Shops at Boca Center and Boca Raton Marriot

The Shops at Boca Center and related neighboring properties sold last week for $193.8 million.

WRC Properties LLC and 485 Properties LLC sold the Boca Raton site, located between Town Center Circle and South Miliary Drive, to Boca Center at Military LLC on Dec. 23. Combined total acreage for the site came out to 28.54 acres, according to property records.

The purchase includes parking, retail space, two office buildings, the Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center site and a McDonald’s restaurant.

The buyer, Boca Center at Military LLC, is tied to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, an indirect subsidiary of MassMutual, records show.

FHA rule benefiting home flippers expires Dec. 31.

A Federal Housing Administration rule meant to speed up the housing recovery expires today.

The policy, which went into effect in 2010, allowed home flippers to use FHA loans to buy properties, according to a December memo from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The National Association of Realtors lobbied for the program’s continuance and said it encouraged investors to renovate foreclosed and abandoned homes, the Palm Beach Post reported. However, a lack of oversight and monitoring of lenders was reported in a September inspector general report. [Palm Beach Post] — Katherine Kallergis

The Setai sold to the Nakash family for nearly $90 million.

Hospitality was a hot commodity this past year, as a host of hotel properties changed hands in South Florida.

From the legendary Bahia Mar and giant Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Broward County to the sedate One Bal Harbour, trendy Shore Club and elegant Setai in Miami Beach, buyers sought and bought hotel properties.

Here are five of the hottest deals in 2014:

Shore Club hotel

Shore Club

The year began with a change in ownership of the storied Shore Club hotel in South Beach, in a $175.3 million transaction. The 309-room hotel was constructed in 1938.

New York-based Philips South Beach filed a special warranty deed transferring ownership of the 1901 Collins Avenue property to another New York company, Shore Club Property Owner. Shore Club Property is managed by New York-based HFZ Capital Group, according to state corporate records. HFZ is a real estate development and investment firm founded nine years ago by Ziel Feldman.

Two mortgage assignments were filed concurrently with the deed. A $161 million loan from a group of lenders managed by Fortress Credit Corporation was assumed by Shore Club Property Owner. A second note totaling $12 million from the same group of lenders was also assigned to the company. Those mortgages were obtained by Philips South Beach in June 2013 to resolve a lengthy foreclosure case. The company, managed by private real estate development and management firm Philips International, faced an online foreclosure auction of the property if it did not obtain new financing. Philips International had a majority stake in the 2.7-acre property, which last sold for $8.8 million in 1997.

Bahia Mar

Bahia Mar

In July, a group of South Florida real estate investors purchased the iconic Bahia Mar Resort and Marina in Fort Lauderdale with plans to upgrade the waterfront property and add shops, restaurants and condos.

Miami real estate developers, brothers Jimmy and Kenny Tate, co-owners of Tate Capital, and longtime friend Sergio Rok, president of Rok Acquisitions, along with Rialto Capital Management and RCI Marine, paid an undisclosed price for a long-term lease on the 39-acre parcel. Blackstone Group had owned the lease on the property set on the Intracoastal Waterway across from a public beach.

Dating back to 1966, the Bahia Mar now includes a 250-slip marina that can accommodate mega-yachts of up to 230 feet. It also has a 297-room DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in two buildings — all of which will remain in place. The location, at 801 Seabreeze Blvd., will also continue to be the site of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a major economic driver for South Florida, Jimmy Tate said.

Redevelopment, which requires approval by the city of Fort Lauderdale, could bring improvements to the marina and hotel. The new owners are considering adding a condo-hotel, restaurants, shops and offices, all in a park-line setting lining the waterfront, he said.

The Tate/Rok group is the controlling member of the investment group buying the Bahia Mar lease, collectively owning a 57.5 percent stake. Rialto, a subsidiary of Lennar, holds 37.5 percent and RCI Marine, 5 percent.

During the past five years, the Tate/Rok Group has worked on at least 18 investments totaling more than $600 million. Among the deals, Tate said, was the purchase of a $160 million debt instrument on the Omni in Miami, for which they paid $100 million; a 500,000 square-foot lifestyle center in Birmingham, Alabama; a 228-unit apartment complex near New Orleans; a 216-unit apartment complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Publix shopping centers in Coral Springs and Nashville. Some of the deals included Jorge Perez, chairman of the Related Group, as a partner.

