Dadeland Centre I

The Miami-based Green Companies obtained a $31 million refinancing for Dadeland Centre I, an office tower in Miami.

New York Life Real Estate Investors is the lender, according to a press release. HFF arranged the loan for the 130,000-square-foot, Class A office tower.

Dadeland Centre, at 9155 South Dadeland Boulevard, is adjacent to the Dadeland South Miami Metrorail Station. It features hurricane resistant glass, 400 covered parking spaces, and skyline and water views. Owners are investing $500,000 into renovating the office building’s interiors. 

HFF’s Paul Stasaitis, Jose Carrazana, Maxx Carney and Cecily Nazario arranged the loan.

“Capital providers held a very positive view of this loan request, essentially for many of the same reasons tenants enjoy a presence at the property, including a highly desirable transit-oriented location, dedicated hands-on ownership/management, and high-level building quality,” Stasaitis said in a statement.

Sales information for the building was not available in Miami-Dade property records. The Green Companies‘ developments include Datran I and II, the Towers of Dadeland and the Greenery Mall. — Katherine Kallergis

Teresa King Kinney and Errol Samuelson

Miami Association of Realtors brokers will now be able to market their properties directly on Zillow, thanks to a new agreement with the Zillow Group.

Using the Zillow Data Dashboard, brokers can update listings within 15 minutes and ensure that they are in sync with the MLS data, according to a press release.

“Miami is one of the leading global cities worldwide and continues to attract new residents, second home buyers and investors from the U.S and internationally, so it is extremely important that we facilitate marketing and exposure for our members and their properties,” Miami Association of Realtors CEO Teresa King Kinney said in the press release.

Participating brokerages will be “prominently displayed” as the listing agent on all of their listings and have access to leads directly from Zillow and Trulia. Brokerages will also receive attribution, branding, a link back directly to their website.

“Members will benefit from the ability to have their listing refreshed up to every 15 minutes, home sellers will have their listings in front of a highly engaged, transaction-ready audience, and home buyers will have access to South Florida’s large and diverse inventory of homes and an easy way to connect with a local real estate expert,” Errol Samuelson, Zillow Group chief industry development officer, said. — Katherine Kallergis

Kirk Kerkorian and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

From the New York website: Billionaire real estate investor and former MGM mogul Kirk Kerkorian died Monday night at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 98.

Kerkorian, who grew up poor in Fresno, Calif., with Armenian immigrant parents, went on to become one of America’s wealthiest real estate players. His net worth stood at $16 billion as recently as 2008, according to Forbes — though that number had since fallen to around $4 billion. Kerkorian’s investments particularly changed the face of Las Vegas, where he built the city’s largest hotel on three separate occasions – most recently the MGM Grand in 1993.

Kerkorian was a brawling amateur boxer, a daredevil pilot and a high-stakes poker player before making his career in real estate. He counted Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant among his close friends, and established a reputation for being media-shy and reclusive.

Among his higher-profile real estate plays included buying and selling MGM three times and similarly flipping his Trans International Airlines on several occasions. In 2000, he made an unsolicited and successful bid for Steve Wynn’s Mirage Resorts, which he acquired in a $4.4 billion cash deal.

He also counted legendary magnate Howard Hughes among his business rivals, and sold MGM to Ted Turner for $1.5 billion in 1986 before buying back the company – sans its film library – from Turner for only $300 million one year later. [NYT] – Rey Mashayekhi

Midtown Miami Residences recently hosted a Midtown happy hour for brokers, which included a tour of new residences.

More than 60 brokers attended #MidtownAppHour and the tour of three new condos at 4 Midtown and Midblock. Food and beverages were provided by nearby restaurants, including Novecento Midtown, Riviera Focacceria Italiana, Concrete Beach Brewery, and Ferllen Winery.

In April, Midtown saw its priciest condo trade hands for $2.15 million. The unit is a penthouse in the Midtown 4 condo tower at 3301 Northeast 1st Avenue. 

Miami’s Midtown will expand by nearly seven acres of land thanks to developer Alex Vadia’s plans for a new residential, retail and restaurant project just east of the existing Midtown. In April, commissioners approved street closures for the development. — Katherine Kallergis and Sean Stewart-Muniz

851 Northeast 167th Street in North Miami Beach

An office building in North Miami Beach recently sold at a premium, joining a handful of commercial properties along Northeast 167th Street.

