Tricera Capital And Merrimac Ventures Close On Society Las Olas Retail Acquisition

Tricera Capital and Merrimac Ventures have acquired the ground-floor retail space within the newly developed Society Las Olas mixed-use project in downtown Fort Lauderdale developed by PMG. The purchase of the prime 301 SW First Ave. space closed on Aug. 27. The venture purchased the retail for $3.8 million, while also acquiring 40 parking spots as part of the transaction.

Society Las Olas is the premier mixed-use project along the revitalized Riverwalk in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tricera’s partner, Dev Motwani-led Merrimac Ventures, has been a driving force in the neighborhood’s reemergence. Merrimac acquired the former Las Olas Riverfront complex and brought in PMG to develop Society on a portion of the property before partnering with Tricera to acquire and curate the retail component.

Merrimac also owns the adjacent property and operates the Wharf Fort Lauderdale and Rivertail with Breakwater Hospitality Group. Tricera and Merrimac own a total of ~16,500 square feet of retail at Society, with ~8,500 square feet of prime space still available. Nearly half of the space is already home to numerous first-to-market tenants of national prominence. 

Thompson Hospitality, one of the largest retail food and facilities management companies in the country, is leasing over 6,000 square feet of space that will house the company’s popular Matchbox Restaurant and Big Buns Damn Good Burger Co. After an initial $14 million investment earlier this year, Thompson Hospitality has fully acquired the Matchbox Brand and strategically expanded the concept into emerging markets. Since 2003, the Washington, D.C.-based chain has provided a quintessential neighborhood gathering place for communities.

With 11 locations across the U.S. and more on the way, Matchbox’s menu is centered around fresh, premium ingredients, offering something for everyone, from wood-fired pizzas and mini burgers to simple, yet refined main courses, and a full bar featuring specialty cocktails, local beer and wines from around the globe.

Thompson is also bringing its latest venture, Big Buns Damn Good Burger, to Society. Big Buns is a fun-casual restaurant specializing in burgers, burger bowls, shakes, craft beer and cocktails. The restaurant is inspired by a true love for burgers and beer, and the belief that eating out should feel like a fun backyard party with delicious food, ice-cold drinks and good friends.

Pura Vida Miami, the popular Miami casual health food restaurant, is leasing an ~1,600-square-foot space. Society Las Olas marks the first ever Fort Lauderdale location for Pura Vida, which strives to bring healthy food and a sense of community to each of its South Florida locations.

“Fort Lauderdale continues to offer great opportunities for us to expand our presence in the market,” Tricera Capital Co-Founder and Managing Principal Ben Mandell said. “We are thankful to be able to close this deal mid-pandemic with confidence and plan to continue our efforts in the area.” 

“Bringing these exciting concepts to downtown Fort Lauderdale continues our company – and my family’s – long history of enhancing the city we are fortunate to call home,” Merrimac Ventures President and CEO Dev Motwani said. “The tenants we are securing at Society nicely complement Wharf and Rivertail and will help make this area the focal point of the Riverwalk.”

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.

Tropical Modern Palm Island Spec Home Designed By Choeff Levy Fischman Sells For $20.5 Million

 A tropical modern mansion on Palm Island designed by Choeff Levy Fischman has sold for $20.5 million. Located at 19 Palm Avenue, the two-story home spans 9,386 square-feet complete with a $500,000 custom Fendi kitchen. Dina Goldentayer of Douglas Elliman represented the sellers and Ivan Chorney and Michael Martinera of Compass represented the buyers. Dean Carr, an investor from London, and his wife Melissa Carr, sold the home to a California family.

19 Palm Avenue is one of Miami Beach's most opulent new residences and leaves you in awe the moment you step onto its lavish motor court. Boasting a colossal cascading water feature and British-made automobile rotating turntable, the private driveway also includes an outdoor stairway and a three-car garage with lift capacity concealed by rich Timura wood. The home's exterior façade also features gray limestone to create a warm aesthetic.

