South Florida round up

Blackstone’s Gray bullish on Miami

Not only does Jonathan Gray, the global head of real estate for the Blackstone Group, not believe the U.S. is headed toward a recession this year, he has a “favorable bias” for investing in Miami and Florida. “I’m a believer in Miami. I’m a believer in the state of Florida. The key here is having the staying power,” said Gray, who last month served as the keynote speaker at the Real Estate Impact Conference at the University of Miami.

Blackstone Group, which has $94 billion in equity under management and $175 billion in assets, has a portfolio of 50,000 single-family homes in 13 markets in the U.S. One-third of the portfolio is in Florida, and Miami is the biggest market by value, he said.

Although he acknowledged softness in the high-end condo market, with Florida’s growing population and desirability, Gray said he sees the state’s long-term future as positive, particularly in Miami. “We like to buy real estate in times of volatility and hold it for a long period of time,” he said.

A rendering of Brickell City Centre shops

Apple to open in Brickell City Centre, sources say

Apple will launch its largest store in Florida at Brickell City Centre, a $1 billion mixed-used development located in Miami’s financial district, sources told The Real Deal. The 500,000-square-foot open-air shopping center is set to open this fall with 70 stores and restaurants and will be anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue. Swire Properties, Whitman Family Development and Simon Property Group are co-developing the retail project. Brickell City Centre will also include two condominium towers, two Class A office buildings and a hotel. Reached for comment, an Apple spokesperson said the company “hasn’t made any announcements about a store at that location.” A Swire spokesperson also declined to comment regarding Apple.

Ken Griffin seeks to flip at Faena House

After making Miami-Dade’s top residential purchase last year with a $60 million penthouse at the Faena House, billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin has put the property back on the market for $73 million. Griffin never combined the top-floor penthouse and a smaller unit below it into the 12,500-square-foot duplex residence he’d planned. So now he has listed both Miami Beach units separately: $55 million for the upper floor and $18 million for the lower one. Eloy Carmenate and Mick Duchon of Douglas Elliman have the listing. The units can be sold separately or together, Carmenate said.

Ken Griffin

The top-floor penthouse features five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms spanning 8,270 square feet. It also has a rooftop pool deck with a 71-foot infinity edge pool. The smaller unit measures 4,240 square feet and has three bedrooms.

The initial purchase price broke down to $4,794 per square foot. Now, Griffin wants $6,650 per foot for the larger unit and $4,245 per foot for the smaller. The 18-story, 42-unit Faena House was completed in September. Buyers include hedge funder James Dinan and Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs.