Eco-Friendly Mixed-Use Building Proposed in Coral Gables

93 Miracle Mile Eco-Friendly Building
93 Miracle Mile Eco-Friendly Building

Along the well-known Miracle Mile district of Coral Gables, Terranova Corp. intends to construct what might be the first mixed-use carbon-neutral structure in South Florida.

The office and retail building will generate all of the energy required to run it on-site, according to the Miami Beach-based developer. Using photovoltaic glass to capture solar energy, battery systems to store it, and energy-efficient AC and elevator systems might be done.

The total square footage of the four-story structure at 93 Miracle Mile would be 36,482. The building would feature 26,167 square feet of area for shops and restaurants and the rest for offices. A rooftop terrace would also be present.

According to Chairman of Terranova, Stephen Bittel, “93 Miracle Mile will be a revolutionary project, not only as a platform to champion Coral Gable’s dignitaries as forward-thinking leaders in sustainable development but also a blueprint for other developers and city planners as we face a climate crisis around the world. The modern proposed structure respects the scale of Miracle Mile, and uses traditional stone materials on the exterior, while also incorporating the best environmental options for the future.”

The developer paid $6.8 million for the 10,164-square-foot site in 2021 through an associate. The 9,097 square foot retail facility that it currently has would be torn down.

The project’s design was created by Miami-based Arqutiectonica and is awaiting local permission. Onyx Solar, based in Spain, was chosen to supply the solar glass. The solar glass will help with insulating the building as well as generating solar energy. The rooftop design will create a trellis that helps support the suspended orchid garden.

New Luxury Bayfront Development Revealed in Edgewater-Vida Residences

Vida Residences Edgewater Miami
Vida Residences Edgewater Miami

A new condo development has recently been revealed for Edgewater, Vida Residences. Vida Residences will encompass a Euro design that embodies luxury through every detail including its interior with beige tones, floating chandeliers, and all the amenities a luxury condominium has to offer.

Vida Residences Edgewater Foyer Rendering

Rising 9 stories tall, Vida Residences Edgewater will feature 121 fully finished and furnished units. One of the more enticing features includes the allowance of short-term rentals. There will no rental restrictions and residents will be allowed to rent on a short-term basis through hosting platforms such as AirBnb and VRBO.

The building will feature over 22,000 square feet of amenities.

Building Amenities:

  • Expansive rooftop tranquility pool with jacuzzi
  • Cabanas
  • Grilling stations
  • Private rooftop restaurant/bar
  • Breathtaking vistas of Biscayne Bay 
  • State-of-the-art fitness center Convenient juice and coffee bar
  • HiTech co-working center 24/7 security services
  • Controlled property access with 24/7 concierge services

Unit Features:

  • Fully finished and furnished Studio, 1- 2-3- & 4 bedroom residences 
  • 9-foot-high ceilings
  • Balcony with every residence 
  • Finished flooring
  • Gourmet kitchens
  • Euro-style appliances
  • Rain showers in primary bathrooms
  • Custom vanities
  • Washer and dryer in residences 
  • Built-out closets
  • Contemporary lighting packages
  • Smart-home systems
  • Keyless entry system

The developer for this project is listed as Urbana with Kobi Karl as the architect and interiors by Euro Design Group. The Groundbreaking is scheduled for the spring of 2023 and completion in 2024. Units start at $300,000.

Vida Residences Pool Deck
Rendering for Vida Residences Edgewater

Record Breaking Waterfront Mansion Sold in Coconut Grove for $106.9 Million

Adrienne Arsht Sells Waterfront  Mansion

Adrienne Arsht, a local philanthropist, set a Miami-Dade County record when she sold her waterfront property in Coconut Grove for $106.9 million.

The sale of the home represents a 29% decrease from the property’s initial $150 million asking price and this sale marks the first residential sale to exceed the $100 million threshold.

The 2 two-story homes sit on 3031 and 3115 Brickell Avenue and are frequently referred to as South Florida’s “embassy,” due to the many U.S. and international officials frequenting the home.

There are a total of 12 bedrooms and 13 and a half bathrooms in the 25,000-square-foot home. The 4-acre property has 400 feet of water frontage, is close to Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, and overlooks Biscayne Bay. The main house, known as Indian Spring, was built by Arsht in 1999.

It has a dining room that seats more than 20 people, a six-car garage with an office and apartment upstairs, a pool, and a tennis court. Indian Spring was designed by Jose Gelabert-Navia, a former dean of the University of Miami School of Architecture. Villa Serena, the other house, was constructed in 1913.

