Star Island Heats Up As Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez and Ken Griffin Acquire Multimillion-Dollar Properties

Ultra-luxury real estate on Star Island is heating up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Celebrity power couple Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have acquired 13 Star Island Drive for $32.5 million and Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge-fund manager and founder of the Chicago-based Citadel Securities, has acquired 11 and 12 Star Island Drive for $37 million. A 6-bedroom, 14,268 SF estate located at 14 Star Island Drive has also closed for $24 million.

Rodriguez and Lopez’s new home spans 10-bedrooms, spread over 15,011 SF with over 100’ of water frontage. The lavish mansion also features a chef’s kitchen, wine room, luxurious master bedroom with bay views, pool, spa, cabana with summer kitchen, wet bar and dock. E&A Estates was the seller, represented by Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber of the Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker. Arlene Susy Dunand of Coldwell Banker represented the buyer.

An entity tied to Ken Griffin acquired a double lot with views of Downtown Miami at 11 and 12 Star Island Drive in an off-market deal. Griffin has also spent roughly $350 million acquiring an assemblage on Blossom Way in nearby Palm Beach.

These sales follow the sale of 22 Star Island for $49.5 million in July. The home was developed by Todd Michael Glaser, designed by DOMO Architecture + Design with interiors by Dunagan Diverio Design Group. The neighboring 46 Star Island is currently listed for $39,950,000 with Dora Puig of Luxe Living Realty.

Taurus Investment Holdings To Redevelop Civica Center Into Medical Space

The Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings has acquired the Civica Center for $30.5 million in Miami’s hot Allapattah neighborhood. The Civica Center is located at 1050 NW 14th Street at the entrance to Miami’s Health District, which is home to a large concentration of medical firms and institutions including the University of Miami Leonard Miller School of Medicine. The Civica Center broke ground in 2014 and was developed by the Swerdlow Group. The two-story retail property was sold with an adjacent parking lot and the deal also included a small office building. The Dallas-based Rockpoint Group was the seller.

Tenants at Civica Center include 7-Eleven, Au Bon Pain, Burger King, Chicken Kitchen, Dunkin’ Donuts, Flavors, Food Court, Gateway Dental, Jimmy John’s, La Estancia, Optical Boutique, Panera Bread, Pasha’s, Quest Diagnostics, Salsa Fiesta, and Smoothie King, amongst others.

Taurus has been agressively acquiring life-sciences and medical buildings and plans to convert the 0.77-acre parking lot into a giant 460,000-square-foot medical office building. It also plans to expand the existing 47,000-square-foot retail building into a 62,500-square-foot retail and medical office property. Taurus expects to start work on the redevelopment in the next 24 months.

The Estate Companies Acquires Former Ramada Hotel in Hialeah for $15.25 Million

The Estate Companies (EIG), a leading developer of luxury multi-family projects throughout South Florida, has announced the $15.25 million acquisition of a five-acre site occupied by a former Ramada Hotel at 1950 W. 49th St. in Hialeah. The closing took place August 7th with $11.5 million in financing arranged by LV Lending, a local private lender. The loan was facilitated by Camilo Niño, Ricardo Uribe and Alen Hernandez of LV Lending on behalf of 1950 Hialeah Holdings, LLC, an entity of The Estate Companies (EIG). 

The non-operational 258-room Ramada hotel was originally constructed in 1970 with expansions completed in 1973, 1979 and 1988. The site is located directly adjacent to the Palmetto Expressway and the 103rd Avenue exit, providing extremely high visibility and accessibility.  

“We are thrilled with this acquisition as it presents a rare opportunity to own all the fundamentals we look for in an asset,” stated Jeffrey Ardizon, principal, The Estate Companies. “The site is situated on arguably the City of Hialeah’s busiest corridor and main artery. The City of Hialeah is a market with very high barriers to entry, strong demographic support and close in proximity to some of the largest employment hubs in South Florida. In addition, the area offers great walkability with a variety of social, dining and entertainment options, including the Westland Mall, just a short distance away.”

Ardizon added, “The distressed hotel sector has created investment opportunities that firms like ours are ready and able to capitalize on. Not all sites are created equal, and buyers need to be nimble and flexible in order to ensure repurposed assets meet the current market demands.” 

“We take our hats off to Camilo Niño and his team at LV Lending who arranged our financing in such a short period of time,” Ardizon added. “They were seamless in their execution and a pleasure to work with on this transaction.” 