The residence offers six bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms. The home offers large living spaces in an open-concept format that includes floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that open up to the rear deck, blending the indoors with the outdoors.

A focal point of 19 Palm Ave. is home's interior is a stunning 460 square foot open-air atrium with floating steps that take you across a shallow pool of water. Additional soul-soothing reflecting ponds and cascading water features are spread throughout the property on all four sides of the residence to emphasize its waterfront location.

The master-suite is another highlight of the home, spanning 1,490 square feet and overlooking Biscayne Bay on one side with the glass atrium on the opposite end. Complete with separate custom Ornare closets with Cavalli wall coverings, the master suite also boasts a midnight kitchen, a sitting lounge, and a fireplace. Two spacious bathrooms feature exotic floor-to-ceiling marble, and each comes with a seamless glass zero-edge spa shower with steam and scent ventilation. One of the master suite bathrooms also includes a bespoke vanity and a standalone floating Boffi tub. Cantilevered wood ceilings shade the room's private balcony, which also consists of a glass railing to provide unobstructed northeastern waterfront views.

19 Palm Ave.’s second level also includes an atrium-facing pajama lounge where the family can relax in a private setting away from the traffic of the ground level. Additional amenities include a fully integrated Savant home automation technology system and one of the largest residential-grade elevators. Located above one of the home's reflecting ponds, it provides access to three levels, including the private rooftop.

Outside, the home's infinity-edge pool is accentuated by a sleek three-sided Lautner knife-edge deck creating a visually seamless plane of water without any distinction of a pool wall. The fourth side creates the illusion that the edge vanishes into the bay. Adjacent to the pool, the architects incorporated a sunken living room element with custom seating that surrounds a fire pit on three sides. The home's outdoor deck incorporates a shaded cabana with separate bath, dining, bar, and kitchen with a spiral staircase that leads up to a rooftop lounge ideal for sunbathing.

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.

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.

One Thousand Museum Residences by Zaha Hadid Architects Hits Over $100 Million Of Sales In 2020

One Thousand Museum, Miami's newest ultra-luxury condominium by the late Pritzker Prize-winning Zaha Hadid, has announced over $100 million in sales year-to-date. The building is defying market conditions, outpacing competitors across the city and on track for a record-setting year. The 62-story One Thousand Museum was developed by Louis Birdman, Gilberto Bomeny, Gregg Covin and Kevin Venger and designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

“We are thrilled that One Thousand Museum’s desirability continues to be recognized across the country, especially as now, more than ever, people are reevaluating where and how they live,” said Louis Birdman, co-developer of One Thousand Museum. “In addition to the flurry of interest from states impacted by the SALT tax, we’re seeing many of our new residents express priority over elements that only South Florida can offer, such as ocean views and access, ease of living, estate-style condos and competitive pricing.”

South Florida’s housing market has proven to be resilient, with ONE Sotheby’s Q2 Market Report forecasting sustained interest and activity into the latter half of the year due to pent-up demand and the migration of homeowners and companies relocating for tax and lifestyle benefits. These factors, coupled with the building’s unique attributes, striking design, privacy and security, single-family-sized floorplans and five-star amenities and services, are driving this unprecedented demand.

This sales milestone is accompanied by the release of the final collection of developer inventory priced from $4.95 to $20 million. Turn-key residences are currently on the market by leading designers and furnishing houses, including MORADA-Haute Furniture Boutique, Roche Bobois, Artefacto and Luxury Living Group. A duplex residence by BB Italia will come to market this fall 2020.

One Thousand Museum officially debuted August 2019 as one of the country’s most anticipated condominiums, with its striking exoskeleton instrumental to becoming the most iconic and identifiable tower in Downtown Miami. The building’s luxe lifestyle and exclusive amenities are among its most desirable attractions including a private rooftop helipad, making it Miami’s only residential building accessible via its own private airport. One Thousand Museum is also the first residential building in the world to partner with Forbes Travel Guide to create a hospitality-focused experience for residents and their guests on par with the finest hotel in the world.   

