645 Sunset Circle in Key Biscayne

A waterfront Key Biscayne home once owned by a member of the Matheson family sold for $5.5 million to its next-door neighbor.

Interior of 645 Sunset Circle

County records show John Zelaya, director of Cayman Islands-based Investors Trust Assurance, and his wife Ana Zelaya bought the waterfront Key Biscayne home at 645 Sunset Circle. The Zelayas already own the property next door at 635 Sunset Circle.

A Vero Beach-based trust controlled by Aurelio Fernandez sold the 12,020-square-foot lot, which currently has a three-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home. It sold for nearly $460 per square foot based on the land. Fortune International Realty’s Brigette de Langeron represented the seller, according to Realtor.com. Great Properties International brought the buyer.

It features a private beach, 180 feet of water frontage and a dock that fits up to an 80-foot yacht. The listing also mentions plans for a new 5,650-square-foot home. Property records show it last sold for $4.8 million in 2011. Before that, the 1970s house was owned by Finlay B. Matheson of the Mathesons, Key Biscayne’s founding family.

The new owners are adding on to their 25,112-square-foot plot next door at 635 Sunset Circle. Their three-story home features three bedrooms and a waterfront pool. In 2007, Zelayas paid $10.9 million for the 9,300-square-foot mansion, which was built in 2000. Altogether, they now own 37,132 contiguous square feet.

In December, Key Biscayne recorded its priciest residential deal ever with the $47 million sale of 775 South Mashta, the former estate of William J. Matheson. The new owner of that property bought the adjacent mansion months later for $12 million.

The city of Miami’s Miami Riverside Center

The city of Miami is hoping to sell Miami Riverside Center, its current administrative headquarters located on valuable land along the Miami River, all while finding a new building to move its offices.

Now, the city has hired brokerage CBRE to make it happen.

The brokerage announced Tuesday that it will be marketing the 3.15-acre site at 444 Southwest 2nd Avenue for sale on behalf of the city. An asking price was not released.

Zoned for up to 1,574 residential units, the property is primed for redevelopment. The Miami River corridor has gained new attention this cycle as developers seek out cheaper alternatives to the scarce waterfront land markets in Miami Beach or Sunny Isles Beach.

Just last week, an Argentinian family submitted plans for a 70-story residential tower at the river’s mouth, and New York’s Chetrit Group is in the midst of developing a $1 billion mixed-use project not far away.

“Both Mayor [Tomás] Regalado and the city’s department of real estate recognize the tremendous value of selling this asset. The potential to expand economic development at the existing site and solve the city’s operational need for a new facility will greatly benefit the city of Miami,” said Department of Real Estate Director Daniel Rotenberg in a statement.

As part of its move, the administration is looking to score a new Class A headquarters within city limits, according to a release.

Robert Given, CBRE’s vice chairman, said in the announcement that the administration realized it didn’t need to have its building on prime waterfront real estate.

The city would also consider a leaseback of its current building for up to three years, CBRE said.

Renderings of Palm Villas in Bay Harbor Islands

Palm Villas, a planned townhouse project in Bay Harbor Islands, has launched sales, and expects to break ground in May, amid a slew of new developments rising in the city.

The 14-townhome project at 9870-9880 East Bay Harbor Drive has already sold three units in the last two weeks, Michel Leibovich, a principal with the development firm LDG told The Real Deal. LDG is co-developing Palm Villas in conjunction with Team 18, the lead developers of Kai, also in Bay Harbor Islands.

The townhouses will range from 2,300 square feet to 3,000 square feet, with prices from $990,000 to $1.3 million, or an average of $450 per square foot, Leibovich said. One Sotheby’s International Realty and the Faerman Group are handling sales and marketing for Palm Villas.

The project was designed by Schapiro Associates, along with BBH Design. Units at the four-story Palm Villas will have private elevators and rooftop decks with Jacuzzis, Leibovich said.

