of Miami.

Chad Warhaft, director of construction and operations for brokerage CREC, said the company’s portfolio of 13 million square feet of commercial space across Florida held up well during Irma.

“Mainly, we are dealing with landscape damage and minor roof leaks,” Warhaft said. “There was a little bit of facade damage at two properties. Other than that, we have been in really good shape.”

Residential developers who spoke to TRD said their projects in Miami were relatively unscathed, and don’t believe the aftermath will have a profound negative impact on their bottom line or construction schedules.

“The 10-story, 81-unit apartment tower at 1657 North Miami Avenue had some stucco fly off and some water intrusion but nothing too severe,” said Nir Shoshani, co-founder and principal of NR Investments, which is developing the Filling Station Lofts in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.

His company is also developing Canvas, a 513-unit condo building at 1630 Northeast First Avenue, that has two cranes on site hovering at 425 feet in the air.

“When we started preparing for Irma, we were supposed to be right smack in the middle of its path,” Shoshani said. “There is nothing you can really do to secure those things. On the contrary, you have to let them spin.”

He said crews assessed the site on Monday and he hopes construction on the tower, which has a projected $221 million sellout, will renew before the end of the week. Shoshani said he doesn’t think Irma will cause a major downturn in Miami’s real estate market.

“Miami remains a very attractive place,” Shoshani said. “I also think people forget quickly and it won’t have long term effects on real estate here.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Coral Gables Looks To Grow Southward Beyond Merrick Park & University of Miami

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An 11.4 square mile area of Coral Gables that includes the Shops at Merrick Park, the University of Miami and the city’s upscale Riviera neighborhood is poised for a new wave of development that will completely alter the southern landscape of the City Beautiful.

The neighborhood has long been defined by extravagant single-family homes, one-story shopping plazas, mid-rise office buildings and industrial warehouses. But in recent years, the city’s planning and zoning department and the city commission have relaxed zoning requirements that will allow builders to add a slew of condo towers, hotels, office buildings and retail centers to the neighborhood.

Astor Companies President Henry Torres is among the developers expecting to cash in. His company recently broke ground on Merrick Manor, a 10-story Mediterranean-style building at 301 Altara Avenue. The 227-unit tower is the first major condo development in Coral Gables since the last cycle.

Torres said the neighborhood around Merrick Park is a perfect draw for University of Miami professors and employees, parents who want their children attending the college to live in a nice and safe apartment and empty nesters looking to downsize from their palatial homes in Coral Gables.

“There is a need for what we are offering,” Torres said. “That is what prompted me to build in this part of Coral Gables.”

Signs of Change

Despite vehement opposition from wealthy homeowners in the Riviera section of Coral Gables, the city earlier this year hired architecture and design firm Perkins + Will to develop a master plan for the South Dixie Highway corridor that falls within the city’s boundaries. The master plan will provide developers planning major projects along U.S.1 to incorporate an environment that is welcoming to motorists, transit-users, pedestrians and cyclists.

Transportation

In addition to the Douglas Road and University of Miami Metrorail stations, residents can also catch a ride on one of two free trolleys operated by the city of Coral Gables. Various Miami-Dade County bus routes also service the area. The neighborhood’s main access roads are Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Bird Road and South Dixie Highway.

Commercial Broker’s Take

“The whole retail and dining experience in Merrick Park is wonderfully successful, leading to a new wave of residential development in that area of Coral Gables,” Allen Morris, founder, chairman and CEO of the Allen Morris Companies.

Demographics

Population: 14,995
Median Age: 23
Median Income: $111,838

Priciest Residential Sale

A two-story, 5,029-square-foot contemporary estate with five bedrooms and five bathrooms at 1415 Robbia Avenue sold for $2.3 million in June.

Most Expensive On The Market

$2.7 million for a two-story, 5,129-square-foot mansion with six bedrooms and six bathrooms at 1200 Blue Road with its backyard facing Riviera Golf Course.

Least Expensive On The Market

$470,000 for a 970-square-foot condo with two bedrooms and two bathrooms at the Villages of Merrick Park, 4100 Salzedo Street.

Price Trends

Median Sales Price Per Square Foot:
$355 or 19 percent higher than the rest of Miami-Dade County

Average Rent Over The Last Year:
1.5 percent decrease to $1,905 a month for a one-bedroom apartment

New Development

Clockwise from top left: renderings of Gables Station, Link at Douglas, Merrick Manor, Paseo de la Riviera

South Dixie Highway has become the focus of several major mixed-use projects that will add close to 2,000 residential units and more than 250,000 square feet of commercial space over the next two to three years in South Coral Gables.

NP International plans to convert the former Holiday Inn site at 1350 South Dixie Highway into Paseo de la Riviera, a $172 million development consisting of a 10-story hotel with 252 rooms, an eight-story residential tower with 224 apartments, 20,000 square feet of commercial space and 838 parking spaces. Located across the street from Metrorail and the proposed Underline linear park, Paseo de la Riviera will also have a pedestrian bridge crossing South Dixie Highway and a half-acre green space incorporating public art installations, restaurants, and retail. It will also connect the project’s buildings with nearby Jaycee Park.

Just a few blocks north, near the Shops of Merrick Park, NP has plans for another massive project on a 4.3 acre site called Gables Station. The developer is proposing three towers with a maximum height of 155 feet with about 168 hotel units, 554 luxury condominium residences and 87,900 square feet of retail space.

On a 7-acre site adjacent to the Douglas Road Metrorail Station, a partnership between the Adler Group and 13th Floor Investments won a 30-year lease from Miami-Dade County to develop Link at Douglas, with 970 residences, a 150-key hotel, 70,000 square feet of retail space and a public plaza. The deal includes setting aside 12.5 percent of the units for workforce housing, $14 million in improvements to the Metrorail station and $600,000 contribution to the Underline.

Across the street from the Shops of Merrick Park, BF Group is planning a 10-story mixed-use office building at 4311 Ponce de Leon Boulevard. The developers paid $ 7 million for the site and plan to spend another $40 million building the tower, which will have 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail space and 50,000 square feet of office space.

Meanwhile, Roger Development Group recently broke ground on Laguna House, a condominium tower at the Shops of Merrick Park. The 10-story boutique project at 4220 Laguna Street features only 12 condo units that range from 3,000 square feet to 6,250 square feet.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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