Swire Properties Sells Two Brickell City Centre Office Buildings For $163 Million Amid Pandemic

Swire Properties has sold Two Brickell City Centre and Three Brickell City Centre for a combined $163 million, $630 per square foot, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Each Class A Office building is roughly 130,000 square feet with the pricing broken down by $80.3 million for Two Brickell City Centre and Three Brickell City Centre sold for $82.7 million. The buyer was reportedly the Santa Monica-based Northwood Investors. Tenants of the office buildings include the law firm Akerman LLP, McKinsey & Company, and WeWork. The properties were first marketed for sale in January 2020.

Swire Properties plans to use the proceeds to fund future development, they have Brickell City Centre’s Phase 2 planned in partnership with Carlos Mattos to build a 100,000 SF expansion with a 54-story, 588-unit residential tower, and a 62-story, 384-unit residential tower with commercial space and additional parking.

Two Brickell City Centre and Three Brickell City Centre are located at 78 Southwest Seventh Street and 98 Southeast Seventh Street. Brickell City Centre was completed in 2016 and designed by Arquitectonica. The development features an opener shopping mall anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Casa Tua Cucina and CMX Theaters, the Rise and Reach condo towers and the East Hotel.

Owner of Bâoli, Massa Investment Group, Acquires Miami Beach's Paris Theater For $13 Million

Massa Investment Group has acquired Miami Beach’s Paris Theater, located at 550 Washington Ave., for $13 million; $508 per square foot. The Art Deco building, which was first built in 1935, spans 25,589 SF. The building was designed by architect Henry Hohauser and has operated over time as a cinema, adult movie house, nightclub and film studio. U2, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and Ricky Martin have all shot music videos at the theater. Big Time Productions was the seller after acquiring the Paris Theater for $975,000 in 1992 and first listing the property for $23 million in 2015. The transaction was financed with a $15.2 million loan provided by IberiaBank. Massa Investment Group is led by Mathieu Massa who is also the owner of Mr. Hospitality, the firm behind some of Miami’s most exclusive venues including Bâoli, Marion and El Tucan.

Image via Paris Theater

NNN Leased Pollo Tropical Building on Biscayne Blvd. in MiMo Trades For 4.61% CA

A NNN leased Pollo Tropical stand-alone restaurant building located on Biscayne Blvd/ US-1 in Miami’s MiMo district, has traded for $2.275 million, equating to a 4.61% CAP rate. The 1,754 SF restaurant building sits on a 12,800 SF lot located at 7501 Biscayne Blvd in Miami, FL. The asset was renovated in 2017 and had a 15-year corporate NNN lease with Pollo Tropical. The transfer development rights (TDR’s) were not included in the sale. This Pollo Tropical restaurant is interesting because it is a drive-thru only location and contains no indoor seating. This made it especially attractive during the current pandemic as the tenant was able to operate without any interruption during the recent City of Miami shutdown.

“This acquisition was driven by the buyer’s concern for the unknown long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and future possible shutdowns. We are seeing a large portion of our client base shift their focus to seeking out assets that have proven resilient against down markets.” said Jason Abitbol, Apex Capital Realty.

Jason Abitbol, Apex Capital Realty’s Commercial Advisor, represented the buyer, 995 Holdings LLC., in the acquisition which represented a 1031 Exchange. The Seller of the property was 7501 Biscayne LLC. which is controlled by Alex Karakhanian from LNDMRK Development. The seller was represented by Alex Zylberglait, Scott Sandelin, and Jonathan De La Rosa from Marcus and Millichap. 

Amazon To Build Largest Distribution Center in South Florida After Scoring Approval From Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade commissioners have voted unanimously to sell a vacant lot located at 13200 Southwest 272nd Street near the Homestead Air Reserve Base in South Miami-Dade County to Amazon for $22,056,853, clearing the way for Amazon to build a new distribution center to service South Florida. Amazon will invest $80 million into the property to build out the distribution center which will be a minimum of 1 million square feet and could become the largest in the region. The distribution center would be used to distribute products including food, produce and groceries. The facility is expected to create at lease 325 permanent full-time jobs with an annual salary of $32,000. 25% of the funds paid by Amazon to acquire the site will be dedicated to the Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Trust and the remaining funds will be allocated to the Homestead Air Reserve Base Fund. The South Miami-Dade facility would be the 4th distribution center used by Amazon in the South Florida region.

