Developer Alex Sapir sells Arte penthouse for $33M

Alex Sapir’s Sapir Corp. sold the penthouse at its luxury oceanfront condo building in Surfside for $33 million, marking one of the most expensive condo sales to close this year.

A private equity executive paid cash for the 7,681-square-foot triplex condo at Arte by Antonio Citterio at 8955 Collins Avenue, which is record-breaking in Surfside at about $4,300 per square foot, Sapir said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal.

The closing adds to a seemingly endless stream of high-priced residential sales in South Florida in recent months, and marks another example of the spillover from the waterfront single-family home market.

Tara West of Douglas Elliman represented the developer, and Ryan Serhant of Serhant and Julian Cohen of Jills Zeder Group represented the buyer.

The penthouse has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, two half-bathrooms, and 6,260 square feet of terrace space, including a private rooftop pool. It was sold furnished by Visionnaire.

Sapir and his development partner, Giovanni Fasciano, declined to identify the buyer, but said the deal came together in the last three weeks. The $4,300 per-square-foot closing beats the previous Surfside record of $3,656 per foot, the developers said.

“The last three weeks have been really, really busy,” Fasciano said. Both said that interest in the 16-unit, 12-story building has increased during the pandemic, especially since Arte is a low density building.

“I think the market is at the point that if you don’t close quickly you can lose the transaction,” Sapir said, referring to the buyer frenzy. Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin recently sold his Faena House in Miami Beach for $35 million, likely the highest price paid for a condo in South Florida this year.

Arte is just south of the Four Seasons Residences and Hotel at the Surf Club. It was completed a year ago and features an outdoor pool, indoor lap pool, a spa and fitness center, a tennis court, residents’ lounge and air conditioned parking. The building was designed by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel with Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design.

Property records show Bella Sapir, Alex Sapir’s mother, paid $11.2 million for unit 302 at Arte by Antonio Citterio. His sister, Ruth Sapir-Barinstein, closed on unit 301 for $10.9 million. She is a trustee of the Arte 301 Trust.

Seven units are occupied, including the penthouse, Sapir said. At the onset of the pandemic, the Sapir Corp. secured lender approval to rent the units to cover costs and provide flexibility, as well as approval for a 12-month extension to pay back a construction loan.

In August, Sapir Corp.’s Israeli bondholders overwhelmingly approved the company’s proposal to push back the maturity date of Sapir Corp.’s $44 million bond series from 2022 to 2025. In exchange, the company agreed to an immediate prepayment of about $8 million and a higher interest rate.