Michel Leibovich

The project is the second in South Florida for LDG, following its launch last year of Bay Harbor One, an eight-story, 36-unit development, also in Bay Harbor Islands. That project is more than 40 percent under contract, and will also break ground in May, Leibovich told TRD. Prices range from the $600,000s to the $900,000s, or an average of about $500 per square foot.

Meanwhile, LDG is in the site plan approval process for its next project, called Westside Aventura, which will be in Ojus. The firm owns a five-acre site where it plans a mixed-use project with 98 townhouses, 12 condo units and 6,400 square feet of retail space.

LDG is composed of four partners, Leibovich said, and has more than 40 years of experience in development in Argentina and Uruguay.

Leibovich, who has lived in South Florida for 32 years, said he chose Bay Harbor Islands because the booming area is family-oriented. His mother-in-law is a resident, and Leibovich lived there recently, while his Aventura home was remodeled. “It’s a great diamond in the middle of the area,” he said.

Bay Harbor Islands is currently exploding with more than two dozen new condominium and townhome developments. Other projects planned for Bay Harbor Islands include Akua, Bay Harbor Gardens, Pearl House and Le Jardin.

A rendering of the new home, left, and the existing home, right, at 790 Lake Road

Luis Garcia is offering buyers two options for his waterfront Bay Point home in Miami: either pay $9.98 million for it as-is, or put down $15 million and he’ll build you a brand new one.

Garcia, president and CEO of Adonel Concrete, listed his home at 790 Lake Road this week under Ana Teresa Rodriguez of Coldwell Banker.

He bought the property four years ago for $1.9 million, county records show, and had planned to raze it in favor of a two-story modern mansion. But he decided to sell, according to the brokerage, and is now offering his vision to a potential buyer — should they want it. Each option has its own MLS number, so they’re essentially two totally different listings.

As it stands now, the property has a mid-century home measuring 3,458 square feet with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a dock and a pool. It was also recently remodeled and boasts its own zen garden and mini-golf course, according to the listing.

Aerial view of the property

Garcia, who owns the property through an LLC, is asking about $2,886 per square foot if a buyer wants the home as-is.

The new home, on the other hand, would be a contemporary two-story mansion with six bedrooms, five bathrooms and one half-bath. It would be one of the only homes in Bay Point with a rooftop terrace because of recently passed restrictions, according to the listing.

Measuring 7,252 square feet, the proposed home’s asking price breaks down to $2,068 — a deal compared to buying the existing property.

One of the property’s other big selling points is its location, the listing said. It’s at the mouth of Sabal Lake’s connection to Biscayne Bay, and with Morningside Park to its north, the home doesn’t have any neighbors across the street.

The Corporate Center at the Gardens office complex

Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners, a New York real estate firm, just made their first foray into South Florida with the $30.05 million purchase of two Palm Beach Gardens office buildings.

The firm bought Corporate Center at the Gardens, a mid-rise office complex at 4200-4400 Northcorp Parkway, which has two buildings that first opened in 1996 and 1999. Altogether, they measure 113,565 square feet, which means this deal equated to $264 per square foot.

Scott O’Donnell, Dominic Montazemi, Miguel Alcivar, Greg Miller and Jason Hochman of Cushman & Wakefield represented Alchemy-ABR in the deal, according to a news release from the brokerage.

The complex was 100 percent leased at the time of sale with major tenants including nutrition company Garden of Life, tech consultancy Oxford Global Resources, Olympus Insurance Company and Weiss Research.

County records show Corporate Center’s owner, an affiliate of the Lexington Realty Trust, has owned the property since 1998, when it paid $19.75 million. That’s about $173 per foot.

Lexington then put $9 million worth of upgrades into the property, including renovations for office spaces, lobbies and common areas.

Anthony Librizzi of CBRE represented Lexington for the sale, and the brokerage will continue managing the property, according to the release.

