Carlos Mattos picks up Brickell development site for $9M

A pair of small properties near the upcoming Brickell City Centre are likely headed for the wrecking ball after both were picked up last week by a local developer for $9 million.

The properties were purchased by Carlos Mattos, a former Colombian senator, Harvard graduate and the founder of a Hyundai Colombia Automotriz, a car import and distribution company headquartered in his home country.

The properties are located at 19 and 42 Southwest Sixth Street. Both are occupied by single-story buildings that were constructed between the 1930s and 1950s, and were owned the Associated Photo & Imaging company.

Developer Carlos Mattos

Associated Photo printed films and graphics in those offices for decades. The family-owned firm was founded in the 1946 by Art Apple, and eventually came under new ownership in 2013 after Art’s son Larry Apple retired, according to a news release.

The properties face each other on opposite sides of Southwest Sixth Street. The northern lot, which is made up of two joined parcels, measures 0.24 acres. The southern lot measures only 0.12 acres. Commercial brokerage Ackman-Ziff represented Associated Photo for the sale. The firm said in a release that the site is “slated for future development.”

In recent years, Mattos has invested in South Florida’s real estate market. He is the owner of the same Brickell property where Coya, a new Latin American restaurant, opened its first U.S. location. He’s also part of the Auberge Beach Residences team in Fort Lauderdale, which is opening in 2017. And in 2012, he sold a development site in Sunny Isles Beach for $22 million.