For the Bahia Mar deal, Tate/Rok invited Rialto Capital, which has experience in hotel ownership, into the deal. It is their second project together, following a new Walmart neighborhood grocery store under construction in Southwest Miami-Dade. Bahia Mar represents Tate/Rok’s first deal with RCI Marine, which owns and operates various marinas, including the Miami Beach Marina and the Coconut Grove Marina.

Blackstone acquired the Bahia Mar, along with other assets, in the $1.1 billion purchase of Boca Resorts in 2005. Boca Resorts had been founded by H. Wayne Huizenga in 1997. Other properties included in the sale to Blackstone were the Boca Raton Resort & Club and the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel and Marina.

For several years, Blackstone worked on putting together a $250 million plan to redevelop the Bahia Mar complex with a new five-star Waldorf-Astoria condo-hotel with up to 26 stories, a renovated hotel and a waterfront park. But it never came to fruition.

Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa

The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa

One Bal Harbour Resort

 One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

The Lionstone Group and Flag Luxury Group, owners of the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, announced in September that they were acquiring One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa from One Bal Harbour Hotel Facilities, an entity owned by the One Bal Harbour Residential Condominium Association. Financial details about the acquisition were not disclosed.

Ritz-Carlton started managing the One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa on Oct. 2, making the 124-suite property the operator’s 10th in Florida. No major refurbishing or renovations to the 18-story tower, located at 10295 Collins Avenue, were planned. It is now known as the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.

The resort’s amenities include a swimming pool, luxury cabanas with private hot tubs, a restaurant, pool bar and eatery and a 10,000-square-foot spa.

The Setai

The Setai

Marina Inn

 The Marina Inn property at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo has sold for $20 million, in one of the largest commercial real estate transactions at the exclusive club.

George Pino, president of State Street Realty, and William Dickinson, broker associate at Ocean Reef Club Real Estate Company, represented the buyer, Marina Inn Land, in the deal. Russell Post Sotheby’s International Realty represented the seller, according to GlobeSt.

The buyer plans to redevelop the Marina Inn site with 30 new luxury condo units. The three-acre property includes 750 feet of waterfront and currently consists of eight large two-bedroom rental properties.

Commercial real estate players have been active in the Florida Keys this year. In September, two beachfront resort and marina assets in Islamorada traded hands: The Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina at Holiday Isle; and the La Siesta Resort & Marina. And in August, a five-hotel portfolio in the Florida Keys was sold to Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties. The 516-room portfolio included the Courtyard Key Largo, Holiday Inn Key Largo, Marina Del Mar Resort & Marina, and Marriott Key Largo, as well as the Travelodge & Suites Bayside Resort in Key West, according to GlobeSt. [GlobeSt.] — Ina Cordle

If news breaks on the Internet, and nobody tweets about it, did it really happen? That’s the philosophical conundrum we face in this day and age. With that in mind, here are The Real Deal South Florida’s most popular Twitter stories of 2015.

#1  Par for the course: McIlroy buys more Palm Beach property
Recent British Open winner Rory McIlroy dropped $2 million in cash on a 10th floor penthouse at Ocean’s Edge at Singer Island.

#2  5 transit fixes downtown needs to accommodate new development
The Real Deal spoke with experts about the ways they think downtown Miami could improve its transportation options to accommodate all of the new development.

#3  Miami Heat clarifies Micky Arison’s lease announcement
In April, the Miami Heat tried to clear up owner Micky Arison’s premature announcement of an AmericanAirlines Arena lease renewal that would cost Miami-Dade County an additional $121 million in subsidies over the next 26 years.

#4  Dustin Johnson gets $5.2M for Jupiter mansion
Dustin Johnson had a legitimate reason for delisting his Jupiter mansion in November: the suspended golf star already had a deal in place to sell the property, The Real Deal learned.

#5  Dan Marino’s former pad listed for $2.95M
The former Parkland home of Miami Dolphin Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino hit the market in February for $2.95 million, which is what Marino himself paid for it in 2005.

Psst — do you follow us on Twitter? For up-to-the-minute news on South Florida’s real estate industry, follow us now! — Heather Grossmann

CEOs from left: Robert Sulentic, CBRE; David R. Lukes, Equity One; Sandeep Mathrani, General Growth Properties; Stuart Miller, Lennar; and Jeffrey C. Keil, St. Joe Co.

As the stock markets surged in 2014, so did the shares of many real estate related companies based in — or linked — to Florida.