The three-story, 45,728-square-foot building, at 851 Northeast 167th Street, sold for $5.6 million, according to a deed recorded in Miami-Dade County records on Tuesday.

Osheroff Investments, a company tied to local investor Marc A. Osheroff, sold the 2-acre site to Echad Holdings, which lists Chaim and Aviva Druin in its corporate records.

The building, constructed in 1969, last sold for $1.8 million in June 2006, according to Miami-Dade property records.

In May, Grand Island Place I, a two-building, eight-story apartment complex at 1551 Northeast 167th Street sold for $16.5 million — nearly three times its last sale price of $6 million in July 2010. Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences, on 172nd Street and Biscayne Boulevard, is a 468-unit development in North Miami Beach, set to begin recording closings this summer.

A shot of AquaLuna as it stands today (left) and a rendering of what the project will look like when completed (right).

AquaLuna, an upcoming condo complex in Fort Lauderdale, has topped off just three months after breaking ground.

Developed by Ocean Land Investments, the five-story project will house 16 units when completed in spring 2016. So far 12 units have been sold, with prices ranging from $1.35 million to $3.75 million. Included the cost of each unit is a boat slip, which can house up to a 36-foot yacht.

Jean Francois Roy, president of Ocean Land Investments

The residences range from 2,573 square feet to 5,717 square feet, and all are non-smoking except for balcony spaces.

“The waterfront location with a boat slip included in the purchase of a residence has also been a key selling point for our buyers who want to embrace an active lifestyle,” Ocean Land President Jean Francois Roy said in a statement.

Roy told The Real Deal in March that his firm is working on four condo towers under the “Aqua” moniker, three of which are being developed along the canals fronting East Las Olas Boulevard.

Those include AquaVita, which topped off earlier this year; AquaMar, which will break ground sometime this year; and AquaBlu, which launched sales in March. — Sean Stewart-Muniz

Credit: Sudanshu Goyal

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.

Ah, dear old Dad! Always there for a kind word, sage advice, or just a friendly game of catch. As we celebrate Father’s Day 2015 in the Magic City, let’s pay homage to some of Miami’s most well-known father-child combinations in the worlds of business and real estate — and the numbers that illustrate their legacies and accomplishments:

102 years: Since the death of oil, railroad and hotel magnate Henry Flagler, generally recognized as the Father of both Miami and Palm Beach. [Palm Beach Post]

$2 million: Net worth of Jeb Bush in 1998, when he was elected Governor of Florida. As Mr. Bush attempts to follow in his father’s (and brother’s) footsteps by announcing his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, some of the Miami resident’s past business dealings have come under scrutiny. [NYT]

30 years old: Age of Nick Arison (son of Carnival Cruise Lines and Miami Heat owner Micky Arison) when he became the basketball team’s CEO. The junior Arison is uniformly respected and admired within the NBA by players and executives alike, to the point where “Micky is becoming known around the league as Nick’s dad,” according to league commissioner David Silver. [Bloomberg]

4 million: Square feet of real estate owned by The Related Group in India. The company’s India operations are overseen by vice president Jon Paul Perez (son of Related founder Jorge Perez) who also directs some of the company’s projects in South Florida. The two work closely together — but Jon Paul does not seem to share his father’s famous passion for art. [The Real Deal]

$3 billion: Amount currently under development by Miami’s Terra Group, owned by father-son team David and Pedro Martin. The company has a highly diversified portfolio of South Florida real estate projects underway, including luxury condos and mixed-use and single-family projects. According to Master Broker Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, who has worked with both Martins, “I think the father has more of the caution of a very good lawyer. David is careful, too, but he’s also very much an entrepreneur. He has that clear, focused, driving vision of an entrepreneur.” [Miami Herald]

This column is produced by the Master Brokers Forum, a network of South Florida’s elite real estate professionals where membership is by invitation only and based on outstanding production, as well as ethical and professional behavior.

Rendering of the Palm Beach Outlets

Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach has landed a massive $165 financing deal from an unnamed institutional investor.

News of the deal comes just three weeks after the shopping center was purchased for a staggering $278 million, marking the second-most-expensive commercial deal in Palm Beach County’s history.

