Bath Club and Fernando Fischmann (Credit: Fernando Meza Albornoz)

Biochemist and real estate developer Fernando Fischmann purchased an oceanfront villa at the Bath Club Residences in Miami Beach, county records show.

Fischmann, who’s known for creating the artificial lagoon system Crystal Lagoons, paid $7.5 million or $1,319 per square foot for unit 3006. Bath Club Villa 6, managed by Michael Konig, sold the 5,685-square-foot villa, according to a deed filed in Miami-Dade County on Monday.

Fischmann founded Crystal Lagoons, which uses a combination of disinfection pulses and ultrasonic filtration system. SoLē Mia, the planned 183-acre mixed-use project in North Miami, will have South Florida’s first patented lagoon. The Soffer-LeFrak joint venture will feature a 10-acre Crystal Lagoon, developers announced in October. He purchased the Bath Club villa through a Nassau, Bahamas-based LLC, Pamela Namaste LLC.

Fischmann’s new unit includes three bedrooms, five bathrooms and one half-bath, according to Miami-Dade property records. The detached villa comes with a private pool, elevator and a third-floor game room. It last sold for $5.5 million in 2008, and for $6.2 million when the property opened.

Nelson Gonzalez of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell was the listing agent, according to the MLS. It was listed for $7.9 million.

Located at 5959 Collins Avenue, the Residences at the Bath Club was developed by Don Peebles and completed in 2006. Peebles sold all 107 units and six oceanfront villas by the time it opened. He also had plans for the Bath Club Estates, at 6747 Collins Avenue, but ended up selling the development site to China City Construction Company and American Da Tang Group for $38.5 million in October.

Ofizzina 1200 has attracted international buyers for its office condos.

From the October issue: When the accounting firm Gerson, Preston, Robinson & Co. decided two years ago to sell its Miami Beach headquarters of 56 years, the partners carefully compared the costs of buying space to those of renting.

In the end, an office condo seemed to be the logical choice. “We like the idea of owning our space and building the equity ourselves,” said partner Alan A. Lips. After paying $2.7 million for 12,000 square feet at 4770 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami and investing $1.5 million more to renovate it, the firm is moving in this fall.

“If you look out 15 or 20 years, I can tell you with confidence that our overall cost of owning will be less than the cost of rental under a normal commercial lease,” said Lips, contrasting the bite of the expected annual rent increase with the benefit of paying off a mortgage and just incurring fees and taxes.

All around South Florida, a wave of office buildings being marketed as condos is emerging as financial firms, private companies and other businesses increasingly opt to buy their own spaces. Developers are luring investors with sleek new office-condo towers and selling entire floors in the preconstruction phase. [more]

The Doral Commons office property at 8550 Northwest 33rd Street

The same Miami investor that went on an $80 million real estate shopping spree earlier this year just dropped $13.1 million on an office property in Doral, more than double what it last sold for in 2011.

Bonbon Realty LLC, which is managed by Arnold Wax, paid $219 per square foot for the Doral Commons office building at 8550 Northwest 33rd Street in a deal that closed on Thursday.

Wax is a private investor who lives on Williams Island. Last year, he inked a massive $80.75 million deal to sell off six rental properties in Manhattan and turned his attention to South Florida. He lead a group of investors in May on a veritable shopping spree, picking up office properties everywhere between North Miami and Palm Beach Gardens.

Joshua Dubin, the investor’s legal counsel and partner, told The Real Deal at the time that Wax was looking to pick up long-term investments with those purchases.

The seller for this deal was a fund managed by TA Associates Realty, an investment advisory firm based in Boston. TA manages roughly 91 million square feet of commercial space and 12,300 residential units across the United States, according to its website.

Benjamin Silver and Douglas Mandel of Marcus & Millichap

Doral Commons is a four-story building with 59,727 square feet of space, 98 percent of which is currently leased. Windhaven Insurance occupies more than half the building.

It was last sold in 2011 for $6.25 million, or $104 per square foot. That means TA cleared a $6.85 million premium over what they paid only four years ago.

Both sides of the deal were represented by Douglas Mandel and Benjamin Silver of commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap. The two were helped out by leasing agents Tere Blanca, Danet Linares and Andres del Corral of Blanca Commercial Real Estate.

