South Florida briefs

South Florida briefs

Paramount Miami
Paramount Miami

Paramount Miami Worldcenter clinches $285M construction loan

Developer Dan Kodsi closed on a massive $285 million construction loan for Paramount Miami Worldcenter — the second-biggest condo construction loan to close in Miami-Dade in the last two years.

Inbursa Bank provided $170 million, and BC Immigration Fund, an affiliate of New York-based Brevet Capital, provided $115 million in financing for the project, a 60-story, 562-unit tower at Miami Worldcenter. Paramount Ventures — a partnership of Kodsi and the Worldcenter’s Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani — is the developer.

In addition to its size, the loan is significant because it’s become increasingly difficult for South Florida condo projects to secure construction financing.

“It wasn’t easy. If we started the process today, it would have been much tougher,” said Kodsi, who went to the market for the loan last year. “When lenders looked at the entire package, this deal was worth doing. If you just had a one-off condo anywhere, really, it would have been tough.”

Construction crews broke ground on the 700-foot tower, which is nearing 60 percent sold, a year ago. Miami Worldcenter also includes 450,000 square feet of retail space, hundreds more apartments and a 1,700-room Marriott Marquis.

Resale pricing falls as downtown Miami gets surge of new condos

As new condo units continue to come online in 2017, Miami resale pricing is experiencing a drop for the first time in eight years.

Greater Downtown Miami’s condo inventory will grow by 3,456 new units this year, according to a report by the Miami Downtown Development Authority and Integra Realty Resources. While the number is high, it’s still significantly less than the 21,000-plus condos that flooded the market between 2004 and 2009.

Still, the wave of new inventory has led to a decline in pricing. Existing condos saw a 7 percent price drop in January compared to a year before. “I think we are going to see indexes down another 5 or 6 percent this year,” said Anthony Graziano, a principal at Integra.

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New rental product is also expected to bring down rents in older buildings. About 1,000 rental units were delivered in the Greater Downtown Miami area last year, and another 4,900 are under construction.

Bath Club

Peebles lists historic Bath Club in Miami Beach

The Peebles Corporation is selling the historic Bath Club building in Miami Beach, once a private club that catered to former U.S President Herbert Hoover.

The Bath Club, at 5937 Collins Avenue, could sell for more than $25 million, said Colliers International listing broker Gerard Yetming, who shares the listing with Irving Padron of Engel & Völkers. The five-acre property includes the 15,000-square-foot clubhouse, a fitness center, a commercial kitchen, 60 cabanas and a courtyard.

The Bath Club is now primarily used as an event venue, with the average event costing about $13,500 a night.

Company founder and CEO Don Peebles told The Real Deal he’s selling because his firm isn’t in the event-venue business. “We’re not maximizing the club’s full potential,” he said.

Peebles purchased the property for about $10 million in 2000, acquiring the rights to the club later. The firm redeveloped 107 condos and six oceanfront villas on the property, completing them in 2006. The original clubhouse buildings were preserved.

There is “nothing else like it in Miami, and frankly in South Florida,” Peebles said of the clubhouse, adding that “even at Mar-a-Lago, you have to cross the street to get to the ocean.”