Its new owners, New England Development and a fund managed by Clarion Partners, used a portion of the loan to make the acquisition. The rest of the funds are described as “long-term, fixed-rate loan” that cover both the existing 459,633-square-foot shopping center, and land that will house a future development with 105,000 square feet of retail space.

The loan comes from Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, which worked on behalf of an unnamed institutional investment. Cornerstone has offices around the world, and manages more than $47 billion in assets, according to its website.

Riaz Cassum and Chris Drew of HFF represented the borrower for the deal, according to a press release.

Palm Beach Outlets was built in 2014 on the site of the former Palm Beach Mall. The mall became troubled near the end of its lifetime, and was even the scene of a murder before closing in 2010. It was sold for $35.5 million a year later to a group that included Eastern Real Estate and Lubert-Adler, as well as New England Development. The team redeveloped the property into the Palm Beach Outlets, which has enjoyed a strong lease rate of 96 percent and is anchored by Saks Off 5th Avenue.

The new complex is considered a hugely successful redevelopment, and its recent sale is an example of Palm Beach County’s strengthening retail market. — Sean Stewart-Muniz

Bay Harbor Islands survey map

The Miami Dade Historic Preservation Board unveiled its long anticipated East Island Historic Resource Survey at a crowded and contentious public hearing on Wednesday in Bay Harbor Islands.

The survey, which evaluated 264 structures on East Island, found 48 immediately eligible for historic designation, and 78 others eligible if such a district were established. The survey also found 138 buildings not meeting the criteria for historic designation.

The results were made public at a hearing held in Bay Harbor Islands. The twin island city has been the focus of recent battles over the proposed demolition of the Bay Harbor Continental, a 1958 cooperative apartment house that was granted historic designation earlier this year – a designation the city and a majority of its owners are seeking to overturn. They city’s West Island, which is made up exclusively of single-family homes, was not included in the survey.

Preservationists said that many of the buildings that the survey found to have historic significance on East Island are at risk of being demolished by developers. A county survey found 18 buildings in the town had recently been torn down with another 19 approved for demolition.

The island is home to scores of structures – mostly apartment houses that were built in what came to be known as Miami Modern, or MiMo, featuring delicate concrete screening, geometric design and decorative outdoor stairways and balconies.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Historic Preservation Board Chairman Mitch Novick urged his fellow board members to act on the survey by approving a historic designation report, the next step in the historic designation process. But board members, in part responding to angry residents, instead voted to hold workshops on the survey and bring the issue back before the board in September.

Many residents said that designating their buildings historic would lower the value of their properties and make them more difficult to sell – something County historic preservation officers dispute.

Bay Harbor Islands Mayor Jordan Leonard, whose family has lived in the city for 61 years, and who opposes historic designation for East Island, said the city has already lost 4 percent of its buildings because owners have torn down many of their buildings fearing historic designation.

A rendering of SkyRise Miami

1. SkyRise Miami wins request to join court fight against Regalado, Braman [Miami Herald]
2. Giant Coral Gables project gets go ahead from commission [Miami Today]
3. Revealed: A leaked copy of the Lincoln Road master plan by James Corner Field Operations [The Next Miami]
4. Will major homebuilding merger trigger industry-altering trend? [ConstructionDIVE]

— Sean Stewart-Muniz

Current reader favorites:
1. Phil Collins picks up J. Lo’s former Miami Beach manse for $33M
2. Delta Air president buys Ritz-Carlton condo in Riviera Beach
3. Take a look: Brickell City Centre’s construction progress
4. Flagler Street building in downtown Miami sells at premium
5. Oceanfront eco-resort planned for Islamorada

Wynwood Walls (Credit: Dan Lundberg)

A plan that proponents claim will make it easier for property owners and developers to build mixed-use, residential projects in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood while preserving its eclectic character cleared its first hurdle.

At its regular meeting last night, the city of Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board unanimously approved a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations that would eliminate most industrial uses and allow denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood. The recommendations still need to be finalized by the city commission.

Currently, property owners and developers are required to file individual applications to change industrial designations for Wynwood parcels. About 104 acres would go from industrial to general commercial use, while the remaining acreage (which is already zoned commercial) will be permitted more intense residential uses.

