There is drama at the Melo Group's Flagler On The River construction project, located at 40 SW North River Drive and the former location of East Coast Fisheries. Now in Phase II of the development, officials with the Miami River Commission have expressed complaints over the lack of a 14-foot-wide riverwalk that was part of the approval of the project. Inspections showed that current construction accounts to a 12 ft riverwalk, down from 14 ft, and a 5 ft unobstructed circulation zone, down from 8 ft. The Melo Group has fought back, claiming that work on the riverwalk has not begun as they are waiting on Tenant Improvement plans from the future tenants which may alter the final design of the riverwalk. They say that upon completion the project will comply completely with their approvals. The future tenants of the riverwalk, double decker restaurant commercial portion of the greater Flagler On The River development will be SUSHISAMBA and Duck & Waffle. City officials have considered either halting construction of not issuing a final certificate of occupancy.
The Historic Dade-Commonwealth Building to Become Hotel
Spain's OD Hotels will open their first Miami location with 169 rooms in the historic Dade-Commonwealth Building in Downtown Miami. The building is located at 139 N.E. 1st Street and was originally built in 1925. Under supervision of Architect Richard Heisenbottle, the building will have 10 floors added to the existing 7-story structure during the hotel conversion. This restoration will actually return the structure to its original size before it was damage by a hurricane in 1926. Dream Downtown Miami, LLC., a joint venture between a sister fund of the Paris-based Beekman REIM and Immocorp Capital, will lead the redevelopment effort. The parties originally purchased the property for $9.2 million in November 2015 and they planned to leave the property as-is for 2 years as they begin to develop the project. The hotel will be in close proximity to Downtown's Flager Street redesign efforts, Paramount World Center Miami and Brickell City Centre.
Tibor Hollo Files To Increase Approved Height of One Bayfront Plaza Proposal
Tibor Hollo has filed a proposal to the FAA for their One Bayfront Plaza development, which will be an ultra-tall mixed-use tower in Downtown. The proposal is for a 1,044 ft mixed-use tower with residential units, office space, retail mall and hotel units. Construction would be scheduled to begin in January 2018. Plans had previously been approved for the project at 1,005 ft in 2015, but the developers seeks to go higher as FAA restrictions has eased since. The lot has quite a bit of history and has long been expected to be developed into one of the tallest buildings in Miami and an iconic part of the future Miami Skyline. Tibor Hollo has over 50 years of experience as a real estate developer in Miami including as the president of Florida East Coast Realty
Buyers & Investors in Downtown's New Centro Can Now Qualify For a Fannie Mae Loan
Buyers in Newgard Development Group's Downtown's newly delivered 352 loft style unit Centro Condominium will now be able to close with a Fannie Mae mortgage with rates around 3.45%. With the approval, which is through February 2018, buyers may be able to finance up to 95% of the purchase price on a 30 year mortgage. There are less than 30 units left to be sold and new residents have begun to move-in. Centro is located at 151 SE 1st St. in downtown
Those who qualify for the loan can take out up to 95% as a primary residence, 90% for a second home, and 85% for an investment property purchase, though the maximum loan amount cannot exceed $417,000. Rates can be as low as 3.45%. Units at Centro range in from $300,000 to in the $500,000's and from 654 to 1,131 SF. The innovative building has no parking and is a true "New York" style downtown condo building. It is part of the push into cleaning up Downtown Miami and making it a desirable place to live.
“Securing Final Fannie Mae approval means that a buyer’s principal and interest on a unit at Centro can be extremely affordable and beyond-comparable to renting, with the affordability challenges in Miami, specifically within the downtown/ Brickell urban core, Centro becomes one of the area’s greatest values.” said Harvey Hernandez, the chairman and managing partner of Newgard Development Group. “Centro provides a rare value proposition, luxury, high-tech design, within very attainable pricing and financing, something which is virtually unprecedented in today’s downtown/Brickell condominium market.”
Auberge Residences Miami On Hold Until at Least 2018
Carlos Rosso, Jorge Pérez and Juan Carlos Botero. Photo via TheRealDeal
Related Group President Carlos Rosso has confirmed that Auberge Miami has been placed on hold until at least 2018. Leases for the existing property have already been given the option to extend until at least that time, but Rosso stated that no firm date has been placed as developers scramble to adjust to an oversupply of new inventory. As of April only 20% of units had sold. The development will ultimately be 3-towers with 1,400 residential units on the 2.8 acres located at 1440 Biscayne Blvd. Units start at $350,000 and range up to $3.9 million.