Former Top Silverstein Exec Launches Hyperion, A New Investment And Development Firm

Rob Vecsler, a former Silverstein Properties executive, has announced that after leaving Silverstein he is re-launching Hyperion Group, a South Florida and New York based real estate investment and development firm. Rob Vecsler spent the past six years at Silverstein Properties in New York, where he served as President of Residential Development and Head of Acquisitions, overseeing in excess of $4 billion dollars in development and acquisitions, while also serving on the company’s investment committee. Vecsler has reconstituted the core team at Hyperion that developed several large-scale projects together in Miami.

To coincide with the re-launch of Hyperion Group, the firm has formed a partnership with Winter Properties to co-invest in investment opportunities in South Florida, New York and other select markets. Hyperion will serve as the developer for the venture’s projects. 

“We are delighted to have Winter as a venture and capital partner,” said Rob Vecsler, Principal and CEO of Hyperion. “Our combined investment and development capabilities, together with substantial investment capital, allows us to be bold, nimble, and competitive wherever we see opportunity,” 

The partnership just closed on their first deal, a development site in West Palm Beach and plans to develop a 300-unit multi-family property. The West Palm Beach site has flexible as-of-right zoning allowing for a mixed-use development, which will include over 300 multi-family residences. Managing through recent market conditions, Hyperion worked with the seller to negotiate and close the transaction at a basis that maximizes the new venture’s development program optionality. The venture is pursuing additional sites and monitoring the market to acquire assets presenting further value opportunities.

“We are pleased to have co-invested in the first of what we expect will be many deals with Rob and Hyperion, as we are committed to investing in and growing this venture together,” said David Winter, Co-CEO of Standard Industries. “We hope to play a key role in Hyperion’s growth as a leading real estate development and investment platform.” 

“We’re excited about this development project and the overall venture as it exemplifies Winter’s focus on relationships with companies like Hyperion that have strong leadership and compelling growth strategies,” said Rick Singer, President of Winter Properties.

CitizenM Coming To 1212 Lincoln After Acquiring Hotel Piece From Crescent Heights

CitizenM is coming to South Beach after the Dutch hotel group purchased the hotel portion of Crescent Height’s 1212 Lincoln at the junction of Lincoln Road and Alton Road in South Beach. CitizenM paid $9 million for the 50 room hotel which is a part of the 1212 Lincoln mixed-use project which also includes over 70,000 SF of retail and 400 parking spaces. PROFILEmiami first reported that Crescent Heights was looking to bring in CitizenM to the 1212 Lincoln project in September 2017. CitizenM also has two other hotel locations under construction in Miami including Brickell and Miami Worldcenter in Downtown.

1212 Lincoln was designed by Perkins + Will and Plaza Construction is the general contractor on the project. The hotel portion rises 12-stories and the project will also include a 5-story parking garage and a Wells Fargo Bank. Crescent Heights has proposed a rooftop movie theater which is being reviewed by the city. Newmark Knight Frank is overseeing leasing for the retail component of the project. Completion is expected by 2022.

DJ Khaled Sells Island Estates Waterfront Mansion In Aventura For $4.8 Million

DJ Khaled, whose real name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled, has officially sold his Island Estates waterfront mansion in Aventura for $4.8 million. The closing price is nearly 45% off of the initial $7.99 million list price from December 2018. The custom designed home, which is located at 3914 Island Estates Drive and built in 2001, spans 6,697 SF and is decked out with the music producers own personal taste including a custom sneaker room.

Khaled spent over $2.5 million remodeling the four-story, 5 bedroom, 6 bath Mediterranean estate to include 14k gold chandeliers with Swarovski crystals, beautiful open spaces with floor to ceiling windows, an elevator, dramatic foyers, granite staircase, a wine room, gourmet chef’s kitchen plus a master suite with a sitting area and veranda with water views. The master-suite features a massive sneaker closet with his signature slogan “WE THE BEST” printed on the closet floor with the capacity for over 500 shoes. The lushly landscaped outside features a stunning tropical pool and spa overlooking the bay where Khaled has played host to many parties for his friends, Jay Z and Rihanna included; as well as multiple outdoor lounge areas and summer kitchen.

The home was listed for $7.99 million by Janet Ben Zvi of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty and the buyer is being represented by Julian Johnston and Caterine Gomez of Corcoran. DJ Khaled initially purchased the property in 2014 for $3.84 million and has since moved to a 13,000 SF mansion he purchased for $22 million Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach.

Photo via Life Style Production Group for ONE Sotheby’s

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