Condo tower gets $160M construction loan — the first since the downturn

For the first time since the real estate crash, financing has come through for a major construction loan for a Miami condominium project, the Wall Street Journal reported. A group of lenders led by a Birmingham, Ala.-based corporation called Regions Financial will lend $160 million to the developers of the Mansions at Acqualina, the Journal said. The 47-story tower in Sunny Isles Beach has asking prices starting at $7.75 million.

The loan is the first larger than $100 million since the collapse of Lehman Bros. left a glut of Miami condos on the market and investors and banks reeling. The loan may indicate that banks have an increasing zeal for risk, as historically low interest rates leave little room for profit in less risky ventures. [WSJ] –Guelda Voien