The Real Deal Miami

Lummus Park in Miami

The Real Deal will be on hiatus for Memorial Day weekend and will resume posting on the Web site Tuesday.

Indian buyers are beginning to scout Miami real estate

With Asian firms and individuals beginning to target Miami’s residential real estate sector, the next wave of interest could come from India. While its fellow BRICS (the emerging economic powerhouses of Brazil, Russia, India and China) have all shown interest, with Brazilians almost single-handedly saving Miami’s condo market, brokers say Indian buyers are beginning to trickle in. [more]

1425 Brickell Avenue

Today’s priciest new listing is a three-bedroom, four-bathroom, 4,164-square-foot Miami condo at the Four Seasons that is asking $3.6 million, according to Condo Vultures. [more]

7601 East Treasure Drive

First Equitable Realty III is filing a $15.8 million foreclosure lawsuit against 72 units in North Bay Village’s Grand View Palace Condominium. The suit names three companies financially involved with the apartments, located at 7601 East Treasure Drive: Coastal Condos, Victory Consulting Group and Phalanx.

Costal Condos acquired the condo units with a previous mortgage from First Equitable Realty in 2008. [more]

Eric Sheppard (left) and Nevin Shaprio

Eric Sheppard, who developed Miami Beach’s Canyon Ranch, this Wednesday agreed to pay a $700,000 settlement in a federal lawsuit alleging that he was an active participant in Nevin Shapiro’s Ponzi scheme, according to the Miami Herald.  [more]

Leonard Abess

Leonard Abess, former owner of City National Bank of Florida, has increased his South Florida land holdings to 747 acres. Abess, who has a history of making big land grabs since selling his bank for $945 million in 2009, has made five purchases this year totaling 143 acres and $4.5 million, the South Florida Business Journal Reported. In 2010, he purchased 584.4 acres and a total of 28 properties for $21.1 million. [more]

The Palm Beach County Commission has postponed its decision on a proposed workforce housing project for 60 days, after succumbing to requests from local residents opposing the project, the Palm Beach Post reported. [more]

In what could be a sign of a strengthening industrial market in Palm Beach Gardens, Haverhill Business Park has sold two of its parcels, according to Reichel Realty, which represented the company in both deals. Haverhill Associates paid $420,000 for a 1-acre parcel at the park, while Westage paid $585,000 for a 1.5-acre lot. The 20-acre park is located on the east side of Haverhill Road. Haverhill Business Park is a company controlled by Sabatello Construction. — Alexander Britell

A rendering of the Mansions at Acqualina

The planned Mansions at Acqualina project in Sunny Isles Beach has reached $253 million in sales, highlighted by two penthouse deals that sold this month, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The 79-unit project, which won’t break ground until August, is slated for completion in 2015. Its developer, the Trump Group, has been targeting end-users rather than investors, a pool that has included buyers from Miami’s feeder markets of South America and Russia. [SFBJ]

Mecca Farms

The South Florida Water Management District could purchase the troubled Mecca Farms site from Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach Post reported. The county paid $46 million for the 1,900-acre tract in 2004, hoping that it would be the site of a planned Scripps research facility. A judge overturned zoning approvals, however, and Scripps built the project in Jupiter instead. Since then, the county has been renting the land as farmland. [more]