Developers for Legacy Hotel & Residences Receives Third Largest Construction Loan Ever in Florida
Developer Dan Kodsi’s Royal Palm Companies recently received a $340 million construction loan for Legacy Hotel & Residences. New York-based real estate lending joint venture Silverstein Capital Partners, provided the loan for a condo-hotel construction tower that will be located in Downtown Miami at Miami Worldcenter.
According to a press release, the financing is the third-largest construction loan ever made in Florida, behind two others for projects in Miami-Dade. The other two loans were for the building of The Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach ($558 million) and Five Park in Miami Beach ($345 million).
Legacy Hotel & Residences began selling in late 2019 and despite the pandemic, it is already entirely pre-sold, with $160 million in sales.
The luxury tower located at 942 Northeast First Avenue, will rise 50 stories at 668 feet tall making it the second tallest tower at Miami Worldcener. This mixed-use development will feature 312 residential units, 262 luxury hotel rooms, a business center, medical office, retail space, and rooftop atrium.
The residences will include studio to 2 bedroom floor plans with 368 to 964 square feet options. The units will be fully finished and furnished. One of the unique things about Legacy is that residents will be able to rent their units without any restrictions. This includes utilizing a short-term rental company, whether its the Legacy’s rental program, Airbnb, or VRBO.
Not only is this loan one of the largest construction loans in Florida but this is also Silverstein Capital Partner’s first South Florida loan. Larry Silverstein of Silverstein Properties is an affiliate of the financial group and also led the development of the World Trade Center after 9/11.
Kobi Karp Architects, Design Agency, and ID & Design International designed the structure.
The ground-breaking for Legacy Hotel & Residences occurred in August 2021 and is expected to reach top-off in 2024.
Construction on Miami World Center ‘Jewel Box’ Begins
Photo Credit: Miami Worldcenter Associates
Miami Worldcenter is a 27-acre urban destination development that will bring new businesses, real estate opportunities, and most of all a new energy to downtown Miami. This site will be a unique blend of commercial and residential towers including Paramount Miami Worldcenter, Miami Worldtower, and Legacy Tower.
Construction for the signature “Jewel Box” in the middle of Miami Worldcenter will feature a retail building that will be located at 150 N.E. Eighth Street. The 2-story tower will boast 78,000 square feet of retail space with a rooftop terrace and public gathering space.
Photo Credit: Miami Worldcenter Associates
Developed by Miami-based Miami Worldcenter Associated and Los Angeles-based CIM Group. The Jewel Box will be designed by Coral Gables-based Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates.
Managing partner of Miami Worldcenter Associates stated, “The final elements of this world-class retail development plan are coming together, and the design and concept for the signature ‘Jewel Box’ element reflects the strong feedback we’ve received from brands from around the world and across South Florida.”
The jewel box will feature floor-to-ceiling glass that will reflect the outside elements that will create a jewel-like effect. Mixing the designs of a boutique retail space and diverse entertainment, the jewel box will be the “go-to” place for all Miami residences.
Construction for the jewel box is currently underway and the anticipated completion date is scheduled for the summer of 2022. Once the full Miami Worldcenter project is complete, the developers are estimating that the cost of the project is $4 billion.
The jewel box is a part of the 130,000 square feet of retail that is already under construction at the Miami Worldcenter with another 150,000 square feet already completed.
Maple & Ash Steakhouse will Open at Miami Worldcenter
Photo Credit: Miami Worldcenter Associates
Miami Worldcenter leases its first restaurant, Maple & Ash Steakhouse at the block H retail building. This building, located between 7th Street and 1st Avenue Northeast. Maple & Ash will allocate 15,000 square feet of space on the ground floor of the building.
Former Michelin-starred chef Danny Grant and Michael Beltran are the creators behind the Chicago-based steakhouse. The rent for restaurant space is asking $100 per square foot.
Maple & Ash offers an eclectic menu featuring seafood towers, Waygu beef, Filet Mignon, and raw bar options. The menu will resemble Maple & Ash’s Chicago counterpart.
