999 Ponce and Benjamin H. Silver  

A Miami developer is looking to sell 999 Ponce, a Coral Gables office building, for $39.5 million.

Property records show a company controlled by Xavier Rosales of Key Biscayne, who owns Weda Developers, acquired the building at 999 Ponce de Leon Boulevard in 2005 for nearly $21 million.

The 11-story, 129,000-square-foot building hit the market with Benjamin H. Silver of Marcus & Millichap, he said. Jorge Morales of Blue Box Real Estate is handling leasing.

Rosales’ company completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of the building in 2016. It’s about 88 percent leased to tenants that include Shikun & Binui, one of the largest construction and infrastructure companies in Israel; JAG Insurance Group; and accounting firm Appelrouth Farah & Co.

Following the renovation, rents in the building are now about $38 per square foot, up from the low $30s, Silver said. The property also has a 395-space parking garage and is in front of a trolley stop.

The building was built in 1981 on a 1.15-acre lot, records show.

Silver said the office market is going through a resurgence in Coral Gables, and that the Class A- building is competing successfully with Class A and B buildings. The occupancy rate in the Gables has remained at about 90 percent since 2014 with a net absorption rate of 1 million square feet, according to a release.

Development is booming in downtown Coral Gables. One of the largest projects under construction is The Plaza, a 2.25 million-square-foot project with a 242-key hotel, 174 apartments, 161,000 square feet of retail space and more than 2,000 parking spaces. Agave Holdings, a commercial real estate firm that includes the family behind the Jose Cuervo spirits brand, is the developer behind that project.

From left: 60 Sloane Avenue, Domenico Giani, former head of security of The Vatican, and Vatican City (Credit: Wikipedia and iStock)

A new scandal is sweeping through the Vatican and, despite scant details, the center of the storm appears to be one of the Holy See’s property investments in London.

An internal probe that’s lead to at least five Vatican staffers’ suspension is focused on a Chelsea building that the Holy See bought Italian financier Raffaele Mincione, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Vatican bought out Mincione last year and the financier claims the building is now worth more than $490 million.

After the identities of the staff who were suspended in the investigation were leaked to the press, the Vatican’s head of security, Domenico Giani, resigned. Giani claims he’s not responsible for the leak and is stepping down “out of love for the church and faithfulness” to the pope.

The suspended staffers include a top official at the Vatican’s financial watchdog, Tommaso Di Ruzza, and Monsignor Mauro Carlino, who was one of the highest officials at the Secretariat of State until Pope Francis made him a cardinal last year. It is still unclear what led to their suspensions and what, if any, wrongdoing is at issue. [WSJ] — Erin Hudson

Ken Stiles and The Westerra development site in Sunrise (Credit: Stiles Corp.)

Stiles Corp. sold 29 acres in Sunrise for $34 million where it had planned to build a mixed-use project with more than 750 residential units.

Sunrise-based GL Homes bought the vacant land off West Sunrise Boulevard for $1.1 million per acre, records show. Sawgrass Tech Land Associates, which is tied to Stiles Corp., sold the property.

GL Homes secured a $13.6 million loan from City National Bank of Florida to finance the acquisition, records show.

Stiles had paid $15.6 million for the property in 2005, records show.

Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles planned to build 750 residential units, 750,000 square feet of office space, and 50,000 square feet of commercial space on the property as part of a project known as Westerra. Stiles also planned 1.6 acres of park and open space at the development.

Stiles Corp. and GL Homes did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

GL Homes focuses on building homes across the east and west coasts of Florida. It has three communities in Boca Raton, including Berkeley Collection, a 57-home community with prices starting in the $850,000’s, according to its website.

Sunrise is home to Sawgrass Mills, which is owned by Simon Property Group and is one of the most valuable malls in the country owned by real estate investment trusts. According to a report last year, the mall brings in $1,149 per square foot and is worth $4.1 billion.

The west Broward city is also home to American Express’ regional headquarters. Nearby, Joseph Kavana’s Metropica Development LLC is building the $1.5 billion Metropica project. It will include a hotel, 2,250 residences, 485,000 square feet of retail space and 650,000 square feet of office space.

Robert Shapiro, along with two of Woodbridge Group’s former luxury properties, and at right, a federal prison. (Credit: iStock)

UPDATED, Oct. 15, 11:04 a.m.: When developer Robert Shapiro pleaded guilty in August to leading a $1.3 billion real estate Ponzi scheme, he faced up to 25 years in prison.

On Tuesday, a federal court judge sentenced Shapiro to that maximum, closing the criminal chapter on what has been a two-year-long saga surrounding the massive fraud perpetrated by Shapiro’s now-defunct Sherman Oaks-based investment firm, Woodbridge Group of Companies.

In all, more than 7,000 property investors were defrauded over five years until Woodbridge went under in late 2017 amid a wide-reaching federal investigation into the scheme, the government said in a release announcing the sentencing.

The majority of the prison sentence — 20 years — is for defrauding those investors, and for committing wire and mail fraud. The 61-year-old was sentenced to an additional five years for failing to pay $6 million in taxes owed between 2000 and 2005.

To raise money for the fraud, Woodbridge Group promised investors — many of them elderly — that the cash would go toward building and buying luxury properties that would yield high returns. Instead, Shapiro and the company bought those properties themselves through a web of legal entities to obscure ownership.

Woodbridge bought hundreds of millions of dollars worth of properties and development sites in Los Angeles and across the country. It paid out investors using cash from new investors in a classic Ponzi scheme arrangement. Shapiro himself siphoned off between $25 million and $95 million to fuel his glitzy lifestyle, prosecutors said. The case against him took place in Miami, as did the sentencing.

