OKO Group and Access Industries To Develop Aman Hotel & Residences At Versailles Hotel Completing Faena District

OKO Group and Access Industries announced today a joint venture to develop and build an Aman hotel and Aman-branded residences on Miami Beach, on the site of the former Versailles Hotel, in two buildings at 3425 Collins Ave. 

The Miami project will be Aman’s latest urban development in the United States, joining Aman New York, a hotel with residences under construction in Manhattan’s iconic Crown Building and scheduled to open in Q4 2020. Aman also operates Amangani in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Amangiri, a hotel and resort in Canyon Point, Utah. Aman is led by Chairman and CEO Vladislav Doronin, whose Miami-based OKO Group will develop the Miami project in partnership with Access Industries. 

The Aman Miami project will be a major economic catalyst for the area. The Collins Avenue site is in the iconic Faena District, a prime four-block stretch of Miami Beach that Access Industries turned into a vibrant cultural neighborhood. The more than 1 million-square-foot mixed-use district features top-flight residences, the Faena Hotel Miami Beach, innovative and immersive entertainment, shopping at the Bazaar, restaurants and the Forum, an arts venue. Since opening in 2015, the District has become the epicenter of Miami Beach activity. 

“My strategy for Aman places focus on expanding the urban destinations for the brand after success with similar projects such as Aman Tokyo. As a major global hub, Miami always has been a key location, particularly since I founded OKO Group and already have a number of developments in the thriving city of Miami,” Doronin said. “The Miami and Aman lifestyles are highly compatible. Both are energetic, easy-going and embrace the outdoors. I have been looking for the perfect location for many years, and I am thrilled to find it and to partner with Access Industries.”

Access Industries, founded by American industrialist and philanthropist Len Blavatnik, owns a diverse portfolio of over 6 million square feet across iconic hotels and other commercial and residential properties in the United States, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

“Transformational neighborhood investment is a hallmark of Access Industries’ real estate strategy.  The Faena District is now a renowned hospitality and lifestyle destination, and positively contributes to Miami Beach. Versailles expands this mission even further, and we are thrilled to find a partner who shares Len’s insight. OKO and Aman are the ideal partners to develop Versailles and complete the vision for the Faena District,” said Jonah Sonnenborn, managing director and head of real estate at Access Industries. 

OKO Group’s Miami portfolio also includes luxury waterfront residential towers; Missoni Baia and Una Residences; and 830 Brickell, Miami’s first new office skyscraper in over a decade

Avison Young Secures New, Long Term Co-Working Office Lease For Entire Floor At 800 Brickell

Avison Young negotiated a new, long-term,14,280 SF lease on behalf of CoSuite™ at 800 Brickell Avenue, a 15-story, 209,122 SF office tower in Miami’s Financial District. The tenant will take the entire fourth floor and bring the building’s occupancy to 85.4%.

Avison Young Principal and Managing Director Donna Abood, Vice President Joe Abood, and Associate Peyton Dowd represented the tenant during the lease. On the heels of the transaction, the team was retained by new ownership, Gatsby Enterprises in partnership with MasterMind Properties, to handle office leasing at 800 Brickell.

“Located at the gateway of Miami’s Financial District, this trophy office property is perfectly positioned for a co-working environment,” said Donna Abood. “Clients will enjoy the abundance of amenities in the surrounding area and ease of access to all major highways and thoroughfares.”

CoSuite, a hybrid of co-working space and executive suites, will benefit from 800 Brickell’s strategic location on the corner of Brickell Avenue and SE 8th Street granting users immediate entry to Interstate 395, Interstate 95, and the 836 Expressway.

“CoSuite fills a void in the shared office sector for individuals and companies seeking to have the flexibility, professional environment and superior amenities within open workspaces and traditional work settings,” said Tom Weber, CEO & President of CoSuite. “800 Brickell is a premium location and our second of many that we will focus on in Florida and the east coast of the United States.”

Miami’s office market recorded positive net absorption and healthy leasing activity overall during third-quarter 2019. One of the three largest class A office submarkets in terms of inventory, Brickell posted the lowest class A vacancy at 7.18%, followed by Airport/Doral (11.59%) and Downtown Miami (19.86%).

