Rilea Group Acquires Final Parcels To Complete Assemblage for Mohawk Wynwood

Rilea Group has closed on an expansion of its assemblage for its rental project Mohawk at Wynwood for $5.7 million, represented by Alfredo Riascos of Gridline Properties. The seller was represented by Alfonso Jaramillo of Fortune. The purchase brings Mohawk’s site to 78K square feet, which sits adjacent to its short-term luxury rental property, The Rider Wynwood. Rilea Group is now transforming 2.5 acres, nearly an entire block, at NW 29th St. and the Florida East Coast Railway line. Rilea Group is a multi-faceted real estate development and management company that has developed over 9,500,000 square feet in South Florida.

The expanded footprint will add 34 new units, including 20 New York style, two-story lofts at Mohawk, underscoring the company’s confidence in the market’s growth at the border of Midtown and Wynwood neighborhoods and demand for unique rental real estate.

Over the past 10 years, Wynwood has experienced significant growth, as have its property values. It continues to emerge as one of South Florida’s hottest, upcoming areas for new residential and office developments.

“Wynwood is on a meteoric rise and we’re thrilled to be a part of fomenting its growth,” said Diego Ojeda, president of Rilea Group. “We have put together a standalone team that through our unparalleled architecture and interior design, we will bring a unique concept which will be like nothing seen before in the neighborhood. Mohawk at Wynwood’s punk rock theme and our neighboring project, The Rider’s ‘easy-rider’ persona, will be sure to attract a great crowd to the market.”

Realty Mogul, an innovative crowdfunding platform for commercial real estate investment, is the largest fundraising partner for Mohawk at Wynwood. It is expected to launch a fresh raise of additional capital in the coming weeks for the project’s continued expansion and future construction, slated for later this year.

Mohawk at Wynwood will feature 260 residential units and 31K square feet of ground floor retail, 335 covered parking spaces with 25 percent dedicated to electric vehicles, 1,500 square feet of private offices for residents in a 12-story building covering a total of 78K square feet of land. Mohawk’s amenities will include a dazzling rooftop pool, game room, state-of-the art gym, outdoor and indoor yoga studios, owner’s lounge and bar, outdoor and indoor kid’s room, a large private park, dog park, two pickleball courts, and more.

The Rider at Wynwood will have 131 apartment-hotel luxury units for short-term rentals, 6,500 square feet of ground floor retail, a rooftop pool for residents and a speakeasy-concept rooftop bar in a 12-story building. The buildings’ architecture will feature Chicago-brick facades coupled with aged metal accents throughout.

Rilea Group’s acquisition of the initial assemblage began in June 2021 when Alfredo Riascos of Gridline Properties represented buyer Rilea Group / Alan & Diego Ojeda and seller David Lombardi in Rilea Group’s $22 million acquisition of the adjacent 65,700-square-foot site at 56 NE 29th St., Miami, FL 33137, also part of the Mohawk at Wynwood assemblage. In addition, in October 2021, Gridline Properties represented the Rilea Group / Alan & Diego Ojeda in its purchase of the adjacent 31,358-square-foot property at 100 NE 29th St., Miami, FL 33137 for $12.25 million, slated for The Rider at Wynwood site. The seller was Jeffrey Miller.

DRA Advisors And Banyan Street Capital Sell Pinnacle Corporate Park In Fort Lauderdale For $58.875 Million To Crowdfunding Buyer

A fund managed by DRA Advisors LLC in a joint venture with Banyan Street Capital has sold the Pinnacle Corporate Park in Fort Lauderdale for $58,875,000 to Feldman Equities. The deal was the St. Petersburg, FL-based Feldman Equities first acquisition in South Florida and capital was raised through crowdfunding using the online platform Crowdstreet.com.

Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group facilitated the disposition on behalf of the seller. Avison Young Principals John K. Crotty, CCIM, and David Duckworth led the sales team, which also included Principal and Miami Managing Director Michael T. Fay, Principal Greg Martin, Principal George Vail, Vice President Brian C. de la Fé, and Associate Berkley Bloodworth.