Lavish lifestyle
At least 2,600 Woodbridge investors put their retirement savings into the firm, totaling $400 million, according prosecutors. Shapiro personally spent at least $3.1 million of that money on travel and charter planes, $6.7 million on a home and another $2.6 million on renovations, $1.8 million paying off personal income taxes, and $672,000 on vehicles., the government said.

Shapiro and his wife agreed to forfeit a massive trove of luxury items they purchased with misappropriated funds, including artworks by Picasso and other artists, a 603-bottle wine collection, and several pieces of diamond jewelry.

While the criminal case against Shapiro is over, independent managers are in charge of selling off the rest of Woodbridge’s assets to recoup money for defrauded investors.

Shapiro is also on the hook to pay the Security and Exchange Commission $120 million as part of a civil settlement with the agency.

Federal law enforcement continues to pursue claims against other Woodbridge executives. Investors have sued for compensation from at least one bank, Comerica Bank, that held Woodbridge accounts.

Fisher Island (Credit: Michael Au via Flickr)

A power struggle is taking place on ritzy Fisher Island.

Fisher Island Community Association board members Michael Ashkin, Jeff Horowitz, Marc Peperzak and George Pearlman are suing the board’s five other directors appointed by developer Fisher Island Holdings over future development in the wealthy enclave and unpaid transportation services.

Fisher Island, reachable only by ferry, boat or helicopter, is consistently ranked as America’s wealthiest zip code.

The lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Court last month accuses developer appointees Heinrich Von Hanau, Lauren Marks, Lee Ann Ryan, Mark Reid and Nicanor Gavidia, all of whom are also corporate officers and directors for Fisher Island Holdings, of voting on two community association matters despite having alleged conflicts of interest.

The complaint claims that the five directors voted for an expensive restoration of a Fisher Island seawall that is going to cost the community association $9 million, nearly $3 million more than a proposal favored by Ashkin, Horowitz, Peperzak and Pearlman. The method approved by the five developer appointees would increase the developable area on a parcel close to the seawall, thus benefiting the economic interest of Fisher Island Holdings, the lawsuit states.

Von Hanau, who is Fisher Island Holdings’ president, Marks, Ryan, Reid and Gavidia also voted not to charge the developer for barge usage dating back to October 2017 that allegedly deprived the community association of more than $2 million in transportation fees.

In both instances, the developer’s directors refused to recuse themselves from voting, the complaint alleges. Attorneys for both sides declined comment. But internal emails obtained by The Real Deal show both sides battling for the support of Fisher Island property owners.

A Sept. 20 message signed by Ashkin, Horowitz, Peperzak and Pearlman informs owners that the five developer directors “have forced through board decisions which are detrimental to the FICA membership, but clearly beneficial to the developer.”

The email also asks property owners to chip in voluntary contributions to pay for the lawsuit, which is estimated to cost between $200,000 to $400,000. “Since we have no independent authority to secure funding we first asked if we could use FICA funds to defend you,” the email states. “The answer was a firm no from the Fisher Island Holdings directors. We are forced to ask you to help us with a voluntary contribution of $1,000 or more.”

On Sept. 29, the five developer directors sent a response stating Ashkin, Horowitz, Peperzak and Pearlman have “never been able to explain the factual or legal basis for their claims.”

“We have been fully transparent and explained our position on these matters on multiple occasions,” the Fisher Island Holdings directors wrote. “It is telling that the FICA resident directors’ lawsuit and communication to you fails to disclose that they sought the advice of FICA’s counsel on the key ‘conflict of interest’ question.”

The letter notes the community association’s counsel advised no conflict existed and there was no basis to preclude Von Hanau, Marks, Ryan, Reid and Gavidia from voting on the seawall and barge issues.

Christian Martinez

Digital marketing and social media executive Christian Martinez was tapped to be the regional president of Compass Florida.

Martinez was previously with Facebook and Univision. Based at Compass’ Miami Beach office, Martinez is focusing on growing the brokerage’s business throughout the state and overseeing its operations. He’s taking over Beth Butler’s role now that she’s been promoted to director of new development for Compass in the Southeast.

Martinez is now evaluating what the right strategy is for growth in Florida, but said that it’s “all on the table.” Compass will continue to recruit top agents and teams from other firms, he said. The firm recently brought on longtime Coldwell Banker agent Tim Elmes and his group of agents in Fort Lauderdale, among other teams.

While at Facebook, Martinez led operations in Mexico and before that, he was head of the multicultural division in the U.S. He built the multicultural platform to attract U.S.-based advertisers targeting minorities on Facebook. Previously, he was vice president of network television and interactive sales for the Southeast and Southwest regions at Univision.

Compass, which has raised $1.5 billion in capital, is largely viewed as among the most aggressive in luring agents since it launched in South Florida four years ago. It now has 800 agents in nine offices across four counties after doubling its agent numbers in just the past year.

Earlier this year, former Facebook executive Madan Nagaldinne left Compass, where he was chief people officer, for a similar role at a consumer healthcare startup.

Todd Glaser (Photo by Mary Beth Koeth)

Todd Glaser’s passion for luxury homes took root early. As a teenage waiter at the Regency Hotel in Bal Harbour, where a new condo now stands, he would often work private dinners held at the homes of wealthy friends of the hotel’s owner, Lou Brandt.

“At 16, my friends and I got into all these gorgeous, unbelievable mansions,” Glaser said. “When I walked into one of the elegant courtyards, it was mesmerizing. I got a magical feeling.”

Little did he know at the time that later in life he’d be buying, bulldozing, rebuilding and selling some of the these same mansions. And that’s a point of pride for the 55-year-old developer.