The S&P 500 rose during the year from 1845.86 to 2,080.35, up 12.7 percent.

Here is a glimpse at five publicly traded real estate stocks and how they performed during 2014, through Dec. 30. The companies are either based in Florida or have major operations in the state. Only one of the companies’ shares sank during the year.

CBRE Group (CBG): The Los Angeles-based group operates as a commercial real estate services and investment company worldwide. Its shares opened this year at $26.27 and closed on Dec. 30 at $34.93, up 33 percent.

Equity One (EQY): The North Miami Beach-based real estate investment trust acquires, renovates, develops and manages neighborhood and community shopping centers. Its shares started the year at $22.31 and closed at $25.76 on Dec. 30, or 15.5 percent.

General Growth Properties (GGP): The Chicago-based firm owns, manages, leases and redevelops high-quality regional malls. The company owns various properties in South Florida, including Bayside Marketplace and the Village of Merrick Park, and this year became a minority investor in Miami’s Design District. Its shares opened in 2014 at $20.08 and closed on Dec. 30 at $28.52, jumping 42 percent.

Lennar Corp. (LEN): The Miami-based homebuilder’s shares opened the year at $39.16 and closed at $44.44 on Dec. 30, up 13.5 percent.

St. Joe Co. (JOE): The WaterSound, Florida- based real estate development company’s shares opened at $19.19 this year and closed at $18.67 on Dec. 30, down 2.7 percent.

Fashion Mall in Plantation, Florida.

Following the Chapter 7 liquidation of Fashion Mall in Plantation, bankruptcy trustee Kenneth Welt is looking to bring CBRE on to handle the sale of the 32.1-acre property.

Welt filed a motion to name CBRE as the site’s exclusive broker on Dec. 23, according to a published report. Eventually the property at 321 North University Drive will be auctioned off. 

“The trustee believes that the maximum value for these estates can be achieved through an organized and well-market process, culminating in the sale of the property,” Welt wrote in his motion, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

On Jan. 8 the bankruptcy judge will hear the motion. [South Florida Business Journal] – Heather Grossmann

In honor of the New Year holiday, we won’t be posting on Thursday (but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for breaking news). The Real Deal wishes you and your family a safe and happy holiday, and a joyous 2014! Be sure to check back here on Friday at 9 a.m. for the latest in real estate news.

Current reader favorites:
1. What top Miami brokers predict for 2015
2. Real estate’s most talked-about legal battles of 2014
3. Florida eclipses 40K new condo units milestone
4. Chinese affiliate buys Brickell site for $74.7M 
5. Nakash family buys South Beach’s Setai Hotel for $90M

Billionaire Jeff Greene, who has spent about $250 million on Palm Beach County real estate, recently sold 26 acres of industrial land along the Florida Turnpike.

Jeff Greene

Greene bought the land on Pike Road west in West Palm Beach for $5.35 million in March 2013 and reportedly sold it for $10.75 million to SunCap Property Group. The North Carolina company plans to develop the property into a FedEx distribution center, according to a published report.

Most of Greene’s properties consist of condos and office space, the Palm Beach Post reported. Greene told the Post the sale of the vacant land doesn’t reflect a change of plans for the rest of his properties in Palm Beach.

“Truthfully, it’s not in the core of what I’m doing,” he said. [Palm Beach Post] — Katherine Kallergis

3130 Northeast 43rd Street in Fort Lauderdale

Legacy Bank of Florida’s chairman and his wife recently sold their Fort Lauderdale house and purchased a lot to build a new home.

Dennis Bedley and Patricia Bedley, senior vice president of commercial lending at Legacy Bank, sold their 7,158-square-foot home at 3130 Northeast 43rd Street to Salesforce.com’s Anthony Fernicola for $4.3 million. The Bedleys bought the six-bedroom, six-bathroom house in October 2002 for $1.5 million, property records show.

They paid $465,000 on Dec. 19 for a 10,412-square-foot lot at 2305 Northeast 12th Court in Fort Lauderdale. — Katherine Kallergis

South Florida tenants spent $10.5 billion on rent in 2014, Zillow reported this week.

Nationally, tenants spent $441 billion on rent in 2014, up 4.9 percent from 2013. In the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, there were 775,000 renter households, an increase of 15,000 from 2013. South Florida tenants spent $10.5 billion in rent in 2014, a 7.7 percent rent change from 2013, according to the data.