The project was slated to be Jon Paul Perez’s first time in the leading role of development for Related. The 31 year old vice president is one of Related Group's founder and CEO Jorge Perez’s four children and is being groomed to take over the company.
Mario Chalmer's Triplex in Marquis Residences Listed for $3,200,000
Photo via Fortune International Realty Brickell Inc.
Creativity can be everything in real estate. This massive nearly 5,500 SF triplex in Marquis Residences, unit 4906, is currently listed at $3,200,000. The custom built layout makes use of the two-story units to allow for double-height floor to ceiling windows with unparalleled views of Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The unit is 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms complete with a billiards room, full sized cooks kitchen, media room and expansive master suite. Finished with marble flooring throughout and smart home technology. This is a rare gem in an amazing building that features the recently opened Me Miami Hotel and STK Miami steakhouse. It is linked to Mario Chalmers of the formerly of the Miami Heat. Listing and photos by Allan Kleer of Fortune International Realty Brickell Inc.
300 Biscayne Boulevard Way Set for 70-Story Iconic Lighthouse Condo Tower
The last prime, undeveloped lot in Downtown Miami's river walk at 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way is set to get receive a 70-story, 817-foot residential tower complete with an iconic lighthouse on top. The lot is the former site of Epic East, and next to the current Epic Hotel. It is also known as Miami's most expensive acre which was purchased last year for $125 million for the 1.25 acre lot. Riverwalk East Development Group, LLC. along with Revuelta Architecture submitted the plan to the Miami River Commission's Urban Infill & Greenways Subcommittee in March 2016. The sail shaped tower will house 384 luxury residential units, spa and pool deck on floors 53 to 55, private elevators, 70th-floor lighthouse. To obtain approval Riverwalk East Development Group, LLC> must commit to several changes to the Riverwalk including widening the walking pathway, better connect One Miami to Epic and Biscayne Boulevard Way and use the $2 million public benefits fund for projects in the impacted Miami River District. Should these upgrades get completed Downtown Miami is in for another iconic shape up as it grows towards the city of the future.
Healthy Sales Reported at One River Point
Sales at the pre-construction mega-project One River Point have been healthy as the project is now 26% sold according to developer Shahab Karmely of Kar Properties. Recently the market has been hot with nearly $26 million since the beginning of July. The Next Miami is reporting that according to broker Micael Light, reservations and deposits for 16 units at an average of $1.6 million to bring the total closed to 100 of 386 units. Groundbreaking for the project is expected in mid-2017.
One River point will include twin high-rise luxury resort style residential towers connected by a 3-story "skybridge" Sky Club. Amenities also include 2 restaurants, a cigar lounge, cocktail bar, wine cellar, 25 club suites for guests, an 85 foot waterfall and pool deck. Units start at $750,000 - $12 million.
Liquid Lofts is Finally Approved in Downtown Miami
Siegar Suarez's Liquid Lofts are ready to break ground after Miami's Planning Department approved the plans on July 18. Liquid Lofts will be a 866 foot tall building consisting of 482 apartment units over 78 units. The project also includes ground floor restaurant and commercial space as well as walking distance to the Metromover. The development will be built at 35SW 1st St. in Downtown, which required setback waivers to construct the tall building on such a small, .48 acre lot. Charles Sieger had initially purchased liquidloftsmiami.com in December 2013, but the city stalled on approvals. He is serving as both the developer, equity holder and architect. The property is adjacent to Downtown's Macy's location which sold to Aetna Realty Group in 2013.
World Trade Center of the Americas Approved For Downtown Miami
Brazilian developer Gilberto Bomeny and Regalia develper Louis Montello have teamed up and are moving ahead with the World Trade Center of the Americas at 340 Biscayne Blvd. after completing a sale and 99 year leaseback of the property and obtaining financing. They purchased the property which is currently the Holiday Inn Downtown in November 2015 for $65 million.
The World Trade Center of the Americas will be a 77-story mixed-use development that will rise 969 ft. The FAA and city approved the height, which will continue to push Miami's skyline higher. The mixed-use project will include 1.4 million SF of space including 400 residential units, 100 hotel rooms, 250,000 SF office space and 516 parking spaces. The total sell-out is expected to exceed $1 billion. Ground breaking is expected to come around late 2018 with an expected completion of 2022.