“Doral has risen substantially on the interest scale across all sectors, driving transactions and pricing upward. Demand for office space will continue to grow as community-centric and residential projects continue to transform Doral into one of the most important markets in the country,” Mandel said in a statement. — Sean Stewart-Muniz

Marina Palms north tower

Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences, in North Miami Beach is now recording closings at its north tower. 

Rendering of Marina Palms

The Plaza Group and DevStar Group are developing the two 25-story tower project on 172nd Street and Biscayne Boulevard. The north tower, which topped off in January, is sold out and the south tower is 80 percent sold, according to a press release. The north tower was slated to open in the summer, developers said earlier this year.

A declaration of condominium for the north tower was recorded in Miami-Dade County on Friday. When both buildings are completed, Marina Palms will have 468 residences.

In March, the developers closed on an $87 million construction loan for the second tower. The project marks the first luxury condo development with a yacht club and marina in Miami-Dade County in more than two decades.

Both buildings will include two, three and four-bedroom residences and penthouses, featuring butler service, an infinity-edge pool and hot tub, a gym, spa, news café, children’s playroom and teen lounge. Other amenities include gated-access with 24-7 valet service. The yacht club and marina will offer 112 boat slips for yachts up to 100 feet in length, a high-speed fuel point and a sundry store.

“While our first residents complete their interior buildouts and prepare to move in, we expect our final finishes in the common areas to be completed towards the end of the year,” Anthony Burns, a DevStar principal, said in the release.

Prices for units started in the low $800,000’s. – Katherine Kallergis

The Holiday Inn-Express Miami-Hialeah at 6650 West 20th Avenue

A group of hospitality investors just paid $12 million for a Holiday Inn-Express in Hialeah, marking the hotel’s second resale in more than 20 years.

Miami-Dade County property records show Burlington Hospitality Inc., a newly incorporated North Carolina company, purchased the hotel through a deed recorded Thursday.

The company, which financed its deal with a $9.5 million loan from Carter Bank & Trust, is managed by seven people: Jayesh N. Patel, Jay Bhakta, Hemanshu K. Patel, Anit S. Patel, Chiranjiv K. Jariwala, Sunil M. Patel and Nayan C. Patel.

They paid $82,191 per room for the 146-suite hotel, which was built in 1989 and is located at 6650 West 20th Avenue near the Palmetto Expressway. The seller is a local hotel company called Sound Hospitality, headed by Ben Castera, records show.

The company owns the Holiday Inn Hotel Coral Gables, which is the future site of the $172 million Paseo de la Riviera project. Sound Hospitality also recently sold a Holiday Inn in downtown Miami for a whopping $65 million where Brazilian developer Gilberto Bomeny plans to build a 77-story tower. Outside of Florida, the company owns hotels in Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia, according to its website.

Sound Hospitality paid only $4.55 million for the Hialeah hotel in 1992 — a price that breaks down to $31,164 per room. That means the firm raked in almost triple what it paid 23 years ago.

Holiday Inn-Express is a limited service chain owned by the InterContinental Hotels Group. It was first launched in 1991, and there are now nearly 2,400 brand locations throughout the world, according to IHG’s website.

2701 Le Jeune Road and Tere Blanca

International food distribution company Quirch Foods has inked a 30,000-square-foot lease for its new corporate office, Blanca Commercial Real Estate announced on Monday.

Quirch is relocating its 155-employee team to 2701 South Le Jeune Road in downtown Coral Gables. Tere Blanca, president and CEO of Blanca CRE, represented the distributor in the lease. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 15-story Class A office tower is also home to Bacardi USA’s headquarters. Frank Grande, president of Quirch Foods, said in the release that Coral Gables stood out from other cities in Miami-Dade.

Coral Gables has 40 projects, 2,700 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space and 740 hotel rooms in the pipeline, according to a city meeting in October.

Among those projects? The Mediterranean Village at Ponce Circle, billed as the largest development in the city’s history with more than 1 million square feet of hotel, condos and shopping on 6.7 acres; an Aloft Hotel being built on Le Jeune Road; 33 Alhambra, a proposed 16-story residential tower that would take up most of a city block; and Paseo de la Riviera, a $172 million mixed-use project along South Dixie Highway.

