Icon Brickell future ownership questions abound

Miami developer Jorge Perez and his Related Group are always in the public eye, but now that attention is becoming uncomfortable as its flagship three-tower luxury condominium project, the Icon Brickell, veers further into financial trouble. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Related would have to surrender ownership to Bank of America and HSBC, the 1,800-unit complex’s main lenders. Perez said in a Wednesday television interview that discussions with the lenders were still in progress, and that a decision would be made within 30 days. Market watchers said Perez’s chances of holding on to Icon are slim, and suggested Related would follow a similar path to its exit of the 420-unit CityPlace South Tower in West Palm Beach, which it sold to an investment group headed by Toronto-based Scotia Capital. [Miami Herald] and [Wall Street Journal]