UPDATED, Aug. 15, 6:55 p.m.: Miami real estate investor Jorge Ariel Lopez paid $7 million for an apartment building on the Miami River, signaled growing demand for properties along the waterway.
Lopez bought the 42-unit building at 1160 Northwest North River Drive for $166,666 per unit, according to Fausto Commercial Realty. The seller is R/S Management of Charlotte, North Carolina, which is led by Larry Sorkin.
Yolymiler “Yoly” Diaz of Fausto Commercial Realty Consultants represented the seller. Gema Ruiz of ElevenTrust Real Estate represented the buyer.
The building has 34 one-bedroom apartments and eight studios. The apartments total 22,010 square feet and the entire property totals 40,741 square feet.
The property also has 14 boat slips. The building was originally built in 1964 and is zoned T-5-O, which allows for a higher density, mixed-use building. The site is in front of Modera Riverhouse, a recently completed 292-unit apartment complex developed by Mill Creek Residential.
Lopez has acquired and sold other properties on the Miami River and in Hialeah. In February 2018, Lopez sold a 67-unit apartment complex at 6680 West Second Court in Hialeah for $10 million.
What was once a neglected and overlooked part of Miami’s urban core, the Miami River is experiencing a development boom. In June, developer Avra Jain and her partners announced they are planning a $200 million mixed-use project with a Sixty Hotel along the Miami River.
Other projects along the river include Mast Capital and AEW Capital Management’s Miami River Walk rental development, KAR Properties’ planned One River Point luxury condo tower, and River Landing Shops & Residences.