Alex Sapir, through his investment firm, the Sapir Corp., is seeking shareholder approval on a deal that will let his relatives bail him out on a luxury condo development under construction in Surfside, a sleepy town north of Miami Beach.
Alex Sapir’s publicly traded company is proposing to use $6 million in deposits for condo units at Arte by Antonio Citterio, to fund overrun costs tied to completing construction of the 12-story project, according to documents filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Sapir did not immediately return an email request for comment.
The deposits: $3 million from Sapir’s mother, Bella Sapir; and another $3 million from his sister, Ruth Sapir-Barinstein, would be used as short-term loans to finish the building, which by the end of December was about two-thirds completed.
The sales are for the two condo units priced at a combined $20 million on the eighth floor of the 16-unit building at 8955 Collins Avenue.
In 2017, the developer took out a $90 million construction loan from Bank Leumi USA to build the boutique project, near the Four Seasons Residences and Hotel at The Surf Club. Bank Leumi would also have to sign off on the condo deposit deal, which the Sapir Corp. said would be used as an alternative to taking out more expensive financing.
Sapir Corp. is also facing an April 15 deadline to pay half of a Series 4 bond financing raised in 2016. The remaining half is due in April 2020.
Alex Sapir, based in New York and Israeli, launched sales on the project with Corcoran Sunshine during Art Basel Miami Beach about three months ago.
Arte, with about 75,000 square feet of sellable condo space, will feature an outdoor pool, indoor lap pool, a spa and fitness center, a tennis court, residents’ lounge and air conditioned parking.
Arte marks Sapir’s first project in South Florida. The developer also has plans for a 1.7 million-square-foot mixed-use complex in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District, called Miami 18.