The property was developed by William Jennings Bryan, a former U.S. Secretary of State and a 3x presidential candidate. Arsht restored the waterfront mansion and it is now registered in the National Register of Historic Places.

According to records, she purchased the property in two transactions, paying $4 million for the land on which the contemporary house was built in 1996 and then $12 million for the ancient home in 2007.

Arsht, a native of Delaware, made a name for herself in Miami’s financial world and as an arts patron. She gave the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts a $30 million gift, earning it the moniker Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District. She has also served as TotalBank’s chair in the past.

The transaction surpasses the previous high in Miami-Dade, which was set this summer by the $93 million purchase of three homes in Golden Beach by the founder of the technology business InterSystems. Ragon intends to demolish the buildings and build a new house in their stead.

Empira Group Purchases Building Site for an 85 Unit Residential Project-CoralGrove Brickell

CoralGrove New Construction in Brickell
CoralGrove New Construction in Brickell

Empira Group, a Swiss company, has recently invested $9 million in a multifamily building site in Miami’s The Roads neighborhood as part of its introduction into South Florida’s real estate market.

According to a news release from the developer, Empira plans to erect the eight-story CoralGrove Brickell project on a half-acre plot of land adjacent to Coral Way, between 3025 and 3051 Southwest Third Avenue.

The property currently consists of a two-story and a one-story apartment structure, both of which are vacant and scheduled for demolition this year.

CoralGrove will contain 85 units, ranging from one-bedroom to three-bedroom homes, and 900 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

According to Rafael Aregger, Empira’s head of investments in the U.S., the previously approved 79-unit proposal for the site is being modified by Empira to add more units and relocate a pool that was originally planned for a mezzanine level to the rooftop.

According to Aregger, Empira, which has its headquarters in the town of Zug, manages investments on behalf of German organizations like pension funds, insurance companies, and banks. Empira, led by CEO Marcus Bartenstein, manages $7 billion in assets.

The company entered the United States two years ago, but its primary area of interest is real estate in German-speaking regions of Europe. Together with its joint venture partner Zidan Management Group, it has since built up a 2,100-unit apartment portfolio in the Midwest. The company’s American headquarters are in Empira’s Miami location. Additionally, it maintains offices in Stockholm, Dubai, and London.

According to Empira, the business is considering future development in Sun Belt states including Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

Construction on CoralGrove Brickell is anticipated to begin in 2023 with a completion date in 2025.

New York Developers Purchase Site to Build a Two Tower Residential Project for $40.5 Million

New Construction Project in Downtown Miami by Namdar Group
New Construction Project in Downtown Miami by Namdar Group

The Namdar Group recently purchased a development site for $40.5 million with plans to construct a two-tower residential and apartment project in downtown Miami.

According to county records, the New York-based company purchased 1.3 acres in two agreements at 50 and 60 Northeast Third Street and at 222 and 234 Northeast First Avenue.

Namdar additionally obtained a $195 million loan for the purchase and development of the skyscrapers. Scale Lending, a subsidiary of Slate Property Group, supplied the funding.

A 41-story structure with 640 units and a 43-story building with 714 units would make up the proposed Namdar Towers, which would have combined square footage of more than 1.2 million.

According to records, entities led by Daniel Stone paid $30.5 million for the parking lot and land at 50, 60, and 222 Northeast First Avenue as well as the parking lot at 50 and 60 Northeast Third Street.

The retail building at 234 Northeast First Avenue was sold for $10 million by a partner of Jaime and Esther Waserstein, who founded the ShoeGallery company in Miami. There is a ShoeGallery store on the premises.

According to its website, Namdar is a family-owned development company that was established in 1979. Ephraim Namdar, who has previously been named in media sources as the company’s founder and CEO, is in charge of running the LLC that bought the Miami property.

Igal Namdar’s commercial real estate investment company, Namdar Realty Group, which buys bankrupt retail centers, also has a New York address that is shared by Namdar.

The Journal Square district of Jersey City has seen activity from the corporation. According to the real estate website Jersey Digs, Namdar completed the tops of two mixed-use towers with a total of 27 stories and 667 residences in July.

Namdar Towers would be the newest development in downtown Miami, which has attracted the attention of multifamily developers.

A 48-story tower with 1,200 flats is what Jorge and Jon Paul Pérez’s Related Group and ROVR Development hope to erect at the site of the College Station Garage at 190 Northeast Third Street. The Namdar Towers location is direct across the street from this one.