The board also recommended approving Wynwood as the city’s first Neighborhood Revitalization District, which will encourage builders to create wider sidewalks, pedestrian walkways within large projects, provide financial incentives to developers who preserve warehouses, and make it easier to construct affordable housing.

A rendering of Goldman Properties’ proposed parking garage in Wynwood

Joseph Furst, Wynwood director for Goldman Properties, one of the largest landowners in the neighborhood, hailed the plan as a solution to the piecemeal rezoning requests that have taken place in the last two years.

“This is the most exciting thing to happen to the neighborhood that all of us poured our hearts into,” Furst said. “We have created incredible momentum. Now it’s time to create a place we can call home.”

Jonathon Yormak, a principal with Madison Avenue-based real estate investment firm East End Capital, told board members the zoning changes would allow his company to quickly move forward with two development sites he and his partners have planned in Wynwood. East End, along with Yellow Side Ventures, owns seven acres in the neighborhood and already broke ground on a 23,500-square-foot retail and restaurant project located on Northwest 23rd Street, just west of North Miami Avenue. East End and Yellow Side paid $5.3 million for the site last year.

“We believe Wynwood is destined to be a place where millennials will relocate and where knowledge based users want to be,” Yormak said. “We want to build affordable housing, but the existing zoning doesn’t allow you to do that.”

For the past 18 months, property owners and other neighborhood stakeholders provided input to members of the Wynwood Business Improvement, its consulting firm PlusUrbia, and the city’s planning and zoning staff on how to create the Neighborhood Revitalization District, said Steven Wernick, a Miami-based land use lawyer at Akerman LLP who assisted in the plan’s development.

During the development of the plan, they evaluated neighborhoods around the country and Canada that transformed from industrial uses to commercial and residential uses such as Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the Pearl District in Portland, and Yaletown in Vancouver, Wernick said.

“The goal is to allow for mixed use developments that will really help bring Wynwood to the next level,” he said. ‘These changes will allow for multifamily uses, offices, and a host of other commercial uses that will turn the neighborhood into a place you can live, work and play in.”

At the same time, Wynwood would retain its edgy aesthetic by giving developers incentives to preserve the existing inventory of properties. “It still encourages the arts and hosting events, keeping with Wynwood’s character,” he said. “This has been a model initiative in that the development community, the people in the neighborhood and city have come together to collaborate and compromise.”

Miami skyline

Investors and developers looking for distressed condominiums to convert into apartment buildings will have a harder time doing so in Florida.

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott signed a new law that grants a slate of new protections for property owners who don’t want to sell their units, but are being forced to sell.

The number of optional condominium terminations rose during the downturn because developers that owned a majority of units in a condominium development wanted to convert to rental apartments or sell the property for conversion to rentals, said Jeffrey Margolis, a Fort Lauderdale-based partner at law firm Berger Singerman. He added that condominium terminations also occur in older condominiums where the unit owners receive an offer to sell an entire condominium to a developer.

Jeffrey Margolis

“The new law is a disincentive for investors and developers,” Margolis said. “It could make [condo terminations] economically unfeasible for them.”

For example, if a bulk owner owns 80 percent of the units in a condominium, the owners of the other 20 percent must be compensated at least the fair market value of their units or the original purchase price paid for the unit, even if the current value is lower. But the owners must be current with their assessment fees and mortgage payments.

In the case of a unit owner whose unit was granted homestead exemption, the bulk owner must pay an additional relocation payment in an amount equal to 1 percent of the termination proceeds allocated to the non-bulk owner’s unit.

The law passed with overwhelming support in the state Senate and state House because it was viewed as protecting consumers. Following the 2008 crash, developers and bulk condo buyers amassing a majority of the units at empty condo buildings would seek to terminate condo associations, a practice that has led some homeowners to lose title to their units against their will.

“There was a negative impact to people who were being thrown out of their units and not getting what the unit was worth,” Margolis said. “The law could give potential single unit buyers peace of mind that they won’t be subject to a condo termination without being adequately compensated.”

The law also places additional burdens on bulk owners by preventing a plan of termination from becoming effective if the first mortgages for all the unit owners have not been paid off. In addition, a bulk owner will have to wait 18 months to offer a second plan of termination if the first one is rejected by the individual unit owners.