horseradish, cocktail sauce & champagne mignonetteWild Blue Prawn Shrimp Cocktail
cocktail sauce, drawn butter & aioli
Beef Tenderloin Steak Tartare
smoked egg yolk, white soy & grilled sourdough
Wagyu Beef Carpaccio
Entrees
Ricotta Agnolotti
(pillows of love) winter truffle
Roasted Skuna Bay Salmon
chanterelle, turnip & brown butter apples
Fire-Roasted Chicken
spring onion, potato purée & pan jus
Whole-Roasted Branzino
fennel capers & preserved lemon
I Don’t Give a F*@K
let Maple & Ash take care of you (per person$200.00)
Wood Fired Steaks & Seafood
Petit Filet Mignon 6oz
Filet Mignon 10oz
Bone-In Filet Mignon 16oz
Maple & Ash Surf & Turf
Butcher’s Reserve
The Eisenhower
40+oz porterhouse cooked directly in the coals
Slagel Farms Dry Aged Bone-In NY Strip18oz
45 Day Dry-Aged Tomahawk40oz
Miyazaki Wagyu
Michael Beltran will also be opening two additional restaurants including a Cuban-inspired bistro and a cigar bar. Their locations place them directly across the street from Maple & Ash. All restaurants are expected to open by Winter 2022.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Closing Percentages for Brickell Flatiron, Paramount Miami Worldcenter, and One Thousand Museum
The Reboot
Back in November 2007, I started a series of blog posts called “New Construction Closing Rates” where I shared with my readers the closing percentages of the vast number of condo developments that were being delivered at the time. It became a very popular series with my readers mainly due to the transparency it offered to the public. As some may expect, in times of market trepidation, condo developers tend to safeguard their sales and closing figures.
Well, at the beginning of this year, mainly out of my own curiosity, I began tracking the closings of three of the newest condo developments in Greater Downtown Miami: Brickell Flatiron, Paramount Miami Worldcenter, and One Thousand Museum. As this post is named “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, I’ll begin first with Brickell Flatiron, the condo development that has fared the best of the three condo developments.
Of the three condo developments, Brickell Flatiron was the most recent to begin closings. Its first closing took place on November 1, 2019, while closings for Paramount Miami Worldcenter and One Thousand Museum began on August 13, 2019 and July 15, 2019, respectively.
Since November 1, 2019, according to public records, the developer of Brickell Flatiron has successfully closed 433 of 527 total units (an 82.2 percent closing percentage) as of this writing. The most recent closing that appears in public records took place on March 6, 2020. It’s important to note that there can be a lag of two to three weeks between the time a property closes and when it appears in public records. As of late, the developer of Brickell Flatiron has averaged around 6 closed units per week. In the month of February, the developer closed a total of 25 units. At this pace, the developer of Brickell Flatiron should hit the 90 percent closed mark by the end of next month. And even if closings were to significantly slow due to the nightmarish economic conditions posed by the Coronavirus, the developer would be in a solid position to ride it out given that the construction loan for Brickell Flatiron was paid off three months ago.
As mentioned above, Paramount Miami Worldcenter closings began on August 13, 2019. Since then, the developer has closed 336 of 569 total units (a 59.1 percent closing percentage) as of this writing.
This past week, the Paramount Miami Worldcenter sales team sent out a marketing email stating that it had $7 million in sales in the month of February. Well, according to public records, the developer of Paramount Miami Worldcenter closed seven (7) units in the month of February totaling $6,964,000 (close enough in my book). Kudos to the sales team! The most recent recorded closing took place on February 24, 2020. The bad news, of course, is that at a pace of 7 units per month, the last of the developer inventory won’t be sold until the end of 2022.
Of the three condo developments, One Thousand Museum began closings the longest ago. Closings began on July 15, 2019. Since then, the developer, as of this writing, has closed 45 of 84 total units (a 53.6 percent closing percentage). While that may not be too surprising given the price point of the development compared to the neighborhood average (~$1,200 per square foot vs. ~$425 per square foot), what I do find worrisome is that One Thousand Museum hasn’t had a single closed sale year-to-date, according to public records. The most recent recorded closed sale was on December 27, 2019. At a pace of one closed unit per every three months, the developers won’t close out the remaining inventory until the start of 2030!
What I find puzzling is that on February 18, 2020, the One Thousand Museum Instagram account shared news of having four sales in four weeks. Sounds great, right? Definitely! But not a single one of those four sales has been recorded. So what happened to the four sales? Given that there’s only a two to three week lag between when a unit closes and when it appears in a public records, all four of those sales should have shown up by now. As mentioned earlier, the closings that took place on March 6th and February 24th at Brickell Flatiron and Paramount Miami Worldcenter, respectively, already show up in public records.
In numerical order, here are the 45 units at One Thousand Museum that have closed and been recorded as of March 19, 2020. Those 45 units are comprised of 1 duplex townhouse, 40 half-floor residences, and 4 full-floor penthouses. That means that the remaining developer inventory at One Thousand Museum is comprised of 3 duplex townhouses, 30 half-floor residences, and 6 full-floor penthouses.
Photo Tour of Paramount Miami Worldcenter
Paramount Miami Worldcenter
Heralded as having “the Most Amenities in the World,” the developer of Paramount Miami Worldcenter is almost ready to showcase them. That’s almost because, despite closings beginning over two months ago, the building still remains under construction. However, from what I’ve heard, the developer of Paramount Miami Worldcenter is aiming for 100 percent completion by mid-November. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if that proves to be true.
