Famous NYC Restaurant Rao’s Opening Soon in Miami Beach
The iconic New York City eatery Rao’s, noted for both its exclusivity and its red-sauce cuisine, is establishing a presence in Miami Beach and we can’t be more excited to try it!
The Pellegrino family’s Italian restaurant is slated to launch at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel at 1601 Collins Avenue in the first few months of 2023. Rao’s will be replacing the ground-floor restaurant Lure Fishbar.
The original Rao’s is located in Harlem, New York, and is known for turning away notables due to the difficulty of reserving tables. Rao’s also has a location in Los Angeles and their location in Las Vegas was closed last year. Rao’s is run by Frank Pellegrino Jr. and Ron Straci
Frank Jr. is the 4th generation owner of Rao’s and since his undertaking of the restaurant, he has created a family brand of sauces, pasta noodles, and soups that can be found in your local groceries.
The restaurant recently ran a pop-up at David Edelstein’s W South Beach hotel while shopping for a location to set up shop.
The 790-key hotel is owned by the Tisch family, which is headed by Loews chairman Jonathan Tisch and had housed renowned chef Emeril Lagasse’s eatery.
The most recent New York restaurant chain to open a location in Miami is Major Food Group’s Carbone in South Beach. Since then, the company has had fast growth throughout Miami and in Boca Raton. Additionally, Pastis is anticipated to debut at an Edelstein property in Wynwood.
Locally, other restaurants and hospitality chains like Casa Tua and Cipriani are also growing. The NoMad Residences in Wynwood, developed by Edelstein, Related Group, and Alex Karakhanian, will soon welcome Casa Tua.
Seven months after breaking ground, the Edgewater twin-tower apartment building known as URBAN 22 has officially topped off on construction. The developer for the project, the Melo Group is a well-known development group in the Miami area. After completing 6,000+ residential units in Miami over the years, they currently have 2,000 units under construction.
Multiple parcels making up the 1.94 acre site stretch’s from Second Avenue, 22nd Street, to 23rd street. The Melo Group started purchasing these sites in 2011 that is now making up the site for URBAN 22.
The project call for twin 15-story towers that will total 708,119 square feet with an 8-story podium connecting between the two. The towers will feature 441 residential units, 7,168 sq. ft. of retail, 5,692 sq. ft. of office space, and 529 parking spaces.
The units will range from 725 to 1,200 square feet of living space with each unit featuring a private balcony with glass surround railings. There are 4 studios, 243 one bedroom, 152 two bedroom, and 42 three bedroom units available.
The garage will feature a pool deck on the roof, indoor/outdoor spa, garden terraces, and a fitness center with a social room for gatherings. The Melo Group stated that project would enhance the pedestrian experience through the bridge between the two buildings as well as the retail and commercial aspects.
Developers File Coastline Review for a 30 Story Mixed Use Tower
In North Bay Village at 1755 Kennedy Causeway, B Developments under the LGE NBV, LLC submitted a request to Miami-Dade County for a coastline review. Arquitectonica was hired by the developer to create a mixed-use structure that would be 345 feet tall, 30 floors tall, and directly face Biscayne Bay.
Due to the property’s frontage on Biscayne Bay and its compliance with Article III, Section 33D of the Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances, the application is necessary. The coastline setback and side setback are subject to variance requests from the developer. A structure with 30 floors must be 75 feet away from the main shoreline and 25 feet away from the side shorelines, according to the County Code’s setback requirements.
The property can’t be developed strictly in accordance with the criteria due to the tower’s height, the property’s size, and the lot’s proportions. To build in compliance with the site plans, the setback from the beach would have to be decreased to 25 feet, resulting in a 50-foot variance.
The developer is offering to construct a public bay walk behind the property along Biscayne Bay as leverage to get the variances allowed for the project because the County standards cannot be met. On the plus side, the proposal complies with the 2020 Island Walk Design Criteria as well as the North Bay Village Unified Land Development Code.
According to floor designs submitted in February 2022 to the North Bay Village Planning & Zoning Board, the distinctive two-story waterfront restaurant would occupy 19,455 square feet of area between the ground floor and mezzanine level. From the mezzanine level to floors 2 through 5, 8 and 9, the majority of the west podium would be occupied by offices. There are five storeys of parking on the podium’s remaining surface.
On the 6th and 7th floors are the residential amenity levels, which have a landscape deck with three pools, barbecue spaces, fire pits, kids’ splash pads, party lounges, residential lounges, game rooms, sky lobbys, and fitness centers. On the south and west sides of the sixth level, there will be a separate amenity deck that the office tenants can use.
BuildingPlans Description
473,252 square feet project
201 residential units
32,654 square feet of amenities
19,455 square feet for a 2-story restaurant with a waterfront terrace
1,860 square feet of office space
408 parking space in a parking structure podium
The landscape architect is listed as Arquitectonica and the civil engineer as Kimbley-Horn.