Alchemy-ABR is a partnership between two New York development and investment firms: Alchemy and ABR Partners. Some of the firm’s recent dealings include the $99 million purchase of a leasehold interest for a 25-story office tower in Manhattan.

Serena Williams faces off against Carla Suarez Navarro at the 2015 Miami Open

1. Serena Williams pens plea to keep Miami Open in Miami [Miami New Times]
2. OKO Group plans 712-foot tower across from Brickell City Centre [The Next Miami]
3. Virtual reality lets buyers take cyber-tours of preconstruction luxury condos [Miami Herald]
4. Fannie, Freddie to cut balances for thousands of homeowners [Wall Street Journal]

— Sean Stewart-Muniz

Current reader favorites:
1. Argentinian developer submits plans for condo tower on former Epic East site
2. Miami’s existing condos take sales hit in February, prices rise across board: report
3. Movers & Shakers: Surf Club Four Seasons names sales director…and more
4. Marriott strikes back: Starwood accepts new $13.6B bid
5. Commercial real estate credit crunch coming?

Renderings of Palazzo del Sol

The founder and former CEO of Yard House is one of the first to close on a unit at Palazzo del Sol, a newly completed Fisher Island condominium.

Steele Platt

Steele Platt paid $7.3 million for a 5,539-square-foot unit at Palazzo del Sol, a 10-story condo building, with 47 units and six cabanas. His new condo includes a 1,704-square-foot wraparound terrace, private elevator entry, floor-to-ceiling windows and an Apure lighting system by Porsche Design Studio. In addition, Platt paid about $800,000 for the cabana.

Platt, who sold the restaurant chain to Darden for $585 million in 2012, will make the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom unit his primary home. His signature Boffi kitchen will feature Gaggenau and SubZero appliances.

Joseph Zichelle and Ani Sierra of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty represented Platt, according to a spokesperson for the brokerage. Platt paid $1,318 per square for the unit, which was listed for $8.55 million or $1,544 per square foot. Prices at Palazzo del Sol range from $6.5 million to $35 million.

Platt isn’t alone. Four other units have closed at Palazzo del Sol, which is the 59th new condo tower to close east of I-95 in the tri-county region since this cycle started in 2011. Barbara Digan Zweig, the widow of stock investor, investment adviser and financial analyst Martin Zweig, paid $8.5 million for unit 7033 last week, county records show.

Rendering of a Cassa Brickell penthouse

Cassa Brickell released the final collection of penthouses for the 10-story boutique condo as the project nears completion. 

Cassa Brickell rendering

The 80-unit building is being developed by TSG Paragon Development at 201 Southwest 17th Road in the southwestern part of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. Units will be delivered by the summer, according to a spokesperson.

The four remaining penthouses range in size from 927 square feet to 1,309 square feet, and in price from $652,000 to $799,000. Three of the seven penthouses are under contract. They all feature 11-foot ceilings, Italian kitchens, stainless steel Bosch appliances and designer fixtures.

TSG Paragon topped off Cassa Brickell in October. The condo tower was designed by architect Carlos Ponce de Leon and will include a rooftop vegetable garden, as well as a summer kitchen, infinity pool, vertical garden and fitness center. In addition to its seven penthouses and condo units, the development will also include one townhome on the ground level and “air houses” on the third floor complete with open terraces.

Cassa Brickell is west of Brickell Avenue near Simpson Park. Nearby is the Homewood Suites Brickell, which will open in April, according to its website. Both properties would have access to the Underline linear park and trail.

Boulan South Beach

The developer of the Boulan South Beach just sold 30 condo-hotel residences and two retail units at its building for $25 million, the firm announced on Wednesday. 

Parc Place Development, a BEB Real Estate company, sold the units to New York-based Second Avenue 1355 Realty LLC. New York corporate records show the buyer is controlled by Sabah Shemel. The Shemel family has ties to Think Hotel Group, which runs the Boulan South Beach hotel. Mark Shemel, president of the hotel group, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The deal includes 25,400 square feet of condo hotel units and 2,200 square feet of retail at the property, at 2000 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The units that sold range in size from 700 square feet to 2,100 square feet. They include at least one full bedroom, marble bathrooms and furnishings. Parc Place still owns 40,000 square feet of retail and a 440-space, 65,000-square-foot parking garage, according to a press release.

