Paramount Miami Worldcenter clinches $285M construction loan

Developer Dan Kodsi closed on a massive $285 million construction loan for Paramount Miami Worldcenter, marking the second biggest condo construction loan to close in Miami-Dade over the past two years. 

Inbursa Bank provided $170 million and BC Immigration Fund, an affiliate of New York-based Brevet Capital, provided $115 million in financing for Paramount, a 60-story, 562-unit tower at Miami Worldcenter. Paramount Ventures, which includes Kodsi and Worldcenter developers Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani, is the developer.

The loan is the second largest behind a $305 million construction loan for the Residences by Armani/Casa in Sunny Isles Beach, according to county records. Dezer Development and the Related Group secured their financing from Wells Fargo and the Blackstone Group in July.

It’s become increasingly difficult for South Florida condo developers to secure construction loans over the past year or two. Paramount Ventures went to market for a construction loan last year, Kodsi told The Real Deal.

“It wasn’t easy. If we started the process today, it would have been much tougher,” Kodsi said. “When lenders looked at the entire package, this deal was worth doing. If you just had a one-off condo anywhere really, it would have been tough.”

Walker & Dunlop managing directors Kevin O’Grady, Dan Sheehan and Eric McGlynn, who were with Cohen Financial at the time, worked on the financing for Paramount. The financing will also fund construction of the high street retail promenade underneath the condo building. Martin Schwartz, a Bilzin Sumberg partner, represented Paramount.

Sales are nearing 60 percent at Paramount with seven to 10 units selling on a monthly basis, Kodsi said. Buyers hail from more than 40 countries, including China and Turkey. Units range from 1,180 square feet to 2,350 square feet, with prices averaging $750 per square foot. Amenities will include a 4-acre deck filled with an outdoor soccer field, two tennis courts, a boxing studio, “jam room” and private bungalows.

Construction crews broke ground on the 700-foot tower a year ago and are completing the fifth floor. CoastalTishman, a joint venture between Coastal Construction Group and AECOM Tishman, is the general contractor. Kodsi expects the building to open between December 2018 and January 2019. A Kodsi-led LLC paid about $26 million for the 2.25-acre site in October.

After Paramount Miami Worldcenter and Paramount Fort Lauderdale are completed, the developer said he’s planning to expand the brand further in Miami and in other parts of the state.

The Miami tower is one piece of the Miami Worldcenter puzzle.

Paramount will sit directly next to Worldcenter’s 450,000 square feet of high street retail space, and the project as a whole will also feature the Seventh Street Apartments, an additional 429-unit apartment building, and the 1,700-room Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo. On Monday, MDM Development Group paid $45 million for the land for the convention center hotel, which is slated to bring 1,700 hotel rooms to the area.

And last week, the Miami Worldcenter’s community development district announced it issued private placement bonds that will fund $74 million of infrastructure upgrades to the 27-acre site.