Residential units would start on the 10th level and range in size from 670 to 2255 square feet, including 104 one-bedroom, 83 two-bedroom, 8 three-bedroom, and 6 four-bedroom units.
Ken Griffin’s Citadel Continues to Purchase Land and Properties in Miami
With a record-breaking purchase on the South Florida waterfront months ago, Ken Griffin has officially moved the Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami at the 830 Brickell new construction tower.
Along with the move and the purchase of a private residence, Griffin and his company were responsible for the $363 million acquisition of a 2.5-acre (1-hectare) unoccupied land at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive. Since the transaction closed in April, the buyer was hidden behind a limited liability company with a mailing address in Chicago.
The company announced last week that it intends to collaborate with developer Sterling Bay to design and construct an office tower on Brickell Bay, which is located in the city’s economic district and spans less than a mile.
Another LLC purchased a 28-story office building at 1221 Brickell Avenue earlier this month for $286.5 million across the street from the 1201 Brickell Bay site, according to public papers. Randall Davis, who also acted in this capacity for the 1201 LLC, is the authorized signatory for the 1221 Brickell LLC. Emma Bass and Angela Cusumano, the witnesses in a 1221 Brickell filing, also work at Sterling Bay.
The relocation of Citadel by Griffin represents one of the largest financial company expansions in Florida. Developers in Miami applauded the decision and said it would encourage more businesses to look for space in the city. Among the companies that have grown in the state recently are Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Griffin, 53, just relocated to Miami with his family and has a personal wealth of $29.1 billion. He has recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the governmental leadership in Illinois and Chicago’s crime rate, although he has long been investing in real estate in Florida, where he was born and raised.
Over the past ten years, the millionaire has amassed property in Palm Beach that has cost at least $350 million. During the Covid-19 epidemic, some of Griffin’s traders fled their offices in Chicago and New York and took over the Four Seasons Palm Beach.
Griffin recently purchased a number of properties in the Miami area, including homes on the prestigious Star Island in the middle of 2020 and a $45 million mansion in the Coral Gables district in April. An individual with knowledge of the situation claims that he has had Citadel personnel assess the commercial real estate in the city for at least two years.
Plans for a 12 Story Tower in Surfside was Filed
This week, developer Multiplan of South Florida filed plans for a 12 story tower that will be located in Surfside.
The architect is listed as Arquitectonica with R Palace Surfside LLC as an additional development entity. The project is proposed to have 27 residential units with 71 parking spaces. There will also be a small number of 2 bedroom floor plans but will mostly consist of 4 bedroom layouts.
Proposed Amenities:
Rooftop pool
Steam room
Sauna
Fitness
R Palace Surfside LLC is managed by Vivian Diamond. Owner of Multiplan is José Isaac Peres who is responsible for 57 Ocean as well as multiple other projects in Rio de Janeiro.
On the current site at 9309 & 9317 Collins Avenue in Surfside is the Regent Palace condos. In June, the 34 unit condo building was deemed unsafe after a comprehensive engineering report that flagged the property as uninhabitable.
This building is 70 years old and required a number of updates as well as structural issues. The developer has already purchased 32 of the 34 units at the Regent Palace and terminated the land lease on the property.
Chicago Hedge Fund Citadel Establishes New Headquarters at 830 Brickell Tower
Less than two months after announcing that he was relocating the Citadel hedge fund from Chicago to Miami and planning to establish a new headquarters, billionaire Ken Griffin signed a significant lease for the company’s premises at 830 Brickell.
Citadel signed a long-term lease for about 95,000 square feet at the 55-story tower at 830 Brickell Plaza, according to people familiar with the arrangement. The skyscraper is being developed by Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group and Cain International, and the asking rates there have reached $125 to $150 per square foot.
Two leases at $130 per square foot are being negotiated, according to a second source, and recent full-service leases have been completed at $110 to $120 per square foot, making the Citadel’s deal ranging from $10.5 million to $11.4 million a year.
According to Justin Oates, SVP at Cain, OKO, and Cain anticipate finishing 830 Brickell within the next six months, with tenants moving in sometime next year.
Griffin revealed in June that Citadel and financial services company Citadel Securities would relocate their corporate headquarters from Chicago to Miami. The choice was made at a time when Miami has developed over the previous 15 months into a destination for the relocation and growth of out-of-state financial firms.
A 2.5-acre bayfront development site at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive has been purchased by Citadel, according to the information originally published by Bloomberg and confirmed by sources to TRD. In April, that transaction concluded for a record $363 million. Citadel may also be related to the $286.5 million acquisition in June of the 28-story office building at 1221 Brickell Avenue, which is across the street. The acquisitions have not been confirmed or disputed by Citadel.
Approximately 70% of the 640,000 square foot 830 Brickell building is already leased, a representative for the development team said.
Sidley Austin, a legal firm with offices in Chicago, acquired 60,000 square feet over three floors in July.
Sidley Austin, a legal firm with offices in Chicago, acquired 60,000 square feet over three floors in July.
Canadian asset manager CI Financial doubled its original lease signed last year to about 40,000 square feet in January.