The changes, which are effective immediately, makes optional terminations of a condominium more difficult, Margolis said. “Although the new legislation was intended to help unit owners in a distressed condominium facing termination, the legislation may have the unintended consequence of hurting unit owners by making making it more expensive to terminate distressed condominiums,” he explained.

Rendering of Miami Worldcenter

Added to the massive Miami Worldcenter development is a planned multifamily component, The Real Deal has learned.

Newgard Development Group has filed new plans with the city of Miami for a mixed-use tower within Worldcenter, according to a press release. The tower, previously reported as a hotel or condominium development, will be apartments, sources told TRD.

The city of Miami granted site plan approval in May for the first phase of the 27-acre mixed-use development.

News of the partnership with Newgard comes as developers settle pending lawsuits against the project. This week, developer Art Falcone settled a lawsuit with former commercial broker, now investor, Edie Laquer. And earlier in June, Grand Central Lounge and the Omni/Park West Redevelopment Association, which fought Miami Worldcenter through lawsuits for months, voluntarily dismissed their suits against developers.

“Miami Worldcenter is in the final stretch of the planning and approval process, with construction set to begin in the third quarter of this year,” Nitin Motwani, managing principal of Miami Worldcenter Associates, said in the press release.

Worldcenter will include a $750 million Marriott Marquis hotel and adjacent expo center, residential tower Paramount Miami Worldcenter, and a 765,000-square-foot retail component, the latter of which will be developed by the Forbes Company and Taubman.

In a Goldman Sachs report dated June 11, analysts said competition from Brickell City Centre, which has its own major retail component a few miles away, prevented Worldcenter from being a “slam-dunk development.” That, coupled with their late start on “significant pre-leasing,” lead the Sachs analysts to believe Taubman has “the potential to not go forward with (sic) World Center.”

“The teams at Forbes and Taubman are seeing strong interest among brands looking to establish a presence in downtown Miami and that excitement will only intensify as construction goes vertical in the coming months,” Nate Forbes, managing partner of the Forbes Company, said in the press release. “Retailers are gravitating toward Miami Worldcenter’s accessibility, architectural design and strong sponsorship.”

A graph of national foreclosure rates

Despite a continued trend of national decreases, Miami saw a jump in foreclosure activity during May, according to a RealtyTrac report.

Miami saw an annual increase of 17 percent in foreclosure activity, marking the 10th greatest jump in the United States. One in every 347 homes in the city is in foreclosure, slightly lower than Florida’s rate of one in every 409 homes.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac

The report attributed May’s increase to a jump in bank repossessions, especially in Florida, which saw a 63 percent growth compared to May 2014. Yet again, the state leads the nation with more than 22,000 homes in foreclosure.

Though repossessions, foreclosure starts and auctions continue their downward trend, they have a long way to go before they reach pre-crisis levels.

“May foreclosure numbers are a classic good news-bad news scenario, with the number of homeowners starting the foreclosure process stabilizing at pre-housing crisis levels but the number of homeowners actually losing their homes to foreclosure still well above pre-crisis levels and on the rise,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, in a statement. “Lenders and courts are pushing through stubborn foreclosure cases that have been languishing in foreclosure limbo for years as options to prevent foreclosure are exhausted or left untapped.” — Sean Stewart-Muniz

Key West

Seeking to address the need for an estimated 3,000 affordable housing units in Key West, city officials will begin negotiating for the purchase of an affordable housing complex in the pricey Old Town area, The Real Deal has learned.

Negotiations for the Peary Court complex, a 160-unit property, were authorized unanimously by the Key West City Commission on Tuesday.

Peary Court

Peary Court, formerly U.S. Navy-owned housing, was acquired by developer White Street Partners for $35 million in 2013. In April however, White Street scrapped a plan to demolish all 160 homes and replace them with upscale housing in the face of strong community opposition. The company still has an application in with the the city to build 48 additional affordable homes.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Key West Commissioner Jimmy Weekley, who sponsored the resolution to negotiate for Peary Court, raised the specter of White Street renewing its broader redevelopment push.

“We could either not do anything and let them turn it into $1 million condos and displace 160 families, or we can attempt to negotiate to purchase the property,” he said.

Jim Hendrick, whose Critical Concern Consultants is doing White Street’s planning work, told TRD that the developer is open to negotiating.