In total, the Boulan South Beach, developed in 2010, has 62 condo-hotel units. Amenities include concierge service, valet parking, a meditation garden, gym, and a rooftop pool and deck. French restaurant Bagatelle, women’s clothing store Curve and Dry De Luxe blow-dry bar are tenants. It’s near Collins Park, where the Chetrit Group is redeveloping a group of Postwar modern and Art Deco properties redesigned by Kobi Karp.

Boulan South Beach was the first condo-hotel for BEB, which owns commercial real estate. The company is controlled by Port Washington, New York-based Bert E. Brodsky & Associates. BEB has more than $350 million in assets in its portfolio and 1.5 million square feet on the East Coast, according to the release. – Katherine Kallergis

A proposed rendering of 560 and 566 Northwest 29th Street in Wynwood

A company controlled by Tony Cho sold two properties in Wynwood for $6.1 million, more than triple the last sale price in 2014.

County records show Wyn 560 LLC, which is controlled by Cho, sold the buildings at 560 and 566 Northwest 29th Street to Carol Invest USA. Corporate records show the buyer is managed by Emanuela Verlicchi and Carolina Marazzi of Miami Shores — the same Italian family that owns Al Capone’s former mansion in Miami Beach.

The seller had started remodeling the buildings, built between 1951 and 1970, and secured permits, according to a Metro 1 spokesperson. Property records show the parcels last sold for $1.68 million in 2014, which marks a 263 percent increase.

The 12,000-square-foot property sits on a 14,000-square-foot plot. Cho, founder and CEO of Metro 1, represented the seller while Francesca Rinonapoli of Keller Williams represented the buyer.

In November, the buyer, Carol Invest USA sold two connected warehouses in Wynwood for $11 million. Wynwood has drawn a slew of investors in recent months. Last fall, 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 just last week, real estate investor Sam Herzberg paid $22 million for an entire block at 210 Northwest 22nd Street and 201 Northwest 21st Street.

Joseph Keough, CEO of Wood Parnters

Wood Partners, an Atlanta-based builder of multifamily projects, just closed its $6.25 million purchase of land in Delray Beach, where it’s planning a new apartment community.

The deal includes about 12.3 acres of land just north of Delray’s historic but dilapidated train station at 1720 Depot Avenue. It’s split into five parcels, county records show, and Wood Partners financed the purchase with a $42.65 million loan from NXT Capital.

Wood plans to build a seven-building rental apartment complex with 284 units and a 7,500-square-foot clubhouse, as previously reported, and 71 of those units would be dedicated to affordable housing.

Wood Partners closed its deal through an affiliated limited liability company called Alta Delray Station, according to county records. The seller was Depot Industrial Center, a limited liability company managed by developer Thomas Head.

Miami, Colombia flag and Master Brokers Forum

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

The votes are in … the ballots have been counted … and the winner is … Colombia?

While our city was focused on a very different type of election last week, another contest has had a shocking turn of events. In January, Colombia beat out Brazil (for the second consecutive month) as the nation with the most searches for South Florida real estate, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. While Brazil had held this distinction for 17 of the previous 19 months, it would seem there is a new rey (or reina) in town. With this shift at the top of the standings, we turn our attention to other aspects of the Miami-Colombia real estate connection. While the two locations have had a long and fascinating relationship, globalization, immigration, and technology have changed the dynamics considerably. Let’s take a closer look in this edition of “South Florida By The Numbers.”