The 57-story, 675-unit M Tower is what Lions Group NYC and Fortis Design + Build hope to erect at 56, 70, and 65 Southwest Second Street.

Hyatt and Gencom plan to transform the James L. Knight Center and adjoining Hyatt Regency Miami hotel into a three-tower complex called Miami Riverbridge as part of another downtown redevelopment. 1,500 apartments, a new Hyatt hotel with 615 rooms and 264 service-branded flats, as well as a 190,000-square-foot conference center are all part of the plans.

A referendum on the plan will be held in November.

Related Group Requesting Permission to Develop Mixed Use Project on Miami River

Gallery at Lummus Parc
Gallery at Lummus Parc

The Related Group’s affordable housing division, Related Urban Development Group, is requesting permission to develop a mixed-income housing development on Miami-Dade County property close to the Miami River.

The ground lease and development agreement with the Miami-based developer for the 1.05-acre site at 395 N.W. 1st St. and 25 N.W. River Drive will be up for consideration by the County Commission on September 1. There is a two-story county office building there right now.

The site is close to Interstate 95 to the west, Flagler Street Bridge to the north, and Lummus Park to the south.

In January 2021, the county released a request for proposals (RFP) to find a developer for the land, and Related Group was selected as the successful bidder.

The developer would lease the land from the county under the proposal for 75 years in exchange for a $1.54 million down payment and annual fee equal to 16.5% of the project’s revenue flow. Over the course of the lease’s 75-year term, the county calculated that the payments would total $238.8 million.

The Gallery at Lummus Parc was a project that Related Group predicted would cost $151.7 million to complete.

It would include 439 apartments in two 30-story towers, as well as 5,400 square feet of retail space, a 478-place parking garage, and a cultural installation showcasing Lummus Park’s heritage. An overpass over Northwest First Street would connect the towers.

On the eleventh floor, there would be an amenities deck with a pool, a club room, a workout facility, Zoom rooms, a game room, and a lounge.

Some of the apartments would have cheaper rents and be income-restricted. According to the agreement, 20% of the flats would be reserved for residents earning up to 50% of the area median income and another 20% for residents earning up to 140%. There would be no constraints on income for the remaining flats.

Miami’s average household income is $44,268. The Gallery at Lummus Parc is anticipated to fill some of that demand as local workers have found it more and more difficult to afford residences in the city due to recent double-digit rent increases.

The sizes of the flats would be between 495 and 1,220 square feet. There would be 28 three-bedroom homes, 99 studios, 177 one-bedroom units, and 135 two-bedroom units.

The Related Group representatives declined to comment. According to the proposal, a federal opportunity zone investment fund, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, and low-income tax credit equity from JPMorgan Chase and Raymond James would all contribute to the project’s partial funding.

The concept was created by Miami-based CFE Architects. The developer is represented in the application by Miami attorneys Terry M. Lovell and Al Dotson Jr.

Miami River Dream Hotel Officially Approved by Voters

Dream Riverside Hotel Approval
Dream Riverside Hotel Approval

Voters in Miami approved a new 100-year lease for the builders of a proposed mixed-use project on the Miami River with the Dream Hotel as its anchor in a low turnout election.

The restaurant and entertainment complex Wharf Miami is currently located on a 1.5-acre city-owned site at 114 Southwest North River Drive. MV Real Estate Holdings, led by Alex Mantecon and Guillermo Vadell, and its partner Driftwood Capital, led by Carlos Rodriguez Jr., can now move forward with their plans to transform the location.

A majority of 34,745 voters approved the referendum, allowing the Miami City Commission to forgo competitive bidding and negotiate the lease with MV and Driftwood.

Voters had approved a deal in 2016 providing Riverside Wharf a 30-year lease with the possibility of two additional 10-year lease terms. MV agreed to construct a 30,000-square-foot entertainment center in exchange for paying the city a minimum of $195,000 in rent each year and spending at least $7 million to rehabilitate public space, including a new riverwalk in front of the construction.

Under the Dream brand, the joint venture plans to construct a $185 million mixed-use development anchored by a 165-key hotel. The 200,000 square-foot Riverside Wharf project, designed by John Cardello of Cube3 architects, would also have 16,000 square feet of eateries, a 12,000 square-foot event hall, a 30,000 square-foot nightclub, a rooftop day club, and 600 feet of river frontage. The new building would house Wharf Miami as a tenant.

MV and Driftwood agreed to pay 50 percent more rent than the city was expected to receive in a previous development proposal that was approved by Miami voters in 2016 in exchange for the new lease and development rights. They also agreed to raise the minimum amount of private investment from $7 million to $30 million.

