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

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.

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

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.

Cipriani Residences Miami Reveals New Interior Renderings

With the newest condominium project in Miami, Cipriani Residences Miami is adding to its illustrious portfolio once more with its exclusive first glimpse at the exquisite interiors of the highly anticipated development.

The renowned hospitality organization chose the internationally renowned studio 1508 London to design the interiors of Cipriani Residences Miami, which is the group’s first residential skyscraper built from the ground up. 397 homes with one to four bedrooms will be available in the building, all of which have views of Coconut Grove, Brickell, and Biscayne Bay.

The Cipriani Residences Miami exudes a stylish, contemporary ambiance, similar to the burgeoning Brickell district, but with a European flair. Consider furniture covered in Italian leather, chandeliers from Venice, and rooms with beautiful walnut finishes. The enormous curved glass high-rise by Arquitectonica blends seamlessly with the city’s financial district’s skyline.

The double-height foyer, which modernizes Venetian design, is one of the building’s most alluring aspects. The elegant area is layered with Italian terrazzo floors, oak accents, and an actual Murano glass chandelier. It was designed to transition from day to night. The color scheme combines distinctive Cipriani tones with warm camel and blue tones.

Each house, which ranges in size from 1,213 square feet to 3,495 square feet, includes floor-to-ceiling glass windows, large terraces, and lofty 10-foot ceilings as standard features. Among the opulent features you’ll discover inside are open eat-in chef kitchens, integrated Wolf Sub-Zero appliances, and light pendants with Art Deco influences, as well as Dornbracht fixtures in the main bathroom and, of course, handcrafted Italian cabinetry designed to reflect the Cipriani aesthetic.

CEO and Founder of Mast Capital stated, “The interior design of Cipriani Residences Miami demonstrates a fundamental richness that recalls the timeless elegance of four generations of the Cipriani family. 1508 London has envisioned an offering that captures both the inherent spirit of Cipriani and the sophisticated lifestyle of Miami.”

The developer is expecting a sellout of approximately $1 billion. The groundbreaking is anticipated for the end of 2022 with a top-off date in 2025 with a completion date in 2026. Reservations are expected to be converted to contracts next month which will coincide with the launch of their sales center.

If you or someone you know have an interest in purchasing at Cipriani Residences Miami, please contact Lucas Lechuga via email at [email protected] or by phone at (786)247-6332.

Plans for a 30 Story Tower in North Miami Beach are Announced by BH Group

After purchasing land in North Miami Beach, developer BH Group is planning a 30-story residential structure located at 2261 N.E. 164th Street.

The 1.96-acre site was sold by CK Prive Group 164 LLC, controlled by Bruno Bloch in North Miami Beach, to the BH Group in Aventura for $11 million.  The property increased in value since it was last sold for $8.3 million in 2016.

Currently on the property is a 1969-built warehouse of 35,538 square feet. The warehouse will be destroyed, according to BH Group, and a skyscraper with 400 luxurious residential units will be built in its place.

CFE Architects of Miami Lakes will be the architect for the project.

After the city rezoned a significant portion of its east side to allow for higher density and mixed-use development, North Miami Beach has been experiencing an increase in commercial and residential developments.

BH Group has been purchasing sites all over South Florida. The business frequently collaborates with Miami-based Related Group including District 225 condo in downtown Miami, a condo on Fisher Island, a waterfront condo in North Miami, the Transit Village mixed-use project in West Palm Beach, and condos on Bay Harbor Islands.

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.

Building Plans 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 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.

Approval Received for 87 Condo Tower in Coral Gables

A 16-story condo development by Location Ventures has officially been given the green light by the Coral Gables City Commission this past Monday.

Location Ventures plans to construct an 87 condo tower on a 1.6-acre plot at 1505 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, as well as at 122 and 126 Menores Avenue. According to the meeting, the project would cost over $350 million and with only 87 condo units, the average price per unit would be north of $4 million.

The new condo would have 319 parking spaces, 10,500 square feet of retail space, and 87 homes in its almost 500,000 square feet. The fourth story would have an amenities deck. A full board room for private meetings, as well as a spa with a steam room and sauna, were among the features listed by Kapoor. Along Mendoza Avenue, there would also be a public dog park located outside the building.

The majority of the condos would have three or four bedrooms, with a few one- and two-bedroom apartments. According to Kapoor, prices would start in the mid $1 million level or roughly $1,000 per square foot.

The site is mostly unoccupied, however, there is a 1925 structure that is 5,736 square feet in size which Location Ventures consented to refurbish and restore that structure so that it might house restaurants.

The owner of Location Ventures, Rishi Kapoor, plans to partner with a high-end luxury brand to market and design the property but no luxury brand has been named in the agreement documents.

Location Ventures anticipates starting construction in late 2023 and starting sales this fall.