Rockwood and Mill Creek JV buys Modern Miami rental tower

20-story apartment building sold along with an adjacent 16,714 sf lot

The Modern Miami and Mill Creek’s Charles R. Brindell, Jr. and Water Associates’ David Schwartz
The Modern Miami and Mill Creek’s Charles R. Brindell, Jr. and Water Associates’ David Schwartz

A joint venture between Rockwood Capital and Mill Creek Residential just bought the Modern Miami apartment building near the Miami River for $47.45 million.

Chicago-based Waterton Associates is the seller. Property records show the 166-unit apartment building at 1444 Northwest 14th Avenue sold in addition to a vacant, 16,714-square-foot lot directly west of the property.

Waterton Chairman and CEO David Schwartz said the firm worked on entitling the land to allow for more multifamily construction. Records show the company purchased the entire 1.75-acre property in 2013 for $32 million from an entity led by Glenn Chwatt and Scott Svirsky.

Schwartz said Waterton completed the 20-story apartment building in 2014 after construction had stalled under its previous ownership. The building most recently traded at about 95 percent occupied.

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Records show the Rockwood Capital and Mill Creek Residential joint venture financed the deal with a $31 million loan from CIT Bank.

The property is close to Miami’s Health District and the Miami River, which is increasingly becoming a target for new development.

Most recently, investors Levy Gomez, Marcos Corminas and chef John Gray proposed a new hotel and food court along the Miami River called The Shipyard.

This isn’t the first deal between Mill Creek and Waterton. In 2015, Waterton purchased the second phase of Fort Lauderdale’s Port Royale apartment community from Mill Creek for $94 million.

In August, Mill Creek paid $37.2 million for a 127-unit apartment complex in Dania Beach.