Chetrit scores $55M loan for Miami Beach project

Renderings of the Collins Park Hotel redevelopment project in Miami Beach
Renderings of the Collins Park Hotel redevelopment project in Miami Beach

The Chetrit Group, a New York-based development firm, just closed on $55 million in financing to redevelop part of Collins Park: a group of Postwar modern and Art Deco properties in South Beach, some of which were ravaged by fires eight years ago.

CG Sunny Isles, a company managed by Joseph Chetrit, took out the funds from BB&T, according to Miami-Dade County records.

The loan covers a group of hotels and apartments, specifically these properties: 2035 Washington Avenue, 430 21st Street, 2030 Park Avenue, 2000 Park Avenue, 425 20th Street and 435 20th Street. Together, the parcels make up a 1.65-acre chunk of premium land a block away from Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art. Not included is the apartment building at 2001 Washington Avenue named The Allen, an affordable housing complex that’s operated by the Miami Beach Community Development Corporation.

On Tuesday, alongside its mortgage, Chetrit filed notice with the county that it was beginning renovations on the hotel at 2000 Park Avenue, formerly known as the Collins Park Hotel. Plans for the project include the renovation and restoration of five to seven historic structures on the block, along with constructing a new five-story building on Washington Avenue, architect Kobi Karp told The Real Deal. Brothers Joseph Chetrit and Meyer Chetrit, along with Miami-based Ari Pearl are the developers.

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Karp, who is designing the Collins Park complex, said the historic properties will function as a hotel complex with 296 rooms. Construction has begun and is on a 20-month schedule. The roofs of all the buildings will be connected and include food and beverage operations, Karp said. When completed, the hotel will feature a signature restaurant, four bars and three pools.

“The new five-story building allowed us to create more rooms and a more contemporary design that complements the buildings,” he told TRD. “You’ll be able to walk from the ocean through Collins Park to the new convention center.”

Through its holding companies, Chetrit paid $10.825 million for the six properties in April 2012. A month after the purchase, Chetrit began work to stabilize the buildings that had sustained the most damage: 435 20th Street, 2000 Park Avenue and 430 21st Street. All that stands today are shells of those structures. They were gutted by a 2007 fire that could have been the work of an arsonist, according to a Miami Herald article. Investigators reported the second floor of the Collins Park Hotel had been drenched in gasoline. No arrests were made.

Chetrit’s financing was arranged by David Sessa and Justin Decter of GCP Capital Group in New York.