Fort Lauderdale airport offices trade hands to convicted tax evader for $9M

The Brenner Real Estate Group just sold its offices within spitting distance of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s runways to a convicted tax evader for $8.9 million.

County records show a Brenner affiliate sold the single-story Cypress Commons office complex last week to North Miami real estate investors Alan Lipton and Yoram Izhak.

The offices are located at 1500 West Cypress Creek Road, which is directly north of the airport runways and hangars. With a total of 89,053 square feet of space, this sale breaks down to just under $100 per square foot.

Office space at the building goes for $12 per square foot on a triple-net annual basis, with “flex space” commanding a lower price of $7 per foot, according to Brenner’s website.

Brenner first bought the 1980s-era building for $5.975 million, or about $67 per foot, in 2001 and moved its offices there. Led by founder Scott Brenner, the commercial firm acts as both an investment company and as a brokerage for deals like HealthSouth Sunrise Rehabilitation Hospital sale of a 10-acre development site in Sunrise.

After 15 years, Brenner has made a tidy 49 percent profit on its Fort Lauderdale offices.

The new owners, Lipton and Izhak, financed their purchase with a $6.675 million loan from Centerstate Bank of Florida.

According to published reports, Israeli-born Izhak moved to Miami at a young age and found success in the clothing business before moving on to real estate investments. He’s run afoul of the law on several occasions, including a federal conviction for tax evasion as well as attempting to board a plane with a loaded gun at the Fort Lauderdale airport.