Limestone Asset Management and Orion Real Estate Acquire Pinecrest Retail Center For $70.5 Million

Miami-based Limestone Asset Management, via a joint venture with Orion Real Estate Group, has acquired Colonial Palms Plaza, a retail center located in the Pinecrest area at 13601–13621 S Dixie Highway, Miami, FL, 33176, for $70.5 million on Dec. 23, 2022. Eric Williams of JLL represented the seller, MetLife Investment Management. Goldman Sachs is providing financing for the purchase.

The 188,389-square-foot property encompasses seven buildings and 29 tenants, including Marshalls, HomeGoods, PetSmart, Old Navy, Party City, Five Below, Visionworks, CycleBar, Panera Bread, Miller’s Ale House, and more.

“With the purchase of Colonial Palms Plaza, we are pleased to continue expanding our holdings in the upscale area of Pinecrest,” said Ibrahim Al-Rashid, chairman of Limestone Asset Management. “This purchase confirms our commitment to the South Dixie corridor.”

Kevin Sanz, president of Orion Real Estate Group, led the buyer group, Orion Colonial Plaza LLC. “Colonial Palms Plaza is located in a strong submarket with incredibly high barriers to entry,” Sanz said. “This was an amazing execution by our team, and we are excited to acquire this high-performing center with a superior national tenant roster.”

In March 2021, Limestone and Orion closed on Pinecrest Town Center, approximately one mile away from Colonial Palms Plaza for $32 million. Located at 12651 South Dixie Highway, Pinecrest, FL 33156, Pinecrest Town Center is a mixed-use retail and office property. In September 2022, Limestone began a $4 million renovation of the property, with a slated completion date of Q2 2023.

Pinecrest is a suburban village in Miami-Dade County, located south of downtown Miami and Miami International Airport. It is one of Florida’s most affluent neighborhoods. More than 101,670 residents, with an average household income of $149,442, reside within a 3-mile radius of the property. The average home listing price for Pinecrest/Palmetto Bay is $1 million+. With a high quality of life and vast acre lots, major business executives and professional athletes have long been attracted to Pinecrest with many new Florida residents flocking to the area since the COVID-19 pandemic.

CMC Group Pays Off $236 Million In Construction Loans For The Recently Completed Brickell Flatiron

Unit closings are underway and residents are moving in at Downtown Miami’s newly-completed Brickell Flatiron tower, with 50% of the 64-story tower’s contracts successfully closed over the last 30 days. The news comes as developer CMC Group retires $236 million in construction loans for the project. The loans, which were issued in 2017 by Bank OZK, Broad Street (Goldman Sachs) and RFR Realty, helped fund the development of the 527-unit tower located at 1000 Brickell Plaza. Brickell Flatiron was completed last month when it received its temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) with more than 95% of the project’s units already sold and under hard contract,

“Our ability to retire these loans just four weeks after receiving our TCO underscores the sustained buyer demand we’re seeing at Brickell Flatiron and the strength of the Brickell brand, both internationally and domestically,” said developer Ugo Colombo, Founder of CMC Group. “We’re quickly approaching sell-out and contracts are closing as we see a steady stream of primary and secondary home buyers coming from key markets overseas and U.S. markets such as New York, Boston, Chicago and California. Our owners are extremely happy with the quality of the final product and we’re moving through the rest of our closings at a record pace.”

Remaining residences currently available for sale include a range of one- to four-bedroom condos priced from $790,000 to $3 million, and one upper duplex penthouse for $8 million.

Brickell Flatiron has attracted a diverse mix of residents since launching in 2015, including a significant percentage of domestic buyers. While the tower has enjoyed steady sales activity among buyers from Mexico, Argentina, Italy, Venezuela and Colombia, U.S. buyers have accounted for more than half of all unit sales to date. Approximately 70% of the building’s buyers came from U.S. markets, evidence that Americans are increasingly drawn to Downtown Miami’s urban lifestyle, which comes at a fraction of the price of luxury living in other gateway cities.

“Bank OZK was delighted to finance Miami’s Brickell Flatiron Tower. This project embodies the high standards Bank OZK consistently seeks in its project financings – marquee real estate, strong market fundamentals and top-tier sponsorship,” said Greg Newman, managing director of originations for Bank OZK. “Ugo Columbo once again delivered a successful, high quality, landmark building making a bold mark on the downtown Miami skyline.”

Acclaimed Miami architect Luis Revuelta creates a one-of-a-kind architectural environment that combines the tower’s distinct flatiron shape with flowing, curvilinear forms. On the inside, Italian design architect Massimo Iosa Ghini uses inspiration from Brickell Flatiron’s curved façade to outline the building’s sleek amenity spaces, creating a seamless transition from exterior to interior.

The tower’s 64th-floor rooftop amenities encompass a Sky Spa, Sky Pool and Sky Gym with 360-degree panoramic views of the bay and downtown Miami’s glimmering cityscape. Residents have access to a host of therapeutic services and other offerings including private steam, sauna and locker facilities, a 6,300 square foot state-of-the-art fitness center with Pilates, yoga and aerobics studios, and a juice bar. Additional features include a resort-style lap pool and separate children’s pool on the 18th floor, private movie theater with stadium seating, billiards and cigar room, wine cellar, 24-hour concierge and valet parking, on-site vehicle washing and detailing, and electric car-charging stations.

In 2016, CMC Group completed the $22.5 million sale of Brickell Flatiron’s 24,800 SF ground-floor retail/restaurant space to Avi Dishi and Haim Yehezkel. Exciting tenants have already signed on to lease the space, including a popular London-based Japanese entertainment restaurant concept Sexy Fish.

Images via Golden Dusk Photography

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