Benedict Realty Group pays $18M for Surfside building

Across the street from Bal Harbour Shops, New York Community Bank has sold a commercial building in Surfside for $18 million, or $718 per square foot.

Miami-Dade County records show the bank sold the 25,000-square-foot building on Harding Avenue and 96th Street to an affiliate of Benedict Realty Group. BRG is a real estate investment and property management firm based in Great Neck, New York, that focuses on properties in New York City and neighboring boroughs, according to its website.

The seller purchased the property out of foreclosure in 2009 for $4.1 million, which means it sold for more than four times that on Dec. 31, 2014. The two-story building, constructed in 1954, houses tenants that include AmTrust Bank, CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks and a Jean Claude Biguine salon. It sits on a 23,000-square-foot lot.

The BRG affiliate, led by Daniel Benedict, financed the deal with an $11.7 million mortgage.

Surfside, which borders Bal Harbour, has seen an uptick in commercial sales. In November, a pair of New York investors paid $5 million for buildings on 94th and 95th streets. Before that, an LLC paid $5.75 million for a 13,500-square-foot building at 9553 Harding Avenue. Nearby, Bal Harbour Shops has plans for a $400 million-plus renovation and expansion. The Whitman family owns the luxury retail development, and plans to add a new entrance, wider sidewalks, a new canopy, landscaping. Barneys New York will join the mall, as well as bigger stores for Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.