Virgin Trains Announces Aventura, PortMiami & Boca Raton Stations Will Open In October 2020

Virgin Trains has announced that both the Aventura, PortMiami and Boca Raton stations are expected to come online in October 2020. Formerly known as Brightline, the train line is now in negotiations with Orlando entertainment parks and venues for a 2nd Orlando station while the Orlando International Airport station remains on schedule. Aventura will get a $77 million train station with on-site parking and a pedestrian bridge to Aventura Mall, which is the 2nd most visited mall in the United States with over 28 million visitors annually. Construction is expected to start late December 2019 to early 2020. The Boca raton station expects to break ground before the end of 2019 as well. Other stations in the works include PortMiami which is expected to open in late 2020 with construction set to begin in Q1 2020. The PortMiami, Aventura and Boca Raton stations are expected to bring an additional 2 million riders to the train system with Virgin Trains now looking at a railway expansion west of the Orlando International Airport. Virgin continues its expansion into South Florida with Virgin Voyages, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Trains.

Check Out The Hotel Addition Proposed Atop The Sterling Building On Lincoln Road

Sam Herzberg has proposed a 144 room hotel addition atop The Sterling Building located at 927-929 Lincoln Road, home to the popular Books and Books Cafe. The Miami Beach Planning Board will review the proposal at their December 17th meeting, which came following the city approving an increase in building height from 50’ to 75’ on the north side of Lincoln Road as well as to allow smaller units down to 200 SF and waiving parking requirements. The city also changed zoning to allow hotels in the area. Developers who take advantage of the zoning changes must make a .5% contribution to the Art in Public Places program. The addition is being designed by Kobi Karp and will not effect the historical parts of the building on Lincoln Road which contribute to the historical district. The new addition will bring the building to rise 7-stories with 120 new hotel rooms and 24 converted from an older part of the existing building.

Palm Beach Approves Plan For Luxe Condo Atop Tiffany & Co. Building On Worth Avenue

The Town of Palm Beach has approved plans for a luxury condo atop the iconic Tiffany & Co. building on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue, one of the ritziest, most expensive streets in the United States. The addition would include the conversion of the existing 2nd floor as well as adding a 3rd floor spa and pergola which would not be visible to pedestrians on the street. The condo conversion was designed by Keith Spina and when complete will offer buyers a 10,000 SF spread complete with the 3rd floor terrace. The proposal comes on the heels of Tiffany & Co. downsizing to only the ground floor where they plan a major renovation. The project’s final design is still pending a few approvals though as the Town of Palm Beach deferred a decision until December 2019 on a variance to increase the allowable lot coverage of the 3rd floor to 33% from the allotted 25%. The Tiffany & Co. building is located at 259 Worth Avenue and was purchased in late 2018 by Fortress Investment Group for $20 million.

Avison Young Oversees Sale Of $70 Million Transformco Distribution Center To Reich Brothers

Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group has overseen the sale and closing of the Transformco Distribution Center, the largest single-building industrial asset in Florida spanning nearly 2 million SF, to Reich Brothers. The transaction closed for $70 million for the 1,937,892-square-foot Transformco Distribution Center, located at 655 SW 52nd Ave. in Ocala. With a sale-leaseback agreement, Transformco continues to occupy the property to operate its main distribution center for the entire Southeast U.S. region supporting Sears, Kmart, and Hometown stores. The transaction brings Avison Young’s Capital Markets Group’s investment sales closed in the past 60 days alone to more than $300 million

Avison Young Principal and Miami Managing Director Michael T. Fay; Principals Jay A. Ziv, CCIM, SIOR, ALC; John K. Crotty, CCIM; and David Duckworth; Vice President Brian C. de la Fé; Associate Berkley Bloodworth; and Associate Emily Brais negotiated the sale on behalf of Transform Holdco. The buyer was Reich Brothers, a national industrial real estate firm specializing in manufacturing and distribution facilities across the U.S.

“Industrial continues to be the hottest asset type for investment in Florida, with Ocala standing out due to its quick access to every major market in the state as well as Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama,” said Fay. “The Distribution Center offered Reich Brothers the opportunity to acquire a substantial, in-demand, cash-flow property in Central Florida.”

Despite new construction, Central Florida’s distribution market maintains a vacancy rate in the low single-digits. In addition to Transformco, major distribution users in Ocala include ClosetMaid, Chewy, AutoZone, FedEx, and several others. Less than five minutes from Interstate 75, the Sears Distribution Center is within a four-hour drive time of 14 million people.

Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group also completed the disposition of the 126,336-square-foot Sears location at 9409 U.S. Hwy 19 in Port Richey, Florida.