Between late last year and this summer, other large tenants included the IT behemoth Microsoft, the insurance and financial services company A-CAP, and Marsh, the insurance division of Marsh & McLennan Companies.
Plans Submitted for a 2 Tower Fontainebleau Project
Fontainebleau Apartments II is a two-tower multifamily development of 10 and 19 stories that is planned to rise atop 4.03 acres of backfilled land in Fontainebleau, Florida. It was developed by the Miami Lakes-based real estate developer and general contracting firm LF Development through an affiliated entity referred to as Combo Group Holdings LLC.
The project, designed by Coral Gables-based Valle Valle & Partners, would include 600 residential units split between its two towers, 5,200 square feet of retail space, and 957 parking spaces, including 147 parking spaces for electric vehicles and 20 handicap spaces. The engineering team is made up of Solver Engineering, Zamora & Associates, and Fineline Engineers, Inc. The landscape architect is Witkin Hults + Partners.
The property itself spans 11.18 acres which is roughly 487,436 square feet with the property also backing to a lake. The lake/property is specifically located west of Northwest 87th Avenue, east of Northwest 97th Avenue, between State Route 836 Expressway to the north and West Flagler Street to the south. The developer is requesting to backfill 4.03 acres (175,480.00 square feet) of the lake/property to construct the multifamily project.
If approved, Fontainebleau Boulevard would front the recently filled in land and run directly between these neighboring thoroughfares. The developer is also requesting that the property’s designation be changed from Water to Medium-High Density Residential and that the zoning be altered from GU to RU-4.
These zonings and classifications surround the region, which is being used as leverage to support the zoning changes. The owner of the area where the buildings are planned to go up is indicated as Italo Campagna.
The site permits 50 dwelling units per acre, resulting in a total of about 560 dwellings. Additionally, the developer is including 36 workforce housing units (WHU) at a rate of 6 percent, allowing for a density increase of about 50 units.
Residential units would have floor patterns with one or two bedrooms. The combined floor area of the two buildings would be 691,497 square feet, and 75,480 square feet of the land would be used as private open space to surround the complex. Google Maps places the building at 9193 Fontainebleau Boulevard, almost exactly where the south tower’s entrance would be.
On July 28, plans for Fontainebleau Apartments II were submitted, although there was no mention of a requested application meeting time.
Demolition Permit Filed and Renderings Revealed for 710 Edge Tower
In October 2021, developers announced plans for a 55-story tower, 710 Edge that will be located in Edgewater. Months later the plans were approved by the Miami Review Board and now permits have been filed with new renderings attached.
The permit that was filed will allow total demolition of the site which would include several buildings that are currently on the property.
Two adjacent waterfront buildings were submitted on July 29th with one of the buildings as Harbor 29. A total of 16,000 square feet will be demolished costing the developers $151,000.
The second permit is for 530 NE 29th Street which totals 4,590 square feet estimating $25,250.
On both permits, Dade Wrecker Service is identified as the demolition contractor.
The projected height of 710 Edge is 55 stories, or 646 feet (649 feet) above sea level. 710 Edge will include 70 residential units, 193 parking spaces, 16,000+ sq. ft. of commercial and retail, a rooftop helipad, and a public baywalk.
Proposed by 710 Edge LLC, owned by Kevin Venger, Michael Konig, Louis Birdman, and Alex Posth were also a part of the development of One Thousand Museum. Sales have not yet been announced.
Jeff Bezos’ Parents Buy Waterfront Mansion in Miami
Photo credit: Douglas Elliman
The parents of Jeff Bezos invested $34 million in a waterfront Coral Gables mansion with over 12,000 square feet. Records show that the estate was purchased by Jackie and Mike Bezos, the parents of Amazon’s founder, last week.
Through a Delaware-based limited liability company called Forgotten Fountain, the couple bought the property located at 9475 Journeys End Road in Coral Gables.
The sellers of the estate were the former CEO of PetMD, Raul Calvoz, and his wife Raquel Cordon. According to property records, the couple paid $8.5 million for the home in 2018.
According to the description, the house has undergone a complete renovation and now features six bedrooms and seven bathrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors throughout. The property sits on more than 2 acres and has 200 feet of water frontage.
In addition, the offering lists a chef’s kitchen with double ovens, views of the pool and ocean beyond, a quartz wet bar, a rock climbing wall, a gym, a wine cellar, and other luxury amenities. The residence also features 2 terraces over two floors.
A pool, a lounge area, an outdoor kitchen, and a dining area with a built-in grill are all located outside. The mansion is perfect for car enthusiasts with a 9-car garage as well as a backup generator.
With a net worth of around $144 billion, Jeff Bezos is currently the second-richest person in the world. The internet giant spent $165 million purchasing a Los Angeles property that was originally owned by music billionaire David Geffen, making it one of the biggest purchases of 2020.
Records also show that Bezos’ parents also purchased an adjacent property to the Coral Gables home for almost $40 million in an off-market deal.