As of last week, the lobby at Paramount Miami Worldcenter still remained under construction as well as the resort-style pool deck, BBQ area, tennis courts, soccer field, jam room, food market, and dog park. Additionally, all of the amenities located at the top of Paramount Miami Worldcenter – such as the Skydeck lounge, observatory, 56th-floor sunrise pool and poolside bar, Tai Chai deck, and rooftop infinity-edge pool – are all also still under construction (although my photographer and I were able to get sneak-peek photos of those areas as you will see near the bottom of this post).
As more and more of the amenities and common areas are completed at Paramount Miami Worldcenter, I will update this post in the weeks and months to come. For now, you will find below photos of the fully-equipped fitness center and boxing ring, yoga room, spa, children’s playroom, game room with golf simulator, conservatory, and mailroom. Please note, the basketball half-court and racquetball court are completed at this time but we did not get photos of them.
Paramount Miami WorldcenterResort Pool DeckResort Pool DeckResort Pool DeckFully-equipped Fitness Center w/ Boxing RingFully-equipped Fitness Center w/ Boxing RingFully-equipped Fitness Center w/ Boxing RingYoga StudioSpa EntranceSpa Reception DeskSpa Treatment RoomLocker RoomChildren’s PlayroomChildren’s PlayroomGame RoomGame RoomGame RoomGolf SimulatorConservatoryMailroomElevator Lobby
A Sneak Peek at the Rooftop Amenities and Views from Atop Paramount Miami Worldcenter
Views southeast from atop Paramount Miami WorldcenterObservatoryRooftop Infinity PoolPanoramic views South from atop Paramount Miami WorldcenterViews west from atop Paramount Miami WorldcenterViews east from atop Paramount Miami Worldcenter56th-floor Sunrise Pool and BarViews northeast from atop Paramount Miami WorldcenterViews from the very top floor of Paramount Miami WorldcenterParamount Miami Worldcenter at Night
Spacious Floor Plans Rule the Day at Paramount Miami Worldcenter
Last week, clients of mine closed on two separate units at Paramount Miami Worldcenter – unit 4305 (a 1 Bedroom + Den, 2 Bath residence) and unit 4312 (a 3 Bedroom + Den, 4 Bath residence). According to the developer floor plans, the one-bedroom unit has 1,386 interior square feet while the three-bedroom unit has 2,320 interior square feet – both very large floor plans compared to what we’re used to seeing from developers in Miami. At each unit’s walk-through, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the actual square footage seemed to match what was stated in the developer floor plans…such a breath of fresh air to see a developer actually deliver to buyers the square footage that was promised.
And the two above-noted floor plans are not the exception but the rule; all of the standardfloor plans at Paramount Miami Worldcenter are very spacious. I italicized the word “standard” because the developer sub-divided some of the floor plans near the pool deck to create studios and smaller one-bedroom residences. However, even those smaller floor plans are quite sizeable. The standard one-bedroom units at Paramount Miami Worldcenter range from 1,294 to 1,386 interior square feet; the two-bedroom units from 1,630 to 1,753 interior square feet; and the three-bedroom units from 2,320 to 2,376 interior square feet. Additionally, all standard residences at Paramount Miami Worldcenter have 10-foot high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a full-size laundry room.
Above and below are photos of unit 4305 at Paramount Miami Worldcenter – the 1 Bedroom + Den, 2 Bath residence – which I recently listed for rent for $4,200 per month. Keep in mind, this unit has 1,386 interior square feet. That’s larger than most two-bedroom units in Miami, and the den that it has is the size of most second bedrooms. The owner of this unit is in the process of building out all of the closets, installing wall-mounted shelving in the laundry room, installing shades on all windows, and tiling the balcony.
With 1,386 interior square feet, the 05 line is the largest one-bedroom floor plan at Paramount Miami Worldcenter. However, what really separates it from the other one-bedroom floor plans is the view. The 05 line is the only one-bedroom floor plan at Paramount Miami Worldcenter that faces east, meaning that it is the only one that overlooks the huge resort pool deck and has views of the water.
All units at Paramount Miami Worldcenter include two parking spaces (one assigned space plus one valet-only space). Additionally, covered by the HOA dues, each unit includes high-speed internet, cable TV, water, sewer, and trash removal.
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Releases Brochure For Penthouse Collection
The developer of Paramount Miami Worldcenter has released their exclusive penthouse collection with a sneak-peek brochure and renderings. The 26 units will be priced from $3.5 million up to $9.5 million.