Pinnacle Corporate Park is a two-building, class A office portfolio at 500 and 550 W. Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale. The portfolio totals 259,458 SF on 14.31 acres in Broward County’s Cypress Creek submarket. At $226 per square foot, the sale represents the highest price per square foot in Cypress Creek over the past decade.

Pinnacle Corporate Park was 83% occupied at the time of sale with a diversified mix of tenants, including professional and financial services, healthcare, and technology firms. Following the sale, Avison Young retained the leasing assignment for the property. Feldman Equities plans to invest over $3 million in renovations and fully furnished suites that will allow new tenants to move in quickly.

“Pinnacle Corporate Park received intense interest and multiple competitive offers due to its strong occupancy, rental rate growth, lease-up potential, and ideal location just minutes from Interstate 95 and walking distance from the Tri-Rail,” said Crotty. “Although 100% of the property is in use, our Capital Markets team creatively marketed the development potential in the existing parking lot, therefore uncovering the land’s intrinsic long-term value, enhancing overall interest, and ultimately achieving a record price-per-square-foot.”

“The Pinnacle Corporate Park sale represents the trend of large funds and institutional owners’ confidence to buy and sell large office assets as pandemic-driven concerns wane,” said Duckworth. “In Broward County, we see a strengthening uptick in investor demand for well-located suburban office assets as corporate decision-makers and C-suite executives relocate to South Florida, bringing businesses and money to invest.”

Pinnacle Corporate Park is in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s Uptown Urban Village, a master plan that supports the development of a thriving, transit-supportive, mixed-use neighborhood. Its offices are less than a mile from Interstate 95 and directly accessible from the Cypress Creek Tri-Rail station.

Rilea Group Teams Up With RealtyMogul To Raise Equity Via Crowdfunding For Mohawk At Wynwood

Rilea Group has teamed up with leading real estate crowdfunding platform RealtyMogul to raise equity for their new mixed-use Wynwood project, Mohawk at Wynwood. The crowdfunding campaign for the 12-story project, which is located at 56 NE 29th St., launched on April 5 to RealtyMogul’s network of more than 200,000 qualified investors.

The Los Angeles-based RealtyMogul underwrites and reviews investments internally before opening them up to investors. Crowdfunding allows qualified investors to invest in institutional investments and larger development projects that they would otherwise have no access to.

The minimum crowdfunding investment for the Mohawk at Wynwood project is $35,000 and the estimated hold period for investors is 5 years. The targeted IRR is between 19.1% and 21.1% with a 2.26X target equity multiple.

A portion of the LP equity piece will be raised via crowdfunding as part of the $41 million total equity. 90%, $37 million, will come from LP’s and 10%, $4 million, is sponsored via the developer. A projected $62 million of debt rounds out the expected capitalization of the $103 million total development costs. Rilea group has the 1.5 acre property under contract for $22.33 million.

Mohawk at Wynwood will feature 225 apartment units and 22,000 square feet of retail. Amenities include a rooftop pool, bar, fitness center, residents lounge, dining room, children’s room, game room and dog park. The project was designed by Deforma Studio.

Real Estate Developer Leads $560,000 Funding Round to Develop VR Gaming Experience

AEXLAB, virtual reality (VR) technology studio, has raised over $560,000 on Start Engine in just two weeks through a Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offering. Regulation CF, also known as equity crowding, is similar to Regulation A and allows companies to raise funds from the public. Start Engine is the largest crowdfunding platform in the U.S. and is advised by Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary.

The company is raising capital to continue developing unparalleled VR technology that gives gamers superior immersive, interactive and social gaming experiences. AEXLAB is led by CEO Jonathan Ovadia, real estate developer and licensed general contractor in Florida. The virtual reality gaming market size is expected to reach $92.31 billion by 2027, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 30.2% over the forecast period.

“When Facebook lowered the barrier of entry to VR by launching Quest 2 in September 2020, we knew this was an inflection point in the market. With Miami currently rebranding itself as a tech hub, we thought it was the perfect time to go public with VAIL, our first gaming franchise,” said Ovadia.