New York and Northern New Jersey area renters topped off the list, spending nearly $50 billion on rent in 2014. Los Angeles tenants were second, spending $34 billion last year. — Katherine Kallergis

From left: Vornado Realty Trust’s Steven Roth and SL Green’s Stephen Green

Real estate investment trusts will likely continue to perform well in the new year, even though interest rates are poised to increase.

In 2014, REITs were some of the hottest stocks of the year, according to the Wall Street Journal. While changes to interest rates might cause a tough year for REITs — the lower the interest rate, the more attractive it is to invest in a REIT — experts told the newspaper that there are more factors at play.

In 2015, experts predict a stronger economy and more mergers and acquisitions activity, according to the newspaper. Those two factors could overshadow rising interest rates, analysts predicted. Thus, REITs may outperform the broader stock market even as the days of historically low rates starts to fade.

In 2014, real-estate stocks produced a total return of 32.3 percent including dividends, according to the FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index cited by the newspaper. That marks the highest total return since 2006, when the return on REITs was 35 percent. The S&P 500 stock index produced total returns of 14.9 percent last year. [WSJ] — Claire Moses

Holiday Inn at 3003 North University Drive in Sunrise

A Holiday Inn in Sunrise sold for $10.5 million on Dec. 31.

Beverly Hillls-based Latitude Management Real Estate Investors Inc. sold the 177,983-square-foot building to Sawgrass Grand Fee Owner LLC, according to Broward County records.

The property, located at 3003 North University Drive, last sold in December 2009 for $13.8 million. The hotel has 300 rooms and was built in 1987.

Sawgrass Fee Owner LLC secured a $9 million mortgage from First Key Lending on Dec. 30.

Jeff Krinsky is listed as a registered agent for the buyer. Krinsky is a principal of Carmichael Hospitality Partners LLC, a South Florida joint venture that focuses on the ownership and adaptive reuse of office buildings into full and limited service hotels. He’s also managing principal of Panther Capital Management, a diversified real estate company.

Met Square rendering

A silver screen in downtown Miami will see some gold, thanks to a loan from Ocean Bank. 

MDM Retail received the $42 million loan from the bank for its Met project in downtown Miami.

The loan will fund the project’s movie theater, which announced its groundbreaking in December 2010.

Silverspot Cinema will be housed in the 113,508-square-foot building on the northeast corner of Southeast Fourth Street and Southeast Third Avenue, the South Florida Business Journal reported. It will occupy 76,237 square feet in MDM’s Metropolitan Miami project.

The complex, which includes the JW Marriott Marquis hotel, is located at 333 and 345 Avenue of the Americas. Whole Foods market is also a main tenant. [South Florida Business Journal] — Katherine Kallergis

November construction spending in 2014 was 2.4 percent greater than in November 2013.

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce said Friday that U.S. construction spending during November 2014 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $975 billion, 0.3 percent below the revised October estimate of $977.7 billion.

The November figure is 2.4 percent above the November 2013 estimate of $952.5 billion.

During the first 11 months of the year, construction spending amounted to $884.6 billion, 5.7 percent above the $836.9 billion for the same period in 2013.

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $697.7 billion, 0.3 percent above the revised October estimate of $695.7 billion. Residential construction was progressing at an annual rate of $352.7 billion in November, 0.9 percent above the revised October estimate of $349.6 billion.

Nonresidential construction was on track for an annual rate of $345 billion in November, 0.3 percent below the revised October estimate of $346.1 billion.

In November, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $277.3 billion, 1.7 percent below the revised October estimate of $282 billion. — Ina Cordle

Regions Financial Tower

Regions Financial Tower in West Palm Beach’s mortgage was refinanced at the end of 2014.

Weston-based Florida Community Bank provided a $14 million mortgage to Tower 1555, the owner of the 15-story office building at 1555 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.

The property’s previous mortgage of $13.53 million was due Feb. 15, according to the South Florida Business Journal. It was current on payments, but the commercial mortgage-backed securities  firm that held the loan placed it into special servicing because it was concerned that it wouldn’t be repaid in time, according to Trepp LLC. The building is 67 percent occupied.

Regions Financial Tower has 314,441 square feet, with 174,367 square feet leasable. It was last purchased for $12.88 million in 2005.