As shown in the key plan featured in the brochure, four of the units will be located on the apex of the tower, offering those units expansive rooftop sky decks overlooking the bay and city. The plans are between 3,500 square feet and 6,000 square feet and will each have four or five bedrooms. All plans will have private elevator entry, Gaggenau appliances, and custom finishes.
Tips For Foreign Investors Seeking EB-5 Visas & Paramount Miami Worldcenter Update
EB-5 can be a great opportunity for foreign investors who seek American citizenship to be able to do so, but the investment visa is not without risks. It is very important to choose the right project to invest in, so that the investor does not lose their investment without securing the visa. As a rule, the investment money must be considered an at-risk investment, but savvy investors can review their potential projects and choose the one most likely to end in the visa PLUS the return of their funds.
What Are Some Tips To Ensure Success?
When reviewing EB-5 opportunities, it is important to choose a project that actually creates a minimum of 10 full time jobs per visa issued. Good intentions are great, but the project has to actually happen in order for the visas to be issued. Because of this, it is important to invest with an experienced developer who is well-funded and already under construction.
If a developer is not experienced, the project is unlikely to come to fruition, leaving the EB-5 funds at risk. In this case, the investor may or may not be able to recover their $500,000 in investment money, but the $50,000 in administration fees are nonrefundable.
If the project comes to fruition but does not create the required amount of jobs per hopeful EB-5 investor, then a portion of the investors will receive their visas, but those who signed on later in the project would lose their administration fee and may or may not be able to recover their $500,000 investment. Investing in condos is safer in this instance, since investors are more likely to recover their money through the condo sales. Recovery of the funds is more tricky for parking garage or infrastructure projects.
Don’t be greedy. It is extremely rare to find an EB-5 investment program that will provide the investor with the visa AND a healthy financial return. Many times, investors receive a small return and the visa. This brings me to Paramount Miami Worldcenter, which has an interesting offering that is one of the best I’ve seen.
How Does The Paramount Miami Worldcenter EB5 Opportunity Work?
The developer of Paramount Miami Worldcenter is offering a limited number of EB5 investment opportunities to buyers of condos in the project, which is currently under construction in Downtown Miami. There are around 35 opportunities remaining of the original 150. The opportunities are funding just 14% of the capital required for the project, which has already secured its $285 million senior loan and is 60% sold with 50% deposits due prior to closing.
With 150 available investor visas, 1,500 jobs are required to be created. The project is estimated to create over 5,000 total jobs, so investors should have no problem securing their visa upon completion.
At the time of closing, EB5 Investors are offered two options:
1 – They can close on their condo separate of the investment and move in immediately.
2 – For the investors who prefer to roll their investment funds into their condo purchase, they have the option to delay closing by three years on a leaseback program with the developer. The developer will offer the apartments for lease and split the income from that rental with the investor. After the three year term, the investor can close with the use of their investment funds.
The remaining residences start at $626,000 for a 1 bedroom plus den with 1,095 interior square feet up to $1.8 million for a 3 bedroom plus den with a southeast view and 2,376 interior square feet. Overall, prices average $675/square foot and penthouses are available upon request.
If you or someone you know is interested in more information on the EB5 program, please contact our office for a full presentation.
VIDEO: Paramount Miami Worldcenter Construction Update
Paramount Miami Worldcenter from the north side construction entrance April 25, 2017.
Phase one vertical construction is now underway at Paramount Miami Worldcenter, according to the developer. The seven story pedestal has reached its final height at a rate of about one floor per week, now they begin construction on the tower portion of the project. When completed, the residential tower will bring 522 residences to Downtown Miami in a glistening 60 story tower atop a 27 acre high street retail promenade. The tower boasts the most amenities of any residential tower in the world.
The residential condos are currently 62% sold at an average of $650/square foot. Some of the available purchase opportunities that remain are:
a 1,095 square foot 1 bedroom with a den at $626,000 is the least expensive apartment currently available. Considering the typical 1 bedroom in the area is 700-800 square feet, this would probably be considered a 2 bedroom in many competing developments.
Two bedrooms start at $1,287,000 for a 44th floor apartment with 2 bedrooms, 3 baths and a den over 1,753 square feet.
Three bedrooms start at $1,581,300. There is one available on the southwest corner that is 2,230 square feet and has 3 bedrooms, 4 baths and a den.
The entire project is expected to be finished in 2019. Here is a video that Bryan Glazer put together that shows the scope of the project and offers a preview of how much the neighborhood will change with its addition. Last year, the developer also released a movie preview that highlights the projects amenities in dramatic form. I am very excited to see this one start to take shape!
Video overview of Paramount Miami Worldcenter by Bryan Glazer