Founded in 2015, the firm’s proprietary systems include solutions for haptics, audio spatialization, firearm simulation, virtual reality human interfaces, and real-time social and gaming networking technology. The closed alpha of the upcoming VAIL franchise has attracted professional e-sports competitive players and enthusiastic casual players alike. AEXLAB has created numerous bespoke experiences for Red Bull, American Institute of Architects, Epic Games and Valve.

The desire for social interaction and an immersive experience in gaming has been accelerated by recent events. In VAIL, players load into an interactive space and invite friends to socialize before queuing up for matches. AEXLAB supports all major headset manufacturers including Lenovo, Hewlett Packard, Oculus, Valve, HTC, Windows Mixed Reality and more.

For more information visit www.startengine.com/aexlab.

By Katya Demina

Cardone Capital Acquires Port Royale Apartments In Fort Lauderdale Via Crowdfunding Campaign

Cardone Capital, led by the “10X Rule” author and founder of the 10X Movement Grant Cardone, has acquired the Port Royale Apartments in Fort Lauderdale in one of the largest crowdfunding real estate deals to ever close in South Florida. Port Royale Apartments features 533 units located on the Intracoastal Waterway at 3101 Port Royale Blvd. and 3201-3300 Port Royale Drive in Fort Lauderdale. The property spans over 36 acres with a private marina. The property also has development rights to build an additional 292 units.

The deal closed for roughly $130 million, although the closing price has not yet been made public. The acquisition was financed with a $79.24 million, 10-year interest only loan at 2.3% from CBRE Multifamily Capital. The transaction was completed by the transfer of the Delaware-registered Port Royale Propco LLC. from Waterton Residential LLC to Cardone Capital, avoiding the need to pay documentary stamp taxes. Cardone Capital led a successful crowdfunding campaign for the equity piece, reportedly raising a $50 million. The Chicago-based Waterton Residential was the seller who was represented by Robert Given of Cushman & Wakefield. Waterton Residential initially acquired the apartment complex for $94 million in 2015.

Port Royale Apartments was originally developed in 1991 and renovated in 2016. Units range from one-bedroom, one-bathroom 540 SF units asking $1,400 per month up to two-bedroom, two-bathroom 1,000 SF units asking $2,247. Units include wood plank-style floors, full equipped kitchens, ceramic tile flooring in kitchens and baths, Juliette balconies, in-unit washer/dryers and walk-in closets. Amenities include a car wash area, residents lounge, outdoor barbecue and dining area, gated entrance, storage units and walking paths.

Cardone Capital now has 8,275 residential units and 26 properties in its portfolio. The Aventura-based real estate investment firm as raised over $440 million through crowdfunding to-date. Cardone Capital plans to be aggressive in multifamily acquisitions over the next several months, expecting to close on another $350 million in transactions.

Construction Update: Metronomic's Crowdfunded Plaza Celia Breaks Ground in Little Havana

Plaza Celia, a new boutique mixed-use apartment building in Little Havana named after the late Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz, has officially broken ground. Plaza Celia will rise 4-stories and will feature 16 rental apartment rental units targeted at students and the local workforce with ground-floor retail. Units will come in 1 and 2-bedroom floor-plans and will range in size from 700 SF to 905 SF. Plaza Celia is located at 2640 SW 12th Street and is being developed by Metronomic, Inc. Metronomic, Inc. has been making waves in recent years with their business model of crowdfunding projects. Currently, Metronomic has 2 projects under development via crowdfunding, GroveHaus in Coconut Grove and Plaza Celia. Essentially, Metronomic identifies a development and goes under-contract for the land while developing the project. They then advertise the project on their crowdfunding platform to raise commitments for the crowdfunded financing from individual investors. Once they reach their dollar goal of crowdfunded investment, Metronomic simultaneously closes on the land, crowdfunded financing and additional financing previously committed by private lenders. In 2013 the Securities and Exchange Commission opened the prospects of crowdfunding to real estate investors via the JOBS Act. The JOBS Act stipulates that developers can solicit funds from the public, provided that the investors are accredited, meaning that they have a newt worth over $1 million or make in excess of $200,000 annually. Construction on Plaza Celia is expected to wrap up in Q4 2018.