3: While Colombia may have generated the most searches for Miami real estate in January, that nation was tied for third (with Argentina) among nations with the highest percentage of actual South Florida home buyers. Venezuela and Brazil were the leaders in this category, with 13 and 12 percent, respectively. [The Real Deal]

$350 million: Cost to build the upcoming Trump International Hotel & Tower in Bogota, Colombia — the Trump organization’s third building in South America. The project has become highly noteworthy for the Palm Beach resident’s (and Republican Party front-runner’s) seemingly contradictory partnership with Latinos and Chinese. (It is being built with Chinese government financing.) [Miami Herald]

10: In 2015, the percentage of Miami’s foreign real estate transactions completed by Colombians. “The indicator of web traffic by country of origin usually foreshadows a boost in U.S. buying by those countries,” said Carlos Gutierrez, 2016 president of Miami Association of Realtors, estimating Colombia will jump up the list of top foreign buyers of U.S. housing this year. [Inman]

40-plus: Number of Colombian officials, industry leaders, business owners, and buyers who sought to promote their country’s emerging nautical tourism industry at the recent 2016 Miami International Boat Show. Since 2010 the Colombian government has made nautical tourism a priority. [Trade Only Today]

372,932: Square footage of Colombian development firm Prodesa’s upcoming mixed-use building in Edgewater, close to the Related Group’s Paraiso condo project. This Arquitectonica-designed building will have 19 stories, 137 residential units, 20,560 square feet of office, 10,020 square feet of retail, and 275 parking spaces. [SFBJ]

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.

56 Bal Bay Drive

A company tied to Alan and Diane Lieberman, two South Florida real estate players, just sold an ultra-modern home in Bal Harbour for $8.5 million.

The nine-bedroom, 10.5-bathroom mansion is located in a gated community at 56 Bal Bay Drive. Situated on 21,225 square feet, the home boasts 100 feet of water frontage and a private dock.

Its features include smart home systems, a gourmet kitchen with double appliances, an infinity pool and a rooftop observation deck.

The Liebermans, who own South Beach Group Hotels, paid $3.6 million for the property in 2006, according to county records. They demolished the existing home and built this manse a year later.

For this sale, Diane Lieberman, vice president of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, represented herself and her husband. Lieberman sold her South Beach International Realty, formerly one of Miami Beach’s largest independent brokerages, to ONE Sotheby’s in September.

The buyer, Michael Laik, was represented by Michael Bitton of Garry Hennes Realtors.

The Liebermans own a chain of 15 historic hotels dubbed “the South Beach Group,” as The Real Deal previously reported. Prior to South Beach International Realty’s merger with ONE Sotheby’s, the Lieberman’s firm raked in an average o $300 million worth of sales annually.

The Compass office at 605 Lincoln Road

Compass’ new Miami Beach digs at 605 Lincoln Road have returned to the market, this time with a listing price and a new lead brokerage firm.

Ben Silver, Richard Niewiadomski, Doug Mandel

Marcus & Millichap’s Richard A. Niewiadomski, Douglas K. Mandel and Benjamin H. Silver are the exclusive listing agents for the 20,600-square-foot office space in the former Sony Music building. Gordon Messinger, director of Cushman & Wakefield, arranged the Compass lease and is now co-listing the property with Marcus & Millichap, which is leading the sales effort.

The then-vacant space was listed for sale last fall unpriced, taken off the market as the Compass space was being negotiated, then put back on the market in February unpriced. Now, it’s on the market with a triple-net tenant for a $22.5 million asking price, which breaks down to about $1,092 per square foot. The two-story penthouse is located on the sixth and seventh floors of the building.

“This is the first time the property has a brand-new, 10-year lease in place with nationally recognized tenant,” Niewiadomski told The Real Deal. He expects the commercial unit to trade at an aggressive cap rate on current income, which he said will grow at 3 percent on an annual basis. Having a tenant like Compass opens up the buyer pool “tremendously,” Niewiadomski said.

Beth Butler, president of Compass Miami, oversees the Miami office of about 30 people, according to its website. Compass moved into the building, an eight-story, renovated Art Deco office condominium, in early November. The office condominium was built in 1932, according to Miami-Dade property records. Starbucks Lush, Oakley and Journey occupy the ground floor.