Mandala Proposes BLUR Workshop-Designed Courtyard By Marriott in Downtown Miami

Mandala Holdings has submitted new plans to Miami’s Urban Development Review Board for a 31-story Courtyard By Marriott hotel tower in Downtown Miami’s Omni district at 511 NE 15th Street. The proposal will be reviewed at a meeting by the UDRB on November 20. The hotel tower is designed by the Atlanta-based BLUR Workshop and will feature 269 hotel rooms, 16,131 SF of office space and 28,261 SF of entertainment space split between conference rooms, ballrooms and restaurant space. No parking component will be built as part of the development and will be provided offsite.

Plans Submitted For Paraiso Place To Bring 279 Rental Apartments To Edgewater

Metro Edgewater, LLC., led by Colombian developer Carlos Ortiz, as submitted plans to Miami’s Urban Development Review Board for Paraiso Place, a 279-unit apartment building coming to the recently opened Paraiso district in Edgewater. A hearing has been scheduled for November 20, 2019. The tower, which will be located at 433-449 NE 30th Terrace and 430-452 NE 31st Street, will rise 32-stories, 373’, and will offer rental apartments, a change from the bulk of the Paraiso district which sold as condos. The project will also bring 4,063 SF of ground floor retail and a pedestrian promenade along NE 31st street with lush landscaping and street furniture, designed to act as a gateway for pedestrians from Biscayne Boulevard into the Paraiso District. The plans submitted call for 300 parking spaces although the developers have requested a 30% reduction in parking as per zoning requirements. The parking platform will feature a metal louver screen adorned with geometric artwork by the Miami-born artist Johnny Robles. Paraiso Place is designed by Pablo Burgos of Burgos Lanza Architects & Planners with landscape architecture by James Socash, all in collaboration with David Polinsky’s Fortis Design + Build.

CIM Group & OneWorld Properties Go Vertical At Mixed-Use Wynwood Square

Two tower cranes are now installed at 2201 N Miami Ave. where CIM Group and OneWorld Properties have gone vertical with the Stantec-designed Wynwood Square. When complete the mixed-use development will feature 2 towers rising 12-stories complete with 257 residential rental apartments complete with a full suite of amenities, 60,000 SF of office space, 27,000 SF of ground floor retail and 480 parking spaces. The development partnership was able to lock-down a $71.2 million construction loan from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and completion is expected at one point in mid-2021.

The Mess At Melreese Golf Club Gets Worse As Miami Freedom Park Gets Delayed Again

There is just no telling where the supposed deal to bring a professional soccer stadium to Miami will end up after Miami city commissioners voted on Tuesday to continue negotiations with the group, led by Jorge Mas of MasTec, in regards to the projected $1 billion mixed-use office and retail project. Although Miami has a state-of-the-art stadium in Hard Rock Stadium, Inter Miami CF has decided that they need a dedicated soccer stadium to accommodate what are expected to be masses of fans, albeit one that is decidedly much smaller than the capacity Hard Rock Stadium could accommodate. It was proposed to voters that they could “vote to bring a soccer stadium to Miami along with a public park” where the public Melreese Golf Course currently operates, which passed in 2018.

Since then plans have changed significantly. The public park portion has been significantly scaled back to being a nearly non-existent part of the planned development. In fact, the 25,000 seat soccer stadium would potentially not even sit on the same lot if built. What is planned, should negotiations work out, is a massive private office park matched with a retail mall and a hotel. Those negotiations though are getting pushback from commissioner Manolo Reyes as well as local opponents such as Bruce Matheson, who claims the redevelopment of the golf course should have gone through a public competitive bidding process and that the city has continuously misled voters through the process. Numerous other opponents argue that there is no reason to get rid of one of the city’s last remaining public golf courses, all of which are heavily used, irreplaceable and support the local youth with programs such as The First Tee, especially with a state-of-the-art Hard Rock Stadium already built.

Reyes worked to force a vote on the proposed agreement before Commissioner Will Gort steps down at the end of the month as he maxes out his term limits but was shot down by majority vote from the commission which claims that the deal is nearly closed and is just pending 3 fair market value appraisals as well as traffic and environmental studies. Already environmental studies have shown the the ground underneath the golf course is full of toxic material and remediation would be in the range of $40 million.

Beckham first moved to have a stadium built at PortMiami in 2014 before the proposal bounced around 4 other sites including county-owned parking lot in Overtown. Inter Miami CF will play at their new Fort Lauderdale Stadium and Training Complex, which is currently under construction. If Miami Freedom Park is ultimately approved the timeframe for development would extend into 2022-2023.