“I’m dyslexic. I want people to know that a dyslexic who never went to college can be successful,” he said. “I knew what I wanted, so I didn’t need college. I learned to be an owner’s rep and oversee design and construction projects, not to be an architect.”

Glaser has been working in South Florida real estate since 1990, when he bought a small house in Coconut Grove, renovated it and sold it for a profit. He later moved to bigger and better projects, building and, in some cases, revamping multimillion-dollar homes in Miami Beach, Miami and Palm Beach.

He’s sold or developed homes for Billy Joel, Cher, Alex Rodriguez, Hulk Hogan and others. For Lennar Corp. chairman Stuart Miller, Glaser and his partners built the 27,000-square-foot mansion at 22 Star Island, which was reportedly being marketed as a $67.5 million whisper listing in July.

While today he’s “about 70 percent owner’s rep and 30 percent spec developer,” Glaser added that he also finds it important to buddy up. “I’d rather have 50 percent of a project than 100 percent of nothing.”

Among his many projects, one of the largest is One Thousand Museum Residences in Miami, the striking 62-story luxury condo tower designed by Zaha Hadid, with units priced from $5.8 million to more than $24 million. “I was one of the first investors. Standing on the heliport over 630 feet above the ground — that’s a WOW factor.”

Glaser has also registered a number of patents, which range from a recessed soap dish for bathtubs and sinks to a device that prevents tracks of high-rise impact-window sliders from filling up with water and leaking inside apartments during hurricanes. “You don’t want to have a leak on the 45th floor. Insurance companies are going see this and will want people to retrofit,” he said.

Glaser and his partners are currently building several projects in Palm Beach, including homes at 111 Atlantic Avenue and 113 Atlantic Avenue, which he says will each be priced above $17 million. In Miami-Dade County, he is working on multimillion-dollar residences at 1635 West 22nd Street and 1420 West 23rd Street, both on Sunset Islands, Miami Beach. In total, he’s currently working on 18 jobsites in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Key to keeping his work going is having his ear to the ground, remaining keenly aware of what is going on in his market. “When a toilet is flushed in Miami Beach real estate, Todd Glaser knows about it,” he said.

Here, the developer describes his typical day. His answers have been edited and condensed for clarity and space.

6:00 a.m. I get up and read The Real Deal and the Shiny Sheet [Palm Beach Daily News] every day. If there’s any news associated with my projects, I email it to my partners. I have one cup of coffee.

7:00 a.m. I live in a 1938 Mizner-style home in Miami Beach with two guest houses. One is a fully equipped gym and the other a three-car garage. I work out of my garage — only me. The garage is my office. I walk across the courtyard from my house, and I’m usually in the office by 7. It’s got my artwork and skateboard collection and my kids’ art. [Glaser and his wife, Kim, have four children.] If I want, I can go there at three in the morning.

8:00 a.m. I bombard people with emails, look at jobsites online, check headcounts and the status of projects. Constantly doing deals — buying and selling. I have two phones and answer every call. I work seven days a week … it doesn’t shut off.

10:00 a.m. Two or three times a week, a rabbi comes to my house and I put on tefillin. I’ve done this for years, and it has brought me good things. [Putting on tefillin is part of Jewish prayer tradition.]

11:30 a.m. I go to Palm Beach three to four times a week to check on projects, go to open houses and look at properties. I split my time on meetings with owners, contractors in the morning in Miami and in the afternoon in Palm Beach. By 11:30 to 12, I’m usually on the Brightline [now Virgin Trains USA] to Palm Beach. I work on the train ride. My everyday car is a Maybach, but I use Uber to get to Brightline and to move around in Palm Beach.

1:00 p.m. I don’t do a lot of business lunches, but my favorite restaurant in Palm Beach is Sant Ambroeus, and in Miami Beach, Sardinia and Sylvano.

2:00 p.m. I keep my restored 1938 Sea Tabby yacht at our home in Palm Beach. It’s a classic Mathis Trumpy wooden yacht. It’s a family boat, but I use it as an office and for taking out clients and showing them properties and worksites. I also use my 1989 Conch 27 for taking clients to visit properties.

4:00 p.m. I catch Brightline again.

6:00 p.m. I usually get back home by 6, and I wrap up work at home.

I do yoga at my home gym, and my teacher comes over every day.

7:00 p.m. Kim and I have dinner at home or I take my wife out for dinner. My favorite food is any type of dessert. When I was a kid, I ate my dessert first. I still do it, but I’m getting better about it.

10:00 p.m. By 10, I’m usually in bed.

The post Spec home builder Todd Glaser on doing home showings via yacht appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up South Florida’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page throughout the day. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

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Stephen Ross (Credit: Getty Images)

Stephen Ross’ plan to bring a Formula One race to Miami is one step closer to becoming a reality. F1 finalized an agreement with Ross’ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens that would allow for annual racing starting in 2021, according to the Miami Herald. But Miami-Dade County would still need to approve the deal, and county commissioner Barbara Jordan has proposed legislation that would require a commission vote before that county approval. Ross would pay for all the race costs, including a $40 million track. [Miami Herald]

Christian Martinez

Digital marketing and social media executive Christian Martinez was tapped to be the regional president of Compass Florida. Martinez, who was previously with Facebook and Univision, is taking over Beth Butler’s role now that she’s been promoted to director of new development for Compass in the Southeast. [TRD]

Todd Glaser (Photo by Mary Beth Koeth)

Spec home developer Todd Michael Glaser prefers to eat his dessert before his meal. Glaser took The Real Deal through a typical day for him, which begins at 6 a.m. reading TRD and the Shiny Sheet, and involves bombarding people with emails and taking Virgin Trains to job sites throughout South Florida. [TRD]

Compiled by Katherine Kallergis

The post Stephen Ross inks deal with F1 to bring annual racing to South Florida, a day in the life of Todd Glaser: Daily digest appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

3650 RCA Boulevard and United Group of Housing CEO Michael J. Uccellini (Credit: Google Maps)

United Group bought the Amara Shrine Center property in Palm Beach Gardens for $8.3 million, with plans to build a senior living facility.

