Chinese buyer behind bulk purchase at Brickell City Centre’s Rise condo tower

A wealthy Chinese buyer who lives in both Shanghai and Hong Kong — and has never visited Miami — is the buyer behind a $10.9 million bulk purchase of 12 units at Brickell City Centre’s recently completed Rise condo tower, The Real Deal has learned.

Real estate brokers Marc Hameroff and Sam Sayegh, president and CEO, respectively, of AG Real Estate Advisors’ Asia division, sold the units to the Chinese buyer, who they declined to name. Han Lin, a New York-based agent with the Meier Group, referred Hameroff and Sayegh to the buyer.

Hameroff and Sayegh said the buyer lives in a Swire-developed tower in Hong Kong. Swire Properties is also the developer of Brickell City Centre.

They said the buyer plans to rent out the Miami units, which are mostly on the 28th floor of Rise, at 88 Southwest Seventh Street. “He will rent the properties and keep them for several years until the market turns again,” Hameroff told TRD. The buyer also plans to make more investments in Miami, he added.

Though the Chinese buyer has never visited Miami, “his representatives and people who work with him have been to Miami, so he has some familiarity,” Sayegh said. “But this was an investment, not for personal use.” A recent CBRE report ranked Miami fourth for Asian investment among U.S. cities, after New York, San Francisco and Chicago.

Rise received its temporary certificate of occupancy two months ago and closings began in September. Both Rise and its sister condo tower Reach, which started recording closings in April, have 390 units priced between $595,000 and $2.7 million.

The units are delivered move-in ready and have access to amenities including an on-site concierge, fitness center, half-acre amenity deck with lap and social pools, plus a 24-hour valet.

Here are the 12 Rise units purchased by the Chinese buyer, with purchase prices and square footage. The Next Miami first reported the closings of the units:

Brickell City Centre, a $1.05 billion mixed-use project, includes East, Miami hotel and Three Brickell City Centre, which have also opened. Brickell City Centre’s shopping center, a 500,000-square-foot retail component, is scheduled to launch next Thursday. Saks Fifth Avenue is the anchor, and luxury stores will be located on the first floor, with premium and contemporary retailers on the second and third floors. The shops will feature street-level access to an underground two-story garage.