According to campaign finance disclosures, the developers invested $311,000 in advertising, phone banks, and other voter turnout initiatives. The Riverside Wharf political action committee inundated voters’ mailboxes with pamphlets touting the project in the weeks running up to Tuesday’s primary election.

According to the mailers, Riverside Wharf will generate 600 new jobs and is a “state-of-the-art sea level rise program for future generations.” Before election day, there was not much opposition to the idea.

Because MV and Driftwood drastically altered the scope and size of the development that voters initially approved six years ago, the project—which never got off the ground—needed another referendum.

Highest Penthouse at Paramount Miami Worldcenter is Now For Sale at $10.71 Million

Paramount Miami Worldcenter Views
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Views

At the current price of $10.71 million, the tallest penthouse in RPC’s Paramount Miami Worldcenter is now for sale.

With sweeping views of Miami from the 57th and 58th floors of the tower, Penthouse 5700 has 5,225 square feet spanning throughout  four bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and a den that can be utilized as either a home office or a library in the unit. An open-style chef’s kitchen, floor-to-ceiling windows, double-height ceilings, and plenty of space for entertaining are included in the amenities of the property.

Penthouse 5700 will have access to the building’s 46 amenity spaces, which are the most residential amenities in the world and include the nation’s first outdoor soccer field in a high-rise residential building, resort-style swimming pools, tennis courts, a Tai Chi deck, and a boxing studio.

The purchaser will be residing among celebrities thanks to Paramount’s comprehensive array of sporting amenities, which has drawn a wide range of professional athletes.

Located in Miami Worldcenter, an entire city within a city and the second largest master-planned urban project in the country, Paramount offers walkable access to the best restaurants, cultural and entertainment venues in town. 

The 58-story Paramount Miami Worldcenter, which was completed in August 2019, has 569 condo homes with studio, one, two, and three-bedroom floor layouts, as well as penthouses.

The Paramount Miami Worldcenter’s ordinary tower residences have interior square footage of 1,294 to 2,376 plus balconies, whilst its penthouse residences have interior square footage of 3,509 to 6,000 plus balconies.

The typical condo homes at Paramount Miami Worldcenter have either 11-foot- or 14-foot-deep terraces, private elevators, and 10-foot high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Eight magnificent bi-level penthouses at Paramount Miami Worldcenter include 20-foot high ceilings, floor to ceiling glass windows, and panoramic views of the city and lagoon.

Elkus Manfredi Architects created Paramount Miami Worldcenter, which was created by Paramount Ventures. ID & Design International created the lobby and common areas.

Paramount Miami Worldcenter Penthouse Kitchen
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Ocean Views
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Floorplan
Paramount Penthouse Family Room
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Master Bedroom Views

New York Developer Acquires Belmar Condominium in Edgewater for a Potential New Development Site

Edgewater Miami Florida
Edgewater Miami Florida

Another potential development site in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood has been acquired by a New York condo and multifamily developer.

According to public documents, a company managed by Joseph Stern, the principal of SB Development, paid $12 million for all 13 apartments of the Belmar Condominium at 419 Northeast 19th Street. The price per condo for the group purchase is $923,076. To pay for the transaction, the buyer got a $14 million loan from Rok Lending, a company based in Aventura.

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, several of the sellers who bought units made substantial profits on their purchases. In 1973, when Belmar was finished, Francesca, Monica, and David Vila paid $36,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, according to documents. Leopoldo Colon and Kenneth Merker, who are on the board of the Belmar condominium, paid $40,00 and $41,00 for their respective apartments in 1993 and 1994. After Stern’s company completed the bulk sale, the condo association was disbanded, according to records.

The five-story Belmar, which is tucked up against the Cité on the Bay Condominium, might be SB Development’s upcoming renovation endeavor in Edgewater. There are no plans on file with the city of Miami.

For $12.2 million, SB and its joint venture partner Hazelton Capital Group purchased a five-bedroom home at 480 Northeast 29th Street as well as two nearby vacant properties. The land is zoned for up to 38 floors, and the partnership aims to build a boutique apartment tower with a bayfront restaurant on the ground floor.

According to the company website, SB, which was founded in 2010, has more than 500,000 square feet of projects in various stages of development, from townhomes to high-rise buildings. For a construction site in Long Island City where the company intends to construct a $70 million, 24-story apartment tower, SB paid $15.2 million in 2019. SB also contributed to the development of Williamsburg’s Dime, a mixed-use housing and retail complex.