“As Ross Perot said, ‘we’re all ears,’” Hendrick said. “There have been some exploratory discussions with city staff, who are very pragmatic about the whole process.”

A city purchase of the 24.5-acre site, which is located in the northeast portion of Old Town between Palm Avenue, White Street and Angela Street, would be accomplished through a bond issuance, Weekley said. The purchase price would need to be low enough for the city to make its monthly payments with rent collected from Peary Court residents. The Key West Housing Authority has agreed that it would manage the housing complex for the city, Weekley said.

Under the Key West charter, city residents would have to approve an acquisition of Peary Court in a referendum. Tuesday’s resolution directs city staff to make a recommendation about the potential purchase to the commission within 90 days. Weekley said he hopes the report comes sooner to allow for a referendum in October if a purchase is feasible.

Fifty-one percent of households in the Keys are cost-burdened, according to a study released recently by Florida State University, meaning that they pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent or mortgage.

Auberge Beach Residences & Spa hosted a private dinner with developers and partners recently. Wine from Napa Valley’s Far Niente Winery was served, and Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale provided test drives along A1A in Fort Lauderdale.

The Miami-based Related Group and Fortune International Group are partnering with Fort Lauderdale-based Fairwinds Group on the 171-unit beachfront condo development in Fort Lauderdale. The 4.6-acre site at 2200 North Atlantic Boulevard will include a spa, restaurant and resort amenities. Nichols, Brosch, Wurst, Wolf & Associates is the architect for the project, which will have prices in the $1000’s per square foot.

Construction is slated to begin later this year. Auberge Resorts will reportedly manage the project. — Katherine Kallergis and Sean Stewart-Muniz

Michael Stern and properties in South Beach

A company tied to New York City-based JDS Development Group paid a combined $15 million for two properties in Miami Beach, more than 17 times their last combined sales. 

Monad Terrace Property Owner paid $9.8 million for a single-family home and $5.225 million for an apartment building across the street in South Beach. Both properties, south of the Waverly South Beach condo tower, are zoned for multifamily development.

The single-family home, at 1365 Monad Terrace, is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom single-story house. The 3,500-square-foot parcel last sold for $300,000 in 2006, according to Miami-Dade County property records. The house was built in 1940. Irit Aviv is the seller.

A bayfront four-unit apartment building across the street, at 1370 Monad Terrace, last sold for $565,000 in 2000, records show. The two-story building was constructed in 1955 and sits on a 5,120-square-foot lot. Exitphoto L.C. is the seller.

JDS Development founder Michael Stern is listed on the buyer’s corporate records. In New York, Stern is co-developing, together with Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group, a super tall residential tower at 111 West 57th Street without union labor. The skyscraper — which will rise approximately 1,400 feet — will have 55 full-floor units expected to sell for more than $6,000 per square foot.

The Hilton Garden Inn at 14501 Hotel Road in Miramar

A hotel in Miramar was just sold to a Kentucky-based hospitality group for $22 million.

Schulte Hospitality Group, in their second South Florida purchase this month, picked up the 149-room Hilton Garden Inn at 14501 Hotel Road. Garden Inn is Hilton’s mid-scale chain that operates around the world.

The property’s previous owner, an affiliate of Cleveland-based MEI Hotels, first bought the four-acre parcel for $1.5 million from a local company led by Realtor Bradley A. Duber.

MEI built the 82,393-square-foot Hilton in 2002, and opened its doors shortly after.

Schulte also purchased a Holiday Inn Express in Doral for $16 million last week, which brings their hotel holdings in Florida to four properties.

From left: 50 Cent and Howard Lorber

From the New York website: We don’t know what you’ve heard about Howard Lorber, but one of 50 Cent’s most recent tweets has The Real Deal thinking he may be a rap aficionado.

TRD recently spotted the Douglas Elliman chair hanging out with the hip-hop superstar.

Me and NY Real Estate MOGUL Howard Lorber talking Big business. #SMSAUDIO #EFFENVODKA #FRIGO pic.twitter.com/CMjVmtY1UW

— 50cent (@50cent) June 17, 2015

We’re not exactly sure what brought these two moneymakers together, but it does have us wondering: is this a rap/real estate mashup in the making? — Kerry Barger