The Troy, New York-based company bought the 10.4-acre property at 3650 RCA Boulevard for $790,230 per acre, according to a press release. Amara Temple Holding Corporation, Inc. sold the property.

The land was re-zoned by the buyer during the contract entitlement period. The property currently houses the Amara Shrine Center’s 17,084-square-foot clubhouse and exterior storage, according to the release.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Christopher Thomson, Chris Metzger, Richard F. Etner Jr. and Matthew G. McAllister, along with Mark L. Pateman and Tara England, represented Amara Temple Holding Corporation, Inc. in the sale.

The property is near I-95, State Road A1A Alternate and PGA Boulevard. It was last purchased in 1976 for $120,000, records show.

United Group of Companies plans to build 220 apartments for tenants ages 55 and older. The apartment complex will be called Arcadia Commons and will have one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Amara Shrine Center will be relocating its clubhouse and meeting space to a new location, according to the release.

United Group has projects in upstate New York, Georgia, Florida, California and Massachusetts.

Palm Beach Gardens is seeing more interest from out-of-state investors.

New York Life Insurance Co. bought The Financial Center at the Gardens in late July for $71.8 million, in one of the Palm Beach County’s largest office sales of the year.

Late last year, Brookfield Asset Management paid nearly $218 million for the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, marking the largest hotel sale in South Florida in 2018.

The post United Group nabs Palm Beach Gardens property to build senior living appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren

Just a few months after New York passed historic reforms that infuriated landlords and thrilled tenants — with California following suit — several Congress members and presidential candidates are throwing their weight behind even more aggressive proposals.

Mostly promoted by Democrats on the far left, those policies include the mid-September doozy from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders calling for nationwide rent control under his $2.5 trillion housing plan. Despite more than two dozen states prohibiting limits on what landlords can charge, Sanders wants to cap annual rent increases around the country at 3 percent, or 1.5 times the consumer price index, whichever is higher.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who’s also gunning for the White House, has a slightly less contentious proposal: adding more supply to help lower prices in the rental housing market. But Warren hopes to build millions of new apartments with tax hikes on the wealthy, and her call to relax zoning rules for more construction could rankle rich and poor alike.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the first-term congresswoman who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, is another high-profile politico with lofty goals.

Ocasio-Cortez recently took aim at “market-controlling landlords” with her $16.5 billion housing plan and wants to greatly expand tax relief for middle-class home loan borrowers at the expense of tax deductions for the wealthy. Additionally, the sweeping Green New Deal bill, which she and Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts co-sponsored this year, could force landlords to make big energy-efficiency upgrades to their buildings. And with a projected cost of between $50 and $90 trillion, the federal plan would be mostly covered by tax revenue.

The millennial congresswoman, widely known as AOC, has quickly become a national force with close to 5.5 million Twitter followers. In her rapid rise, she’s also earned the wrath of Republican critics, while other political upstarts have followed in her footsteps.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the hotly contested real estate agendas coming out of Washington in 2019.

$1T

Florida

An estimate of the total damage to coastal properties and public infrastructure if global temperatures rise 2°C above pre-industrial levels, according to the Green New Deal. The bill calls for no more fossil fuels and the switch to 100 percent clean energy by 2029, while new and existing buildings would need to adopt “maximal energy efficiency.” A similar proposal in New York City became law in May.

7.4M

The amount of affordable housing units that would be built or fixed up under Sanders’ proposal, at an estimated cost of $1.48 trillion. The Vermont senator has also vowed to create 2 million new mixed-income apartments and make Section 8 vouchers an entitlement for all Americans, while national public housing would get $70 billion in improvements, including high-speed internet access.

$4B

“Emergency funds” to be set aside for middle-class rental housing, outlined in Warren’s American Housing and Economic Mobility Act. For borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth — a casualty of the last recession — the Massachusetts senator wants to allocate $2 billion. She is also promoting a $500 million investment in rural housing and $2.5 billion in grants for apartments for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.

14,000

The number of families expected to pay higher inheritance taxes under Warren’s proposed housing plan. Lowering the trigger for inheritance taxes to $7 million — where it stood during George W. Bush’s presidency — from $22 million could generate as much as $500 billion over a decade, Warren says. The new revenue would lead to “millions” of new homes and reduce housing costs by 10 percent, she argues.

1968

Republican Sen. Mike Lee

The year Congress passed the Fair Housing Act — which bans discrimination in home sales and rentals. But Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wants to cut off the funding to enforce the law. His Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017, co-sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, would prohibit the use of federal money to investigate compliance, which Lee and Rubio call ineffective and wasteful.

100%

Presidential candidate and former HUD secretary Julián Castro has vowed to award generous tax credits to renters who earn up to 100 percent of their area median income. The promise is part of his sweeping housing plan, which could cost close to a trillion dollars over a decade. Like several of his peers, Castro wants to cap the max amount renters spend each month on housing costs at 30 percent of their income.

8M sq. ft.

The size of Amazon’s proposed Long Island City campus — before the e-commerce giant killed its offer in the face of local opposition. AOC and State Sen. Michael Gianaris came out against the plan to award Amazon $3 billion in subsidies for the creation of up to 25,000 new jobs. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other proponents of the deal argued that those incentives were necessary since Amazon was considering other locations. The company now plans to anchor its “HQ2” in Arlington, Virginia.