Earlier this month, Masoud Shojaee pulled out of his joint venture with Ugo Colombo to develop the Collection Residences, a planned mixed-use project with 128 condo units in Coral Gables. Colombo said that he still plans to build the Coral Gables project, eventually. – Katherine Kallergis

Sabbia Beach, the first new high-rise tower in Pompano Beach in nearly a decade, recently held a launch party for the opening of its $1 million sales gallery.

Sabbia Beach, now more than 50 percent sold, is targeting local buyers, according to Amy Ballon and Lisa Whitaker, co-founders of Hemisphere Sales Group. The project is using a 35 percent deposit structure.

The development, at 730 North Ocean Boulevard, will break ground during the first quarter of next year. The 68-unit tower was designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica with Interiors by Steven G., and will include an oceanside pool, gym, spa and saunas. Fernbrook Florida is the developer.

Sabbia Beach will feature a 3,600-square-foot social room with a bar, kitchen, games and poker tables, according to a press release. Units range from the low 900,000s to $3.5 million, with penthouses starting at $5 million. – Katherine Kallergis and Sean Stewart-Muniz

Renderings of Bentley Bay’s lobbies

Bentley Bay South Beach, a waterfront condominium tower in Miami Beach, is in the midst of a $500,000 revamp. 

The development’s condo association hired South Florida-based Eclipse Building Corp. to complete the renovation of the north and south tower’s lobbies, according to a press release.

Bentley Bay, at 520 West Avenue, was developed by Ricardo Olivier in 2004. The 3,000-square-foot revamp includes replacing the development’s nautical-themed lobbies with marble floors and columns, new draping and chandeliers. It’s slated for completion in early January.

The renovation follows the reopening of SOHO Bay, a 12,000-square-foot Japanese and Brazilian restaurant in the south tower’s commercial space. It reopened in October, according to the Miami New Times.

In South Florida, Eclipse is working on the buildout for Stellino’s Trattoria & Bar in Doral and Trust & Co. in Coral Gables, the latter of which is leasing 6,000 square feet at 2 Aragon Avenue. The general contractor and construction management firm specializes in high-end retail, restaurant and hospitality projects, according to the release. – Katherine Kallergis

From left: TRD‘s interpretation of Richard LeFrak’s outfit for his “Miami Vice”-themed birthday party, and Aby Rosen’s actual costume (via Instagram)

From the New York website: Richard LeFrak rang in his 70th birthday in style with a surprise dinner and “Miami Vice”-themed bash in the Financial District that drew around 400 friends and family.

The LeFrak Organization head was joined by guests including Woody Allen, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and venture capitalists Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss at 23 Broad Street, near the New York Stock Exchange, on Thursday night.

The massive seated dinner was followed by an after party that drew hundreds more, according to the New York Post. The “Miami Vice”-themed party featured performances by Miami’s very own Pitbull and Flo Rida that reportedly saw LeFrak and his wife, Karen, jump onstage.

While invites instructed guests of a “no social media” policy at the affair, it seems RFR Holding honcho Aby Rosen didn’t get the memo – having posted an Instagram photo of himself and his wife, Samantha, in their best “Miami Vice” getups.

Earlier that day, LeFrak joined Stephen Ross and Bill Rudin on a panel, at New York University’s Capital Markets in Real Estate conference, advertised as “the Mount Rushmore of New York City real estate.” [NYP] – Rey Mashayekhi

Clockwise from top left: Miami’s Overtown neighborhood (Credit: CreativeCommons user Pietro), a rendering of Miami Worldcenter, a historic Laundromat sign in Overtown (Credit: Phillip Pessar), and a rendering of All Aboard Florida’s MiamiCentral station

Neighborhood Dive is a new monthly TRD feature that looks at neighborhoods in South Florida that are hotbeds of new development. 

A buying binge led by Miami Beach-based developer Michael Simkins is generating seven-figure deals along a four block stretch of Overtown, Miami’s historically African-American neighborhood.

