The Plaza Coral Gables scores $100M construction loan

Mixed-use project calls for 242-key hotel, 174-rental component, office and retail

Rendering of the Plaza Coral Gables
Rendering of the Plaza Coral Gables

UPDATED, June 4, 2 p.m.: Agave Holdings, a group that includes the family behind the Jose Cuervo spirits business, closed on a $100 million construction loan for The Plaza Coral Gables.

Agave Ponce secured the loan from PNC Bank, according to property records. The Plaza, a major mixed-use project under construction at 2901 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, will have a high-end hotel, Class A office space, retail, and luxury rentals.

HFF’s Manny de Zárraga, Jim Dockerty and Matthew McCormack represented Agave Holdings in securing the loan.

The developer is a commercial real estate firm that focuses on projects in the U.S. and Mexico, according to a fact sheet about the project. Construction began last year.

The Plaza, which is being designed by CallisonRTKL, is being built on 7 acres across from the Ponce Circle Park. The 2.25 million-square-foot development will have a 242-key hotel, more than 2,000 parking spaces, 174 rental apartments and 161,000 square feet of retail space.

The financing is for the first phase of the project, which includes 291,000 square feet of office space, 101,000 square feet of retail and the majority of the apartments.

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The rental component will have studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, a rooftop pool and a fitness center. The hotel will include meeting space, a fitness center and pool.

Blanca Commercial Real Estate is handling office leasing of two Class A towers, and Koniver Stern Group is leasing the retail space. The project will surround a historic George Merrick building and include public art, an open plaza and colonnade-style sidewalks.

Coral Gables commissioners approved the development in June 2015 and reduced the size of the project two years later.

Property records show an affiliate of Agave Holdings owns the majority of the three blocks southwest of Ponce Circle Park, with the exception of one holdout property at 2915 Coconut Grove Drive. Construction has moved forward without that property.

The developer could not immediately be reached for comment.

An earlier version of this story stated the developer closed on a $65 million loan. It boosted its loan to $100 million.