The post By the numbers: Breaking down national housing agendas from the far left appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Glass Miami Beach and James R. Craigie

A unit at a boutique South Beach condo building in the South of Fifth neighborhood sold at a 15 percent loss from its last purchase price four years ago.

Dena Grunt of Marshall, California sold unit 1500 at Glass to James R. Craigie for $7.5 million, property records show. Craigie is the former CEO of Church & Dwight Co., a household and personal care product line and non-executive chairman of Newell Brands’ board of directors.

The seller was represented by Anna Sherrill and Mary LaScala at One Sotheby’s International Realty, according to Realtor.com. The buyer was represented by Jacques Bouhadana at Coldwell Banker.

The 3,389-square-foot unit sold for $2,213 per square foot. Grunt paid $8.9 million for the unit in 2015. David Martin’s Terra sold the condo at the time.

Grunt runs Highway 1 Hospitality, which oversees a number of resort and dining properties near San Francisco, according to its website.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit features a Calcutta marble kitchen with Gaggenau and Sub-Zero appliances, oak wood floors and a master bathroom made of Arrabescato marble.

The 18-story, 10-unit luxury condo building was designed by architect Rene Gonzalez and completed in 2015. True to the building’s namesake, the units all have floor-to-ceiling glass windows that boast 360-degree views of the ocean and Miami Beach. A penthouse unit sold for $20 million in 2015.

Some parts of Miami Beach’s luxury market are seeing price drops due to weakening demand from South American investors and a large supply of high-end units on the market.

In the second quarter, overall residential sales dropped in Miami Beach to 964, down 6 percent year-over-year, according to a Douglas Elliman report.

The median sale price was $406,000, a 7.3 percent decline, and there were nearly 20 months of supply, up 6.5 percent. In the same quarter, condo sales in the beachfront markets of Miami-Dade fell by nearly 6 percent to 861.

The post Condo at Glass Miami Beach sells at 15% loss appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Paseo de la Riviera and Industrious CEO Jamie Hodari

Flexible workspace provider Industrious inked a deal for its third South Florida location.

Industrious will take 25,000 square feet of retail space at Paseo de la Riviera, a mixed-use project under construction in Coral Gables, according to a press release. The space, at 1350 South Dixie Highway, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020.

Industrious recently announced it would take nearly 30,000 square feet at Esplanade at Aventura, a mixed-use project under construction next to Aventura Mall. It’s also opening a 45,000-square-foot space at 1111 Brickell. The Aventura location is expected to open in the second quarter of next year and the Brickell space will open in the first quarter.

The co-working operator has over 85 locations in more than 45 cities in the U.S. Members have included Compass, Heineken, Humana and Zillow.

NP International is the developer of Paseo de la Riviera, which will have a residential building with 204 units and a 246-room THesis hotel, plus public space between the two buildings.

Industrious locations typically have cafes that serve breakfast, in addition to shared workspaces and private offices.

The post Industrious to open at Paseo de la Riviera in Coral Gables appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

1675 Lands End Road (Credit: Redfin)

Real estate investor Joseph Imbesi and his wife Orla sold their waterfront Manalapan house for $6.5 million.

The Imbesis sold their 6,643-square-foot home at 1675 Lands End Road to Marilyn Flint, David Fischer and Zachary Fischer for $978 per square foot, according to property records.

The home has five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms and sits on a 0.4-acre lot. It was last purchased in 2012 for $5 million, records show.

Imbesi once co-owned the Bal Harbour Club, which he sold in 2012 to Eduardo Costantini’s Consultatio for $220 million to build Oceana Bal Harbour. Imbesi originally moved to South Florida to train race horses in the 1970s, according to published reports.

Manalapan, located between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, has some of the priciest and most desirable homes in the country. The entire town of Manalapan (about 10 miles south of the town of Palm Beach) is only about 2.5 square miles and has over 400 residents.

In September, the founders of a medical supply company sold their 2.3-acre waterfront Manalapan estate at 1340 South Ocean Boulevard for $27 million.

A number of celebrities and billionaires have bought homes there, including motivational guru Tony Robbins, New Age musician Yanni, boxing promoter Don King and Billy Joel. In January, a member of the family that founded General Motors paid $5.17 million for 8,677-square-foot house on Lands End Road.

The post Investor Joseph Imbesi sells Manalapan house appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Alex Sapir and the site at 1768 Northeast Second Court (Credit: CBRE)

Sapir Corp. and its partners planned to build a 1.7 million-square-foot project on an assemblage of land north of downtown Miami. But the Israeli real estate firm is now looking to sell the property.

The site, at 1768 Northeast Second Court, is in an Opportunity Zone, which would give a buyer substantial tax incentives. The property is in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami, near the Arts & Entertainment District.

Sapir Corp. Chairman Alex Sapir said he’s selling the property because the Opportunity Zones program didn’t exist when the partnership purchased it, and it now adds value to the site, which is listed unpriced. Sapir Corp. owns roughly 40 percent of the partnership, while CNMB International, a Chinese construction company, and Hong Kong-based G-Resources own the rest, Sapir said.

CBRE’s Chris Wood and Jason Spalding are listing the 1.47-acre property, which is one of two sites Sapir Corp. owns in the Miami area. The other is in Surfside, where Sapir has nearly completed construction of Arte by Antonio Citterio, a boutique luxury condo building.

The Edgewater assemblage can be developed into at least 1.4 million square feet of space, including multifamily, senior living, hotel, office, and retail components. With bonuses, development could reach nearly 2 million square feet, according to the offering.

About 735 residential units could be built, or up to 1,100 units with density bonuses.

“From an Opportunity Zone standpoint, a multifamily developer that builds and stabilizes the product can really maximize the tax benefit as opposed to building for-sale condo product,” Wood said.