Niewiadomski said he and his colleagues are looking for a buyer who recognizes “the value of the property’s irreplaceable location along Lincoln Road, which currently has some of the highest commercial rents in the nation.”

In February, TRD took a look at what’s for sale on Lincoln Road following the record $370 million sale of an entire block in September.

Rendering of 1698 Alton Road project (Credit: The Next Miami)

Elion Partners and family members of Turnberry Associates have submitted plans for a new five-story project on Miami Beach’s ever-changing Alton Road.

The proposal, first reported by the Next Miami, includes a mixed-use building with 28,142 square feet of ground-floor retail, a parking garage with 204 spaces and 36 residential units. Part of that retail space would be taken up by a “prominent” grocery tenant.

It would be built on a trio of parcels at 1681 and 1683 West Avenue, plus the now-demolished Shell gas station site at 1698 Alton Road. They’re on the same block as Miami’s popular Epicure Market grocery store. Touzet Studio, which designed the Apple, Gap and Nike stores on Lincoln Road, is the designer.

County records show a company managed by Rock Soffer and principals of Elion Partners bought the former Shell site in April for $8 million. A separate entity, managed by Rock Soffer, his father Don Soffer and the Elion principals, also bought the West Avenue parcels for $7.9 million in 2013. Elion is one of the partners developing West Palm Beach’s newest condo tower the Bristol.

According to the Next Miami, the project will go before the city’s planning board next month.

Alton Road has been a hot market for development over the last two years as waterfront land prices become prohibitive for new projects. Gas stations in particular seem to be hot commodities. Besides the Shell site mentioned above, Saber Real Estate Advisors put down $7.3 million for a Chevron station on 1824 Alton Road and is now planning a new mixed-use building designed by Kobi Karp. [The Next Miami] — Sean Stewart-Muniz

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Turnberry Associates was developing the project. Instead, family members of the development firm of working on it.

From the New York website: Stocks are down, but pay is up at Vornado Realty Trust. CEO Steve Roth is set to receive $10.85 million in compensation for the year 2015, according to a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission – his largest pay package ever. The raise comes amid weak stock performance at the real estate investment trust whose holdings include property on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road.

Vornado’s share price has fallen 19.4 percent since a January 2015 peak, closing at $92.43 Tuesday. Other leading REITs such as SL Green Realty and Boston Properties also saw their stocks fall in recent months amid worries over the global economy and the health of the U.S. real estate market.

The pay package — which includes $261,724 for a car and driver — still has to be approved at a May 19 shareholder meeting.

Roth’s compensation is mostly performance-based, and in the filing Vornado justifies the pay hike by pointing to increases in both EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and funds from operations (a common performance metric for REITs).

David Greenbaum, the president of Vornado’s New York operations, made $5.7 million in 2015 and chief investment officer Michael Franco raked in $5.4 million.

Roth made $9.8 million in 2014 and $7.3 million in 2013 – figures that pale in comparison to executive pay at rival REIT SL Green. That firm’s CEO Marc Holliday made $16.4 million in 2014, prompting criticism from some observers.

According to the filing, the increase in Roth’s pay is entirely due to an increase in the accounting value of his so-called OPP awards – stock options tied to performance over a five-year spell. His $1 million cash pay and additional $1 million in cash incentives remained unchanged from 2014.

Bizarrely Roth, a millionaire many times over, also received an $18,000 matching 401k contribution from Vornado in 2015.

In September of last year, Roth summed up his investment philosophy with Crain’s. “Buy in the right places, buy the highest quality that you possibly can, because the highest quality performs the best in up times and in down times,” he said. “And believe in America. just keep buying. Peace.”

Rendering of the proposed hotel on Washington Avenue

A group of developers submitted plans to the city of Miami Beach for a micro-hotel on Washington Avenue.

