South Beach redevelopment site for sale at $7.5M

A small, 1930s-era apartment complex in South Beach has been put up for sale with an asking price of $7.5 million, and it’s being marketed as a possible hotel redevelopment opportunity.

The property is located at 1030 Sixth Street. It’s composed of three, two-story buildings that form a courtyard with green space and concrete pathways. They house a total of 12 rental units that were built in 1938 and were recently renovated.

Joseph Raia, an investment associate at ElevenTrust Real Estate Services, told The Real Deal that the property is an off-market listing, though it could hit the MLS within the next few weeks. In addition to Raia, ElevenTrust owner Sharif Bula and broker David Franza are handling the listing.

The property’s 15,000-square-foot lot could house a development of up to 30,000 square feet, he said, and there are already approvals in place for a 30-room hotel project with 10,000 square feet of retail space.

“We want to make sure that [the owner’s] investment is properly valued,” he said. “Right now, if you look at the property, 12-unit multifamily buildings just isn’t where the value is.”

Conceptual renderings show what could be built: three separate structures connected by a third-floor walkway, along with a rooftop pool and a concrete courtyard. Raia said the current approvals would call for preserving the property’s courtyard and the front facades for all three buildings, so a total redevelopment would require another review.

The apartments are owned by Jose Fernandez, a multifamily developer that worked in Miami Beach during the 1980s. He’s now focused on Little Havana.

Miami-Dade County property records show Fernandez first picked up the apartments in 1988 for $185,000, or $12.30 per square foot. At its current asking price, the land would now sell for exactly $500 a square foot.

A few blocks away at 803 Fifth Street, Ronald J. Finvarb put a similarly-sized lot up for sale at $7 million, or roughly $725 per square foot. According to his listing agent, the land was a strategic purchase for Finvarb, who paid only $1 million for the land four years ago.