Mignonette Downtown, an oyster bar and seafood restaurant, leases 1,649 square feet of the building at 210 Northeast 18th Street, which is part of the assemblage.

Plans for the site included two towers, one rising 60 stories and a second rising 40 stories, with up to 1,200 rental units, plus retail and office components.

Sapir Corp., then ASRR Capital, paid $33 million for the eight-parcel assemblage in May 2017, along with its partners CNMB International and G-Resources. They first sought to sell their stake in the property shortly after the deal closed in 2017.

ASRR was jointly led by Alex Sapir and Rotem Rosen until a month after the firm purchased the Miami 18 site. Sapir bought out Rosen’s share in the company for $70 million.

Baruch Itzhak, CEO of Sapir Corp., said in a statement that the company invested in the Edgewater site “several years ago recognizing its emergent location.”

The Opportunity Zone program was part of the December 2017 tax overhaul. Since then, the government has designated more than 8,000 census tracts across the U.S. as “distressed” and investors who develop in those areas can defer federal taxes on capital gains until Dec. 31, 2026.

Investors can reduce that tax payment by as much as 15 percent and pay no taxes on possible profits from an Opportunity Zone fund if they hold onto the investment for 10 years.

Wood said that the Opportunity Zone benefit could increase the property’s value by 10 to 15 percent.

The post Alex Sapir’s massive Opportunity Zone site in Miami hits the market appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

30 Indian Creek Island Road and Shlomo Alexander

The Alexander Group, a North Miami Beach-based general contractor specializing in modern mansions, is facing accusations of cost overruns, project delays and abandoning the work site of a luxurious, two-story residence under construction at 30 Indian Creek Island Road.

Four Palms of Indian Creek, a shell corporation owned by the offshore company Salvado Investment Corp., is suing The Alexander Group for breach of contract. The suit, filed last month in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleges that Four Palms lost more than $1 million as a result of the general contractor’s alleged ineptitude and misrepresented expertise.

Four Palm’s attorney Adrian Felix and The Alexander Group principals Orly and Shlomo Alexander did not return messages seeking comment.

David Haber, lawyer for The Alexander Group, said his client is a reputable contractor and that Four Palms only filed its complaint to avoid first being sued by the builder. “They owe my client hundreds of thousands of dollars and most of the damages they caused themselves,” Haber said. “We are going to vigorously defend the lawsuit and file a counterclaim against Four Palms.”

According to a May 10 construction lien against Four Palms, The Alexander Group is alleging nonpayment of $534,133 for the Indian Creek Island home. Four subcontractors also filed liens for a total of $59,375 in unpaid work.

In its lawsuit, Four Palms alleges that The Alexander Group was ill-equipped to take on a construction of the size and scope of its mansion project, which led to substantial overruns, delays and defective work. “Defendant took advantage of the fact that plaintiff’s members resided out-of-town and relied heavily on defendants (mis)represented expertise,” the lawsuit alleges. “Plaintiff, as a result, has been left to address and correct the numerous, costly defects that exist at the project.”

Four Palms and The Alexander Group entered into an agreement in April 2016 to build a 20,000-square-foot modern mansion that would not exceed a cost of $10.5 million, and agreed that the work would be substantially completed in 19 months. Construction began eights months later and the project fell behind schedule approximately a year later. Four Palms alleges that the shell work was supposed to be completed in September 2017, but wasn’t finished until between March 2018 and April 2018. Roof work that was also supposed to begin in September 2017 did not start until two months later, the lawsuit claims.

By January, when the project’s completion had been delayed for more than six months, Four Palms and The Alexander Group fought over the final punch list and the completion schedule. Meanwhile, the project was poorly done, according to the complaint. An air-conditioning room on the second floor had water leaks, there were excessive vibrations and dangerous overheating of the generator room, defective electrical work throughout the house and flooding on the northwest side of the property, Four Palms alleges.

On May 22, Four Palms notified The Alexander Group that it had defaulted on the construction contract. A week later, The Alexander Group terminated the contract and left the work site, the lawsuit claims.

The post The Alexander Group allegedly mismanaged and then refused to complete Indian Creek Island mansion: lawsuit appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Michael Cohen and Donald Trump (Credit: Getty Images, iStock)

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal secretary, testified in March that Trump inflated property values in order to get financing, and a comparison of his tax returns and loan records by ProPublica shows how.

In documents provided to the lender for two of the buildings, Ladder Capital, the rent rolls were inflated to double what was reported in Trump’s 2017 tax returns. At one building, occupancy figures were reported that were well above what was given to tax officials during the same period.

40 Wall Street (Credit: Wikipedia)

The Trump Organization told Ladder that 40 Wall Street was 58.9 percent leased in 2012, and then was above 95 percent just a few years later. But according to tax records, the Trump Organization reported to city tax officials that the building was 81 percent rented in 2013.

After the occupancy rates and rent rolls were inflated, 40 Wall Street was refinanced in 2016 for $180 million — which at the time was the Trump Organization’s largest debt.

“It really feels like there’s two sets of books — it feels like a set of books for the tax guy and a set for the lender,” said Kevin Riordan, a financing expert and real estate professor at Montclair State University who reviewed the records.

Jack Weisselberg is a loan originator at Ladder Capital, the firm that sold the debt on the properties as part of mortgage-backed securities, and is the son of the Trump Organization’s longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg. [ProPublica] — Georgia Kromrei

The post Trump exaggerated building values to get financing, tax documents show appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Rendering of Ten30 and Masoud Shojaee

Amid the ongoing luxury market slowdown, Masoud Shojaee is launching sales of Ten30, a condo development near Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road. The relatively lower-priced units replace multimillion-dollar townhouses that were originally planned for the site.