Additional amenities include a Sky Lounge for dining and private events; an on-premise bank vault; nearby private Beach Club, Museum Beach; access to a house car service, 1KM wellness center featuring state-of-the-art equipment by Techno-Gym, a Spa with relaxation pods and private treatment rooms for spa services and the Aquatic Center featuring an indoor lap-pool at the 61st Floor. 

ONE Sotheby’s International Realty Development Division is the exclusive listing agency for One Thousand Museum.

For more information about One Thousand Museum, private showings or purchasing/ leasing information please fill out the form below:

Star Island Spec Mansion Sells For $49.5 Million In Off-Market Deal

22 Star Island has sold for $49.5 million in an off-market deal after making waves through the Miami real estate community with its whisper price of $65 million. The buyer has requested to remain unnamed. The 17,000 SF spec mansion sits on the northern tip of Miami Beach’s Star Island, an exclusive enclave off of MacArthur Causeway on Biscayne Bay. Designed by DOMO Architecture + Design with interiors by Dunagan Diverio Design Group, the home features 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms in the modern main house and an additional 2 bedrooms in a 6,000 SF guest house which was originally part of the neighboring historic 1931-era 46 Star Island and moved by the developers to the other side of the 22 Star Island property.

22 Star Island offers the finest finishes throughout and an open floor-plan for unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay. The home features a grand entryway, movie theater, balconies which are convertible to pools off of every bedroom, a massive master-suite with its own private pool, a rooftop terrace with elevator access, two kitchens, gym and bar with wine coolers and refrigeration throughout the room. The 1.7 acre estate home also features a massive pool with cabana, private dock and two Jaume Plensa statues overlooking Biscayne Bay.

22 Star Island was developed by luxury homebuilder Todd Michael Glaser. The property was owned by Stuart Miller and David Miller and David Solomon of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty were involved in the development, marketing and sale of the property.

22 Star Island was revealed in February of this year over Super Bowl LIV weekend hosted in Miami when the home hosted the philanthropic Big Game Big Give fundraiser. The event featured Jamie Foxx, Michael Bay, Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, Ray Lewis and Jim Brown, amongst others. Big Game Big Give has raised more than $10 million for worthwhile causes around the world.

Luxury Home Builder Frank McKinney Sells His Final Direct Oceanfront Palm Beach Spec Home

Luxury home builder and award winning author Frank McKinney has sold his final direct oceanfront Palm Beach spec home which was completed in 2019 for $10.1 million, a record price-per-square-foot of $1,867. Located at 3492 South Ocean, the modern beachfront estate was unveiled with a lavish party which featured a stunt in which McKinney repelled from a helicopter onto the tropical modern home, see the video below for the footage. The buyer was Vernon Hill who was the founder, former chairman, president and CEO of Commerce Bancorp in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. McKinney first purchased the property in 2016 for $3 million and initially listed the home for $17.5 million in May 2019 before later dropping the price to $13.9 million in December 2019. Both the buyer and seller were represented by Steven Presson of The Corcoran Group.

3492 South Ocean features 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms spread over 7,850 square feet. The lavish beachfront mansion features some of the finest finishes including an oceanfront gourmet kitchen with 11,000 year-old Azure-Blue Lava Kitchen Countertops from France, a master-suite with direct ocean views, a 3-Story ocean-view glass elevator encased in a glass wine room, a cascading water wall & reflecting pool with a “Walk over Water” feature and an indoor jellyfish sphere with touch tank which is the only one in a private home.

3492 South Ocean is located directly on the Atlantic Ocean with direct beach access and the outdoors offers the best of South Florida including a 50′ disappearing-edge resort-style pool, lush landscaping and a rooftop lounge with ocean views.

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.