“Prices have increased dramatically,” Simkins told The Real Deal of the area, which is one of the city’s poorest communities. “When we started purchasing land, it was in the $20 a square foot range. It is now approaching $150 a square foot.”

Overtown runs from Northwest Fifth Street to 20th Street and is bounded on the west by the Miami River and State Road 836 and on the east by the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on Northwest First Avenue. In addition to Simkins, a handful of other buyers have proven to be increasingly bullish on apartment buildings and vacant parcels between Northwest Eighth and 12th streets and Northwest First and Third avenues.

The properties that have been snapped up are in close proximity to three grand-scale, mixed-use developments: All Aboard Florida’s MiamiCentral, Miami Worldcenter, and Simkin’s proposed Miami Innovation Tower, the signature piece to a technology district he wants to develop in Park West, the neighborhood directly abutting Overtown.

“The area we are focused on was the main commercial corridor for historic Overtown,” Simkins said. “The Overtown of the 1940s was a thriving place. The neighborhood has soul and character.”

During the Jim Crow era, the neighborhood was known as “Colored Town” and was a bustling business and entertainment center for Miami’s black community. It’s where entertainers like Count Basie, Cab Calloway and Josephine Baker stayed when they performed in Miami. However, the construction of I-95 through portions of Overtown decimated the neighborhood’s prosperity. Riots in the 1980s further eroded Overtown.

Today, the annual median household income for Overtown residents is $17,450, according to recent U.S. Census data.

Nevertheless, investors like Simkins have recently paid top dollar for Overtown properties. In mid-October, he closed an all-cash $2 million deal there for two apartment buildings with a combined 28 units and three commercial units. Simkins paid $116 per square foot for the 16,300-square-foot assemblage .

“These buildings will be renovated with our own dollars and continue as rentals,” Simkins said. “The people living there will hopefully continue living there, as well as other Overtown residents.”

He said market-rate rent for a one-bedroom unit is $700 and a two-bedroom unit is $850. That deal marks the third seven-figure Overtown property transaction involving Simkins in the past 10 months. In February, Simkins paid $94 a square foot for three vacant lots totaling 13,750 square feet . In June, he bought two vacant parcels totalling 15,000 square feet on Northwest 11th Street and Northwest Second Avenue for $92 a square foot.

Simkins is not alone. In January, Bahia Apartments LLC, a company registered to Horacio Segal and Marcela Segal, a North Miami-based real estate broker, paid $3.5 million for three apartment buildings with a combined 26,887 square feet. That’s $130 a square foot. According to Miami-Dade records, Bahia obtained a $2.4 million loan from Ocean Bank that it used toward the purchase.

In July, an entity called Beacon 87 Member Inc. purchased a 75-unit apartment building for $3.68 million — about $107 a square foot. According to state incorporation records, Beacon’s manager is Joanne Rosen, a partner in New York City-based real estate investment and development firm, Beacon Advisors, LLC. The seller DJ Acquisitions 1136 paid $2.6 million for the property in May 2014.

The more recent prices are a far cry from what Simkins paid only a year ago. The developer purchased a 24-unit apartment complex at 1160 Northwest Second Avenue for $330,000 in November 2014. Today, the property has a market value of $1.6 million, according to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s website. He also paid $555,000 for a two-floor retail building at 937 Northwest Third Avenue in October 2014.

The same year, Simkins purchased another 22 lots between Northwest Ninth and Tenth streets and Northwest Second Avenue and Second Court for a combined $14.1 million. Aside from the city of Miami Park West/Overtown Community Redevelopment Agency, he believes he has the largest portfolio in Overtown.

“It’s an unprecedented level of investment,” he said. “We are committed to really reviving and redeveloping Overtown into what it has always been.”

But Overtown still faces challenges, according to Emile Farah, chief executive of the Farah Group of Companies. Farah assisted in brokering Simkin’s most recent deal. “Whoever wanted to buy it had to come with cash,” Farah said. “It’s difficult to get financing for Overtown properties.”

Banks will only lend money based on the rental income a building produces and not on the property’s appraisal price, he said. “In that area, rents are averaging $600 and are starting to go up to $700 a month,” Farah said. “The income approach doesn’t justify making a deal for most buyers.”