Ten30, at 1030 15th Street, will have 43 condos, including six studios, 29 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units, priced from $498,000 to $950,000. Fortune International Group is handling sales for Shojaee’s Shoma Group.

The units will range from 630 square feet to 1,101 square feet, with a per-square-foot price of $732. Shojaee said he expects a $30 million sellout.

“That location needs a project like this,” Shojaee said. “It’s very reasonably priced and very affordable.”

Ten30 lobby

Ten30 takes the place of the former Eleven on Lenox. Last year, Shojaee scrapped plans for the luxury development, which was to have 11 townhouses priced at about $3 million, each.

“We had some presales but we couldn’t sell because of the market,” Shojaee said. The townhomes did not fare well with New Yorkers, and buyers wanted to negotiate prices. Shojaee was also counting on Venezuelans as buyers, but that market dried up.

“So we erased that project and decided to do something else and [have] smaller units,” he said.

Ten30 will now target local buyers and Latin Americans, particularly from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, where Fortune has a strong presence. Buyers are expected to be end-users or rent out the units.

The four-story building will have a garage, lobby with 24-hour concierge, common areas and private terraces on the first floor; condos on the second and third floors; and a rooftop deck with pool, barbecue area and private terraces on the top floor, said Stephanie Shojaee, Shoma’s chief marketing officer. MSA Architects designed the building, with interior design by Saladino Design Studio.

The condos will be outfitted with Samsung smart appliances, including a Samsung family hub refrigerator, and Latch door knobs that can be controlled by cellphone. Each unit will have at least one parking space. Monthly maintenance fees will be $391 for all units.

Ten30 bedroom

The project will break ground in two weeks, and is expected to be completed in November 2020, Shojaee said.

Rather than the usual 50 percent deposit for new development projects, Ten30 is requiring a 35 percent deposit: 10 percent at contract signing, another 10 percent 30 to 45 days later, then 15 percent at top-off. Real estate commissions will be 5 percent, and agents will receive 3 percent as soon as a buyer puts down a 20 percent deposit, he said.

Shojaee previously said the shift from Eleven on Lenox to the lower-priced condos would cost the company $1.2 million, but he expects it to pay off in the end. “It’s worth it,” he said.

Eleven on Lenox, by contrast, was planned as 11 three-story townhomes, each with four bedrooms, a family room, two-car garage and rooftop deck with a pool and summer kitchen. Shojaee said he had tried raising prices on units from $2.9 million to $3.3 million, and from $3.5 million to $4 million. “The problem was they wanted to pay the original prices and we refused to do that,” he said last year.

Shoma Group also expects to complete construction in six months on the Sanctuary, a mixed-use project with 226 apartments, 32,000 square feet of retail at 9400 Northwest 41st Street in Doral. The project, built on 8 acres, will have a food hall and soccer field.

The post Shoma Group launches lower-priced condo project near Lincoln Road appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

Home foreclosures are dropping (Credit: iStock)

There is growing unease about an impending recession, but at least one economic indicator isn’t pointing in that direction. U.S. home foreclosures dropped sharply in the third quarter, with New York City, South Florida and Los Angeles all registering declines.

Overall, 143,105 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings from July through September, down from nearly 116,000 over the same period last year, according to an Attom Data Solutions report released Thursday. The numbers include default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions and is at the lowest level since the second quarter of 2005.

Foreclosure reports from month to month can be volatile. More broadly, the data could indicate the market is not at the level of distress it was prior to the last recession. It could also mean that despite numerous indicators showing a slowdown in the housing market, borrowers have yet to default on their payments.

Some states, however, fared worse than the national average. In Florida, 1 in every 577 properties had a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, significantly worse than the national average of 1 in every 946 properties.

But in South Florida, foreclosures plummeted 34.7 percent to 1,812 filings. In New York City, foreclosure filings fell 33.7 percent to 5,062, and Los Angeles saw a 16.5 percent dip to 1,625.

Chicago, meanwhile, saw an uptick of 6.9 percent to 2,740.

Other cities where foreclosure filings increased include Atlanta, up 37 percent; Columbus, Ohio, up 27 percent; and San Antonio, up 24 percent, according to Attom.

“Overall, the foreclosure numbers reflect a market in which buyers can afford their homes and lenders remain careful in loaning to home buyers who have little chance of repaying,” said Attom’s Todd Teta.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of indicators are signaling that home prices could soon fall after years of price appreciation.

Related Companies CEO Stephen Ross told Yahoo Finance in August that the housing market “is probably in the eighth inning.”

The post Home foreclosures dropped nearly 20% in Q3, report shows appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

(Credit: iStock)

In Miami, Miami Beach and surrounding cities, sales generally rose in the third quarter, according to the newly released Elliman Reports, authored by Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel Inc. But elsewhere in the tri-county region, sales dropped or remained stagnant.

Across the board, inventory generally fell, with fewer listings in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Manalapan, and other cities. Miller said that inventory has declined due to two reasons: sales are rising, for the most part, and sellers are lowering their prices in line with market conditions.

Miami Beach and the barrier islands
In the third quarter, residential sales grew by 5.2 percent, year-over-year, in Miami Beach and the barrier islands, up to 850 closings.

Bal Harbour, Bay Harbour Islands, Fisher Island, Golden Beach, Indian Creek, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach and Miami Beach’s Mid Beach, North Beach and South Beach neighborhoods, North Bay Village, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside make up Miami Beach and its barrier islands, as defined by Elliman. South Beach includes properties in the 33139 zip code and those in the 33140 zip code south of 30th Street.

Condo sales on the beaches increased by 7.3 percent, year-over-year, to 750, representing the bulk of residential sales that quarter. One hundred single-family homes sold, an 8.3 percent decline.

