From the South Florida site: Thor Equities made another addition to its growing Design District portfolio with the purchase of the retail building occupied by high-end furniture company Baltus, The Real Deal has learned.
The New York investor purchased the 3925 North Miami Avenue property on Friday, according to sources familiar with the transaction. The sources did not disclose the price.
A company tied to Miami-based Fifteen Group is the seller. It paid $3.7 million for the building in January 2012, according to county records.
Miami-Dade County has not recorded Thor’s latest acquisition. The company recently paid about $16 million for two properties on Northeast 39th Street, including the NEST building.
Thor originally had a contract to buy the Baltus building before the Fifteen Group-managed company opted to widely market the property through HFF, according to Chariff Realty Group president Lyle Chariff, who facilitated the transaction on behalf of Thor. Chariff confirmed that the transaction closed but declined to disclose the initial contract value or final purchase price.
After marketing the building, Fifteen came back to Thor with a first right of refusal to acquire the property at an increased price, according to Chariff. Thor jumped on the opportunity.
The 10,780-square-foot Baltus property has zoning that allows up to 12 stories and a maximum of 32 residential units or 63 hotel rooms. Baltus’ existing lease ends in April 2015. The company is partnering with the Related Group on the luxury Baltus House condo building under construction near the district.
The district is experiencing a flurry of property sales activity, as investors seek to capitalize on Dacra and L Real Estate’s $1 billion mixed-use development. In a recent example not involving Thor, developer David Edelstein picked up a pair of district properties for $10.6 million on April 7.