Tower 1555 LLC is managed by E. Llwyd Ecclestone III – the son of PGA National’s developer – John Ecclestone, Lisa Erdmann, Nannette Gammon, Wendy Mendelsohn, and Helena Leyendecker.  [South Florida Business Journal] — Ina Cordle  

Clockwise from left: 949 Hillsboro Mile Beach, 3701 Northeast 27th Terrace, 300 South Pointe Drive, 9490 Bent Grass Court

The top three most expensive listings to hit each of the tri-county real estate markets – Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach – over the past week ranged from $3.3 million to more than $27 million, according to Zillow data. Miami-Dade had the priciest property and a Palm Beach condo was at the low end. 

Miami-Dade

50 South Pointe Drive, #801 in Miami Beach

#1 A Continuum condo at 50 South Pointe Drive was listed for $27.8 million. Unit # 801 has six bedrooms, eight bathrooms and was built in 2008. The 7,200-square-foot condo comes with a movie theater and game room. Keith Marks and Sonia Toth of Primus Investment Group have the listing.

300 South Pointe Drive in Miami Beach

#2 This multi-level penthouse at 300 South Pointe Drive is on the market for $10 million. South Pointe Properties’ Christian Brandl has the listing for unit #LP4004. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom condo has 4,100 square feet.

19505 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach

#3 A four-bedroom, six-bathroom Regalia condo in Sunny Isles Beach was listed for $8.9 million. DSM Ventures’ Shiro Moree has the listing for 19505 Collins Avenue, unit #7. It has 7,615 square-feet, four bedrooms and six baths.

Palm Beach

9490 Bent Grass Court in Delray Beach

#1 A two-and-a-half acre Delray Beach estate is listed for $4.6 million. The seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion is located at 9490 Bent Grass Court. It includes an outdoor summer kitchen and a separate guest house. The 9,226-square-foot home was rebuilt in 2008. The land last sold in 2005 for $1.3 million. Bambi Ross of Premier Estate Properties has the listing.

1200 Royal Palm Way in Boca Raton

#2  This colonial-style Boca Raton home was put on the market for nearly $4 million. The intracoastal  home was built in 1990 and was last sold in December 2013 for $2.9 million. It has four bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms and 5,350 square feet. Royal Palm Properties’ David Roberts has the listing for the house at 1200 Royal Palm Way.

3000 South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach

#3 A condo unit at 3000 South Ocean Boulevard was listed for $3.3 million. The Palm Beach oceanfront home has three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. Unit #508 was last sold in March 2008 for $2.4 million. Douglas Elliman’s  Niki Higgins has the listing for the 3,219 square-foot condo.

Broward County

1300 Brickell Drive in Fort Lauderdale

#1  This Fort Lauderdale mansion was listed for $14.5 million. The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house is located at 1300 Brickell Drive.  It has 8,488 square feet and was last sold in June 2004 for nearly $5 million. Julie Jones-Bernard of Florida Luxurious Properties has the listing.

949 Hillsboro Mile Beach in Hillsboro Beach

#2 Among this Hillsboro Beach  home’s features is an art deco-inspired media room with a bar. The five-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate at 949 Hillsboro Mile is listed for $7.5 million. The house, built in 1969, has 6,055 square-feet and a third-floor master suite. Premier Estate Properties has the listing.

3701 Northeast 27th Terrace in Lighthouse Point

#3 Douglas Elliman’s David Suah has the listing for a house in Lighthouse Point. The 8,068-square-foot home has five bedrooms and five-an- a-half bathrooms. It’s on the market for $4.5 million and is located at 3701 Northeast 27th Terrace.

Commercial real estate has historically been a man’s game, but women have made significant inroads in recent years — not just in sales, leasing and development, but also in other disciplines that comprise the field, including finance, legal, development, insurance and engineering.

“We’re finding that there are so many more women coming into this type of career than there were five years ago. A lot more. I can safely say it’s doubled,” said Karyl Argamasilla, president of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Miami and an attorney in Bilzin Sumberg’s real estate group.

CREW Miami offers a mentoring program with education partners the University of Miami and Florida International University in which members talk to students in all real estate-related disciplines (e.g., MBA, law, architecture). Argamasilla noted that “when we started five years ago, it was always men. There may have been one or two women in the audience, and they would really stand out. But now it’s more like half and half.” Scroll through The Real Deal’s slideshow to learn about the women who made waves in the Miami commercial real estate arena in 2014.

Is there someone you think we missed? Email southfloridanews@therealdeal.com and if the candidate meets our criteria, we will include them in our Facebook slideshow.