The median sales price for condos rose by 4.2 percent to about $349,000, while the median sales price for houses fell slightly by 1.4 percent to $1.4 million.

Here’s a breakdown of the beaches submarkets:
Sunny Isles Beach: condo sales increased by 23 percent to 171
Bal Harbour: condo sales doubled to 28 closings, up 100 percent
Bay Harbor Islands: condo sales took a nosedive, falling nearly 46 percent to 20 closings
Surfside: condo sales rose by 7.7 percent to 14
North Bay Village: condo sales increased by 21.4 percent to 51
Miami Beach islands: single-family home sales dropped by 64.3 percent to 5 closings
North Beach: condo sales fell by 4.7 percent to 82
Mid-Beach: condo sales dropped by 15.6 percent to 76
South Beach: condo sales decreased by nearly 17 percent to 216
Key Biscayne: condo sales rose by 9.5 percent to 46, while single-family home sales dropped by 50 percent to 6 closings
Fisher Island: condo sales dropped by 10 percent to 9

Miami coastal mainland
Unlike in Miami Beach, the single-family market performed better than the condo market on the coastal mainland, which includes Aventura, downtown Miami, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, South Miami, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay.

Overall residential sales still rose in the third quarter, year-over-year, up 4.6 percent to 4,045. The median sales price also increased by 4.8 percent to $330,000, according to the report.

Condo sales throughout the mainland inched up to 1,971 closings, an increase of only 1.1 percent. Sales of single-family houses jumped by 8.1 percent up to 2,074.

Condo sales have increased for five of the last six quarters, and the median sales price of condos has risen annually for more than three years, according to Miller’s analysis.

Here’s a breakdown of submarkets on the mainland:

Aventura: condo sales fell by 13.7 percent to 220
Downtown Miami: condo sales rose by 6.2 percent to 1,414, while single-family sales rose by 7.8 percent to 1,740
Brickell: condo sales dropped by 13.4 percent to 220 closings
Coconut Grove: condo sales jumped by 20 percent to 12 closings, while single-family home sales fell by one sale, down 9.1 percent to 10 closings
Coral Gables: condo sales decreased by 1.3 percent to 76 closings, while single-family home sales surged by 26.5 percent to 143
South Miami: single-family home sales increased by 13.6 percent to 25
Pinecrest: single-family home sales jumped by 35.3 percent to 69
Palmetto Bay: single-family home sales took a plunge, down 19.6 percent to 78

Fort Lauderdale
Residential sales remained stable year-over-year in Fort Lauderdale, a market that reported one less closing in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2019.

While condo sales fell by 4.1 percent, down to 490, home sales rose by the same percentage, up to 505. Luxury condo sales, defined as the upper 10 percent of the market, fell by one sale, and luxury home sales rose by eight sales, up 4.1 percent.

Boca Raton, Highland Beach
Residential sales increased slightly in Boca Raton and Highland Beach, up less than 1 percent for a total of 1,450 sales. Condo sales dropped to 748 closings, a 4.5 percent decline. Home sales increased to 702 closings, up 7.3 percent.

The median condo price decreased by 2.2 percent to $220,000, while the median single-family home price rose by 3.9 percent to $465,000.

Palm Beach
In Palm Beach, residential sales reported a 9.2 percent drop. The decline reflects stable home sales of 18 sales and an 11.6 percent drop in condo sales, down to 61. Even though the number of single-family home sales didn’t change, the prices clearly rose. The median price for single-family homes increased by a whopping 59 percent to nearly $5.9 million. Condo prices also surged, with the median price rising by nearly 22 percent to $535,000.

West Palm Beach
Condo sales fell in West Palm Beach, dragging down the overall residential market. Sales fell by 2.8 percent to 1,161. Condo sales reported a 5.6 percent drop to 662, while single-family home sales increased slightly, up 1.2 percent to 499.

Despite lackluster sales, the median prices of both condos and houses continued to rise, up 7.7 percent to $140,000 for condos and up 5.3 percent to $300,000 for houses.

The post South Florida Q3 resi sales a mixed bag, with inventory falling: Elliman appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

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This page was last updated at 9 a.m.

South Florida Q3 resi sales a mixed bag, with inventory falling. In Miami, Miami Beach and surrounding cities, sales generally rose in the third quarter, according to the newly released Elliman Reports, authored by Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel Inc. But elsewhere in the tri-county region, sales dropped or remained stagnant. [TRD]

Shoma Group launches lower-priced condo project near Lincoln Road. Amid the ongoing luxury market slowdown, Masoud Shojaee is launching sales of Ten30, a condo development near Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road. The relatively lower-priced units replace multimillion-dollar townhouses that were originally planned for the site. [TRD]

County Commissioner warns Miami Beach about roadblocks for Baylink transit project. The mayor of Miami Beach’s ordinance to increase the city’s control over transit projects would harm plans to build the Baylink project connecting Miami Beach to downtown Miami, Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins warned Miami Beach officials Wednesday. [Miami Herald]

Home foreclosures are dropping

Home foreclosures dropped nearly 20% in Q3, report shows. Overall, 143,105 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings from July through September. U.S. home foreclosures dropped sharply in the third quarter, with New York City, South Florida and Los Angeles all registering declines. [TRD]

West Palm Beach’s Rosemary Square and its lender are going to court. Rosemary Square in West Palm Beach and its lender Wells Fargo are heading to a federal trial on Oct. 23. The two are in a dispute over an appraisal needed for the refinancing of a $150 million loan at the entertainment center in the heart of West Palm Beach. [Palm Beach Post]

The post South Florida Q3 resi sales a mixed bag, with inventory falling, home foreclosures dropped nearly 20% in Q3: Daily digest appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.