Rendering of the hotel’s facade

Washington Squared Owner LLC, an entity controlled by Andrew Joblon, wants to build a Z-shaped hotel with 312 micro-hotel rooms, the Next Miami first reported. Joblon, of Turnbridge Equities, is partnering with Michael Fascetelli and Eric Birnbaum of New York-based Imperial Companies on the project. Fascetelli was chief executive of Vornado Realty Trust until his resignation in 2013.

The LLC paid $36 million for the block between 601 and 685 Washington Avenue in June. It recently submitted plans to the city’s planning board, which will review the proposal at its meeting April 19.

The seven-story hotel, designed by Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe, Raymond Jungles and Morris Adjmi Architects, would include ground-floor retail and a third-floor amenity deck with a pool, private cabanas, club bar, outdoor and indoor cafe, and a concierge desk.

The developer isn’t alone in wanting to bring more hotels to the area: Robert Finvarb and Michael Simkins have also proposed a mixed-use project with hotel and retail components at 900 Washington Avenue.

In the micro-hotel market, Moxy by Marriott and Netherlands-based CitizenM focus are among the biggest players that have focused on the millennial traveler with smaller rooms and more amenities. “The micro-hotel segment is really interesting because it allows you to stay in the heart of Miami Beach at an affordable price point,” Joblon told The Real Deal. He did not disclose a hotel brand for his property on the 600 block of Washington.

Washington Squared Owner has also submitted plans for 709 to 731 Washington Avenue, where the partnership will redevelop the buildings into single-story retail.

Washington Avenue is experiencing a new wave of redevelopment, amid the city’s approval of new measures that are designed to increase hotel space and retail and dining opportunities on the street, which lags behind Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive in attracting first tier retail, dining and hotel venues.

“We view this as one of the catalytic projects in terms of the transformation of Washington Avenue,” Joblon told TRD.

Photos of the Thompson Miami Beach

Hyatt Hotels will buy the Thompson Miami Beach and rebrand it as part of its Unbound Collection, the corporation announced on Monday. 

Geolo Capital entered into an agreement to sell the 18-story, 380-room property at 4041 Collins Avenue and expects it to close in late April. Hyatt did not disclose a sales price. The hotel will be renamed the Confidante, according to a press release.

The Confidante will have 30 suites, two restaurants, two swimming pools, direct beach access, a rooftop spa, full service salon, a gym, a craft cocktail bar and a tropical garden.

The three-tower hotel was built in 1940, according to property records. The hotel originally opened as the Lord Tarleton Hotel, then in 1955 as the Crown Hotel, and was later converted into a three-tower apartment building.

Geolo Capital paid $85 million for the hotel in 2012, which breaks down to about $224,000 per room. The San Francisco-based company spent $82 million in renovations and reopened the hotel in late 2014 as the Thompson. British interior designer Martin Brudnizki designed the hotel, along with Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles. Currently, restaurants include Seagrape by Miami restaurateur Michelle Bernstein and TALDE Miami Beach, an Asian-American restaurant and bar by “Top Chef” alum Dale Talde.

Other hotels in Hyatt’s Unbound Collection are the Driskill in Austin, Texas; Hotel du Louvre in Paris, France; and the Carmelo Resort & Spa in Uruguay.

In February, Marriott International bought the Edgewater Hotel at 1410 Ocean Drive for $23.5 million. And last year, Chesapeake Lodging Trust paid $278 million for the James Royal Palm, now part of Starwood’s Tribute brand. – Katherine Kallergis

Congestion leading out of PortMiami (Credit:Daniel Christensen)

1. Miami has 7th worst traffic in the U.S. [Fox News]
2. All Aboard’s Brightline reaches new construction milestone [Palm Beach Post]
3. Steelers’ Antonio Brown pays $6.6 million for Hollywood home [Sun Sentinel]
4. U.S. new-home sales rose 2% in February [Wall Street Journal]

— Sean Stewart-Muniz