Farah said the area remains a tough sell, despite All Aboard Florida and other major projects. But we was optimistic about the impact of Simkins’ acquisitions. The developer “has a vision for the future of the neighborhood,” he said.

There was plenty to be thankful for last week in Miami-Dade County, as residential agents closed an impressive amount of condo sales just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

For the first time in more than a month, all 10 of the county’s most expensive condo sales were above $1 million — including a huge $8 million closing in Key Biscayne.

The week was led by Fabiana Pimenta’s quick closing of unit unit 1201N at the newly built Oceana Key Biscayne. It’s a corner unit with five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a wraparound terrace with more than 2,000 square feet of space. The residence sold for $8.25 million, or a whopping $2,022 per square foot, after spending only 42 days on the market. Pimenta is an agent with Fortune International Realty.

Close behind that sale was unit 3006 at Miami Beach’s Bath Club, which was snapped up by Crystal Lagoons founder Fernando Fischmann for $7.5 million, or $1,319 per square foot. The unit is actually a detached villa that’s separate from the main 20-story tower. It has three bedrooms, five bathrooms and a backyard that directly overlooks the ocean. Listing agent Nelson Gonzalez of EWM had it on the market for 480 days before closing the sale.

The week’s third-most expensive condo transaction was for unit 1501 at Porto Vita in Aventura. It spent more than a year on the market with Karen Matluck of ICS Realty before closing for $3.5 million, or $680 per square foot. Some of the unit’s features include floor-to-ceiling glass windows, hardwood floors, modern furnishings and water views.

After those top three closings, the county’s 10 most expensive condo sales ranged in price from $1.3 million to $2.3 million.

Miami-Dade saw 133 condo sales last week for a total of $70.47 million. That’s only six more transactions than the previous week, but prices increased so drastically that the sales total grew by roughly $20 million. Average prices were $529,848 per unit and $324 per square foot.

Here’s a breakdown of the data for the week of November 15 to November 21. Click on the map for more information:

Most expensive
Oceana Key Biscayne, Key Biscayne| $8.25M | $2,022 psf | 42 days on market | Fabiana Pimenta of Fortune International Realty

Least expensive 
Ocean Four, Sunny Isles Beach | $1.3M | $790 psf | 89 days on market | Boris Tarlo of Florida Best Realty

Most days on market

The Bath Club, Miami Beach | 480 days on market | $7.5M | $1,319 psf | Nelson Gonzalez of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell

Least days on market
Oceana Key Biscayne, Key Biscayne | 42 days on market | $8.25M | $2,022 psf | Fabiana Pimenta of Fortune International Realty

The Palm Island Apartments in Pompano Beach

The Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund just made its entrance into South Florida real estate with the off-market purchase of a Pompano Beach apartment complex for $34.16 million.

Ben Genet, president of Genet Property Group

The deal includes a 402-unit multifamily community called the Palm Island Apartments. It’s split into 12 two-story buildings totaling 285,920 square feet, at 500 Northwest 34th Street.

Broward County property records show the seller is an affiliate of Tamarac’s Genet Property Group, which is headed by Benjamin J. Genet. The company paid $10.5 million for the apartments in 2010, which means they made nearly $24 million.

The impact fund is a joint-venture between Citi Bank’s community development lending division and Canyon Partners Real Estate, the property investment arm of the Canyon Partners hedge fund based in California.

Canyon Partners co-founders Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis

It supplies workforce housing throughout the United States by purchasing and managing multifamily properties. Its current holdings include six properties with 2,746 units, according to a press release. Most of those are located in Illinois and California, though the venture’s holdings now include South Florida.

Now that the purchase has closed, Canyon said it plans to spend several million dollars on renovations, security and creating community programs for education and healthcare, according to a press release.

“We look forward to seeing the positive impact this investment will make on the lives of the residents,” Richard Gerwitz of Citi Community Capital said in a statement. – Sean Stewart-Muniz

Edgewater assemblage

A bayfront development site in Edgewater will be listed for about $18.4 million on Monday. 

Amilcar Fuentes, a broker with Florida Capital Realty, and Joel Rodriguez of Global Investments Realty are co-listing the three lots at 456, 480 and 496 Northeast 29th Street. They’re zoned T6-36, which means that up to 36 stories with a bonus option and up to 150 units per acre can be built on the assemblage.

