Aztec Group, Florida’s leading real estate investment and merchant banking firm for over 40 years, announces that Peter Mekras has arranged $102,000,000 in construction financing for RIVR (River) Lofts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

RIVR Lofts features a desirable location in Fort Lauderdale’s Central Business District in the emerging Tarpon River Entertainment & Design District (TREDD) south of New River. RIVR Lofts is a to-be-built mixed-use, luxury, high-rise rental apartment community with 352 residential units. The project will span across 29 stories and feature a rooftop pool and amenities, 2,700 square feet of ground floor retail, onsite parking, and a resident lounge and bar on the ground floor. The Property is ideally located at the corner of SW 5th Street and SW 3rd Avenue within walking distance to Publix, Wells Coffee, and Tarpon River Brewing.

RIVR Lofts development team is led by Doron Broman of Moderno Development Group. Broman assembled the 1-acre site in 2018 and obtained entitlements for RIVR Lofts in 2021. Moderno engaged Aztec Group on an exclusive basis to structure a venture and source construction financing for the project. Moderno is no stranger to the market as it has assembled and repositioned several development properties in the area and continue to control several acres of land in the area for future vertical development. The construction loan was sourced from Square Mile Capital. The RIVR Lofts project team includes Moss Construction and Robert Mathias of NCC Development. The project is designed by Cube 3 Architecture.

“RIVR Lofts will serve as the residential heartbeat of TREDD and this funding continues our efforts to bring vertical development to the area,” says Doron Broman, Manager Partner of Moderno Development. “Moderno Development is at the center of Tarpon River’s revitalization. We started by converting industrial buildings to retail and now we are laying the foundation for a true residential experience with the construction of RIVR Lofts.”

“Sourcing a construction loan for a high-rise is never a simple task. Closing a loan of this magnitude in the current market environment is a testament to the merit of RIVR Lofts and the sponsorship, the lender, and our investment banking process” said Aztec Group’s Peter Mekras.