Ben Carson dismisses concerns about Opportunity Zones, private equity landlord pays $10M for Palm Beach Gardens properties: Daily digest

A daily round up of South Florida real estate news, deals and more for August 9, 2019

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up South Florida’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 4 p.m. ET. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

This page was last updated at 4 p.m.

 

Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)

“Rich people are going to get richer anyway”: HUD Secretary Ben Carson dismissed concerns that Opportunity Zones will only benefit rich people. Carson is well aware of the complaints directed at the federal Opportunity Zones, and how the tax incentive program meant to boost struggling communities may only end up benefiting rich investors and developers. “Some people have complained, and said, ‘This is just a mechanism for rich people to get richer,’” he said during a morning talk at the Marriott Hotel in Brooklyn. “Um, news flash, rich people are going to get richer anyway.” [TRD]

 

Private equity landlord paid $10 million for Palm Beach Gardens apartments. The private equity firm Sky Lake Partners, led by Marlena Demenus, purchased 29 units at multifamily properties in Palm Beach Gardens for $9.92 million, according to a release. Sky Lake bought 19 units at the Legacy Place at 1000 Legacy Place and 10 units at Alton Townhomes at 8072-8110 Hobbes Way [TRD]

 

2 MiamiCentral and 3 MiamiCentral

2 MiamiCentral and 3 MiamiCentral

Defunct Facchina sues to collect $4.3 million for MiamiCentral office building work. Shorenstein Properties purchased 2 MiamiCentral and 3 MiamiCentral in May for $159.4 million, and the San Francisco REIT also allegedly inherited millions of dollars in construction debt from the previous owner. Last month, Facchina Construction of Florida, the project’s now-defunct general contractor, sued the Shorenstein affiliate that now owns the buildings for nonpayment of $4.3 million in construction work that was allegedly completed in 2016. [TRD]

 

Fitch said natural disasters could impact Miami’s Rickenbacker Causeway. Fitch analysts said “the causeway is exposed to extreme weather events in relation to rising sea levels and vulnerable to traffic and revenue disruptions.” The concerns didn’t impact the credit rating, however, as the bridge is still rated a BBB+. [Miami Herald]

 

Kanye West (Credit: Getty Images)

Kanye West’s Star Wars themed affordable housing plan in Los Angeles hits a snag. The outspoken rapper’s plan for a community of dome-like houses for low-income residents modelled after the “Stars Wars” movies has run into trouble with city officials, according to TMZ. Calabasas city officials have cited the Grammy-winning artist for building several dome structures, which he claims are temporary prototypes, without having received permits. [TRD]

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A maintenance worker for the 3360 Condominium Association in Palm Beach allegedly defrauded the association. For 18 months, Joseph Maselli double-billed the Palm Beach condo association, according to the police. In total, he allegedly defrauded the association out of $17,000. [Palm Beach Daily News]

 

Residential sales fall in Broward County and increase slightly in Miami-Dade County. Home prices kept rising across the two counties, but at a slower pace than before. In Miami-Dade County, single-family home sales rose 1.8 percent to 3,854, but condo sales declined 0.6 percent to 4,007. [TRD]

 

Related CEO Stephen Ross (Credit: Getty Images, Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter)

Stephen Ross’ massive business empire includes gyms, condos, coffee and more. The 79-year-old developer — worth an estimated $7.7 billion, according to Forbes — founded Related Companies in 1972 with a focus on affordable housing. Today, his empire has $50 billion in assets owned or under development, including the 28-acre mega-development Hudson Yards. He also owns the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. [TRD]

 

AmTrust Bank building sells in Coral Gables. Ubiica LLC and Maven Real Estate paid $12 million for the AmTrust Bank office building and three adjacent lots in Coral Gables. The joint venture acquired the properties from New York Community Bank in an off-market transaction, according to a release. The 25,428-square-foot AmTrust office building at 2701 Ponce de Leon Boulevard is near The Plaza mega-project that is under construction.

 

Zillow shares fall after company reports losses in key division. Investors punished Zillow after it reported earnings this week as the company reported losses from its year-old home-flipping business. Shares fell 16 percent on Thursday. A year ago, the company told investors it had underestimated the time it would take to close home purchases. [Bloomberg]

 

Malaysia filed criminal charges on Friday against a top executive at Goldman Sachs. The former executive now works for Alibaba of China and is alleged to have been involved in the 1MDB scandal, according to the New York Times. The charges increase the legal challenges for Goldman Sachs over its role in the multibillion-dollar international fraud scandal that led to the ouster of Malaysia’s prime minister. [New York Times]

 

Compiled by Keith Larsen