It’s being listed for about $685 per square foot.

The 26,880-square-foot site is next to Icon Bay, a Related Group development that was completed in July of last year. Fuentes told The Real Deal that the property has access to the public portion of Icon Bay Park.

“It’s basically the last developable lot on a waterfront site in Edgewater,” Fuentes told TRD.

Aventura-based Whitelight Group LLC owns the 14,280-square-foot property at 456 Northeast 29th Street. The LLC paid $1.35 million for the lot in 2012, according to Miami-Dade property records. Brennett Calliste owns the apartment building next door, which sits on a 6,300-square-foot lot. Calliste paid an undisclosed amount for it. And Global DC Export owns the third property, at 496 Northeast 29th Street. The company paid slightly more than $600,000 for the 6,300-square-foot lot in 2013.

Edgewater is home to projects such as Biscayne Beach, Aria on the Bay, Elysee, Spark, Bay House and the Crimson. In September, the founder of a Brazilian airline completed an Edgewater assemblage with the purchase of two properties for $4 million. And last week, a Canadian investor completed his non-waterfront assemblage on Northeast 27th Street for a total of $8.3 million.

A possible rendering of the project from the Prompt Collective architecture firm

1. Apeiron developers submit plans for 540-foot tower in Miami [The Next Miami]
2. Miami-Dade schools hopes to cash in big on public land [Miami Herald]
3. South Florida’s hotel occupancy growth slows in October [SFBJ]
4. Investors wait out slump in Latin American economy [Daily Business Review]

— Sean Stewart-Muniz

Current reader favorites:
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2. Chicago developer buys Six Midtown Miami site in $55M deal
3. Thor Equities to pay $43M for Design District post office
4. Proposed changes to Miami 21 cause real estate uproar
5. Sale of Holiday Inn advances tower project in Miami

Midtown interchange (Via the Florida State Road Department)

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

It is easily THE single-most discussed topic in all of South Florida. It is the reason you (better) leave an hour early, and the reason you are usually running late. It lights up your Facebook stream and has you frantically checking your GPS. Art Basel-goers are bracing for it, and some residents are choosing to just get out of town because of it.

It is South Florida traffic – and it is only getting worse. With so many people coming from so many places with so many cars and so few viable public transportation options, our highways are simply choked to death.

If there’s a silver lining to having reached “critical mass” on our traffic issue, it’s that South Florida political and business leaders are fully aware of the problems, and are working together to develop solutions. While no panacea will solve all our traffic issues overnight – or even for the foreseeable future – some of the creative ideas, proposals and partnerships below at least offer some hope. So cross your fingers, pump those brakes, take some deep, cleansing breaths, and enjoy this “Traffic and Transportation” edition of South Florida by the Numbers.

7 and 12: Miami’s ranking on two U.S. indexes for worst traffic congestion. Unfortunately, our city has one of the least-developed mass transit systems among the world’s major metropolitan areas. [Business Insider]

$245 million: Estimated asking price the CSX cargo company has proposed for 35 miles of track it operates in western and southern Miami-Dade. The county wants those tracks to create an east-west passenger rail line that would run between Miami International Airport and the western suburbs. Miami-Dade Commissioner Bovo had proposed an earlier $102 million plan, prior to CSX disclosing its initial asking price. [Miami Herald]

28: Number of stations along a proposed “Tri-Rail Coastal Link” that would run roughly parallel to Federal Highway, in the heart of eastern communities from Jupiter to Miami. Planners believe the new line would spur development in downtrodden areas and raise significant tax revenue in all three counties. [Sun Sentinel]

125: Miles per hour, the top speed of All Aboard Florida’s recently named “Brightline” passenger trains. Once completed, Brightline will take travelers from Miami to Orlando and back, with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. [The Real Deal]

$120 million: Estimated cost to transform 10 miles of the currently barren route underneath Miami’s Metrorail along South Dixie Highway into the Underline; a “recreational eden” complete with gardens, dog parks, workout stations, sports courts, a skateboard rink and food kiosks. [The Real Deal]

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.

The Miami Herald’s site was eyed for a grand casino resort.

