Trending
Louis Birdman, partners sell 127-acre Diplomat property in Hallandale for $43M
Dev site was approved for high-rises with 1,200 units
UPDATED 3:20 p.m., May 31: A partnership led by Louis Birdman sold the 127-acre Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club in Hallandale Beach to a company controlled by Ari Pearl for $43.25 million, property records show.
Diplomat Golf Course Venture LLC, which includes Birdman, and Mike Meyers and Nate Sirang of California-based Concord Wilshire Companies, sold the property at 501 Diplomat Parkway to Maltese Diplomat Owner LLC, an entity led by Pearl.
Pearl’s PPG Development Group is leading the ownership group along with his partner, Michael Herman of Premium Capital, according to a press release. Diplomat Golf Course Venture is retaining a stake in the property.
The buyer financed the purchase with a $42 million mortgage from Kawa Capital Partners affiliate KCP 9 LLC, according to property records.
Birdman and his partners planned a $450 million redevelopment of the golf club, but acknowledged last year that they were receiving unsolicited offers for the property. In early 2016, the city approved their plans for four high-rise buildings ranging from 20 stories to 30 stories, and a maximum of 1,188 residential or hotel units.
About two years ago, the city’s vice mayor reportedly admitted to accepting favors from Meyers in exchange for his vote in approving the golf club’s redevelopment. Birdman, Meyers and Sirang disputed the allegation, and said that their interactions with the city were “100 percent above the board and by the book.”
The group paid $20 million for the golf course and club in 2014. The Hallandale Beach property is located west of the Intracoastal Waterway, near the recently renovated Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood.
Birdman is also an investor in One Thousand Museum, a 62-story luxury condo tower designed by the late Zaha Hadid. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Pearl is partnering with JDS Development and the Chetrit Group on mixed-use projects in Miami, Miami Beach and Pompano Beach. He could not be reached for comment.