Paramount Bay

Miami’s Paramount Bay condominium project said it has closed $260 million in sales, with 90 percent of units unloaded, the project announced today. That amounts to remaining inventory of about 28 units. The property, which is owned in part by iStar Residential, is being marketed by Fortune International. Bucking Miami’s recent trend of foreign buyers, approximately 50 percent of all sales at Paramount Bay have come from the U.S., with Florida buyers accounting for one third of all sales. Singer Lenny Kravitz designed common areas and some units at the property. —Alexander Britell 

Lenny Kravitz and the Paramount Bay

Rocker-turned-designer Lenny Kravitz’s latest work has him designing at a number of Miami projects, several units at the upcoming SLS South Beach and the Paramount Bay in downtown Miami. “What I like about the Paramount Bay is that it’s on the bay; it’s not in South Beach,” Kravitz told the New York Times. [more]

Art Basel week in Miami has real estate developers and brokers salivating, as wealthy people flock to the city to take in the art show that starts Thursday. According to the New York Post, the industry’s elite are using the show to sell property to the rich in town for the week.

“There’s no other week in Miami where there are so many high net-worth individuals,” said Oren Alexander of Prudential Douglas Elliman. “No other city in the world can compete with the level of sophistication and class during this time.” 3 Comments

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From left: Infinity at Brickell, Paramount Bay and Jade Ocean in Sunny Isles Beach

When ST Residential outbid seven possible suitors, including the Related Companies, for failed Corus Bank of Chicago’s national distressed loan portfolio, industry observers believed the firm overpaid for the loans as the market headed for collapse.

But the Miami Herald reported that ST Residential will pass its first test with the loans when it completes a $150 million payment to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It can thank the buyers of 1,400 South Florida condominiums, many of whom were foreign, who accounted for about $650 million in sales, the Herald said. [more]

The Paramount Bay, a project which began with a more than $200 million construction loan in 2006, and first broke ground a year before that, is now launching sales, according to World Property Channel. The project underwent a series of problems, from the deaths of two construction workers to overextension by primary lender Corus Bank. In 2009, the project fell through and was in limbo until this year, when iStar won a $262 million foreclosure judgment on the site, allowing it to move to auction. [more]

The new ownership of Miami’s 47-story Paramount Bay condominium has tapped Lenny Kravitz to redesign the property’s interiors and outdoor space, including the spa fitness center, lobby and pool terraces. The 340-unit project was taken over through a foreclosure by lender iStar and ST Residential, which recently ponied up the rest of the financing needed to complete the long-awaited, mixed-use tower. No opening date has yet been set, but brokerage Fortune International has been hired to market the residences. Kravitz’s New York-based Kravitz Design firm has previously worked on the Florida Room lounge at the Delano as well as the penthouse recording studio at the Setai Resort & Residences in South Beach. [SFBJ]

Paramount Bay, the troubled, 340-unit condominium in downtown Miami, finally has the financing it needs to complete construction after a foreclosure takeover by lender iStar and ST Residential. According to GlobeSt.com, the new owners have put up millions of dollars to finish the 47-story, mixed-use tower, and though they have not yet set an opening date, they have tapped brokerage Fortune International to market the residences, and the Comras Company to bring in retailers and restaurants. [more]

Fitch Ratings upgraded the issuer default ratings of iStar Financial, citing the lender’s
recently announced $2.95 billion credit agreement, which
lowered the amount of debt coming due in June.
The funds are comprised of two credit lines that will help iStar extend its debt payments
until 2013 and 2014. The Manhattan-based lender had warned of a potential collapse
unless it was able to extend the deadline on its payments. [more]

The developers of the Oceanique condominium, located on an island near Vero Beach on the Treasure Coast, have lobbed 43 percent off the asking prices of the remaining 100 apartments in the 144-unit, two-tower complex, according to a new report from Condo Vultures. Some of the units have recently sold below $200 per square foot, down from an average of $336 in 2007, when the complex first hit the market. Listing prices for the units, which are complete and ready for move-ins, now start at $209 per square foot. The developers are Maurice, Michael and Robert Kodsi, relatives of Daniel Kodsi, developer of the foreclosed downtown Miami condo Paramount Bay. The Kodsis, said Condo Vultures president Peter Zalewski, have “finally come to grips with the new world order of pricing for Florida condos, even for oceanfront projects.” TRD

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As commercial real estate lender iStar Financial tries to restructure some of its $8.6 billion in debt, it may seek bankruptcy protection, after creditors blocked it from amending loans, company insiders told Bloomberg News. The company expects to meet with creditors next month to discuss a potential “pre-packaged bankruptcy,” which could occur sometime next year. New York-based iStar recently saw its shares plunge more than 25 percent, losing more than 90 percent of their value since 2007. The company, led by CEO Jay Sugarman, hired Lazard, and Kirkland & Ellis to advise them on the debt restructuring. IStar made loans on properties including the nearly complete Paramount Bay condominium on N. Bayshore Drive in Miami. Aside from bankruptcy, iStar is considering a proposal to extend maturities on its debt as well as a potential exchange offer, sources said. [Bloomberg via Crain's]

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