From the October issue: In Miami, dreams of grand, ostentatious projects are often billed as set-in-stone reality by developers hoping to cash in on the city’s volatile real estate market. Yet, whether due to market forces, community opposition or political skulduggery, some “game-changing” projects never have reached the groundbreaking stage. [more]

David Polinsky of Fortis Development, a street view of the site and Ben Bernstein of RedSky

Fortis Development Group sold a vacant development site for $400 per square foot to Brooklyn-based RedSky Capital, Miami-Dade County records show.

In October, Fortis completed 250 Wynwood, a six-story building with 11 residential units. The firm, led by David Polinsky Bradley Carlson and Andrew Lenahan, sold the 14,625-square-foot site at 222, 230 and 234 Northwest 24th Street.

Polinsky declined to comment on the transaction.

RedSky Capital paid $5.85 million for the vacant land, according to a deed recorded in Miami-Dade County on Monday. It’s located on the same block as Panther Coffee and Coyo Taco, west of Northwest Second Avenue. Fortis acquired the properties between 2013 and January for a combined $2.025 million or $138 per square foot, according to Miami-Dade property records.

RedSky has holdings in Wynwood and the Design District.

In January, RedSky and London-based JZ Capital Management paid $11 million for a 0.3-acre site at 2407 Northwest Second Avenue across the street from Panther. In June, it purchased purchased a building that fronts Northwest Fifth Avenue and Northwest 25th Street for $6 million. The same partnership paid $26 million for the retail building at 2621 Northwest Second Avenue, which is now occupied by Wynwood Shades.

In October,  a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations allowing for denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood went into effect.

And in the Design District, Redsky and JZ are the second largest property owners. They paid $28 million in March for the building at 35 Northeast 40th Street, which housed the popular Oak Tavern restaurant, as well as a building nearby for nearly $30 million.

Miami’s skyline

Home prices in Miami-Dade County saw yet another month of growth during October, marking more than four years of consistent appreciation.

Prices for condos and single-family homes rose significantly compared to last year, according to a Miami Association of Realtors report.

The median sales price of a single-family home went from $240,000 in October of last year to $265,000 — an increase of more than 10 percent. For condos, median prices grew from $185,000 last year to a flat $200,000 per unit — an 8.1 percent growth.

Despite this steady price growth, the market has begun to contract. Miami-Dade reported 4.4 percent fewer home sales last month, down to 1,151 transactions from 1,204 last year. The condo market fared slightly worse with a 6.6 percent drop in sales activity, from 1,508 closings last year to 1,408 in October.

Reports from a number of brokerages and analysts attribute this to South American buyers pulling out of the market because of a strong U.S. dollar. South Americans were largely credited with helping South Florida recover from the housing crisis in the late 2000s, but their weakening currencies, especially in Brazil, make investing in U.S. properties less attractive.

But it’s not all doom-and-gloom. The association’s report said homes are selling within a few percentage points of their asking prices — 95.6 percent — and are selling a few days faster than last year — down to 40 days on market, from 43 the previous year. Condos, on the other hand, still take a median of nearly 60 days to sell and typically fetch just less 94 percent of their asking price. —  Sean Stewart-Muniz

Billionaire real estate developer and museum founder Eduardo Costantini recently unveiled a Jeff Koons sculpture, the first on display in Miami-Dade County.

Costantini, who is developing Oceana Bal Harbour, celebrated the reveal at a ceremony at Bal Harbour Shops. The 11-foot tall stainless steel sculpture, “Pluto and Proserpina,” will be loaned to the shops at the redesigned porte cochere until the spring of next year. In the fall, it will be moved to Oceana Bal Harbour.

About 150 guests attended the event, including Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine; Cathy Leff, former director of the Wolfsonian Museum; Marcos Corti, CEO of Consultatio Real Estate; and Cheryl Stephenson, Bal Harbour Shops’ director of marketing.

Prices at the 240-unit condominium start at $3 million. Oceana Bal Harbour was designed by Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica with interiors by Italian architect Piero Lissoni and landscaping by Enzo Enea. It broke ground in 2013 and is slated for completion next year. – Katherine Kallergis and Sean Stewart-Muniz