Arison-developed Hamilton on the Bay hits the market in Edgewater

UPDATED, Aug. 27, 3:27 p.m.: Carnival Cruise Line founder Ted Arison built Hamilton on the Bay, a waterfront residential building in Edgewater, in the early 1980s. Now, a company affiliated with the Arison family is looking to sell the 271-unit apartment building and surrounding land.

The property, at 555 Northeast 34th Street, is on the market and expected to sell for more than $100 million, brokers say. A comparable sale in 2015 would put the price at more than $150 million.

Listing broker Rani Hussami of Marcus & Millichap’s Hussami Rockson Group, who is engaged to Kelly Arison, confirmed that the 4.4-acre assemblage is on the market. It includes a vacant lot across the street at 640 Northeast 34th Street and the adjacent four-unit apartment building at 630 Northeast 34th Street. He declined to identify the owners or provide comparable sales, citing a confidentiality agreement. It’s on the market without an asking price.

The three parcels are zoned T6-36, which means they can be developed into 150 units per acre. Hussami said a buyer could add onto the Hamilton using the lots across the street, or redevelop the entire site into about 660 units.

The 28-story, 271-unit Hamilton was built in 1984 and designed to look like a ship. It was built as a condo development with 264 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, plus seven penthouses. But Properties of Hamilton, the current owner, purchased the units back in the 1990s and later converted the building to rentals.

Rents range from $1,780 to $4,220 a month, according to Apartmentfinder.com. Hussami declined to provide rents or occupancy, but said that average rents in the market range from $2.25 per square foot to $2.50 per square foot.

Properties of Hamilton owns the Hamilton, and POH LLC and 630 QUOD LLC own the other two lots. All three companies list a Coral Gables address tied to Arison family foundations.

There are few comparable sales for waterfront sites in Edgewater, since many developers will spend years buying up individual properties and units for their assemblages. The development site of Elysee Miami, at 788 Northeast 23rd Street, sold for $22 million in 2015. At about $788 per square foot, that would put the Hamilton assemblage at more than $151 million. The Elysee property had the same zoning.

Michael Fay, a broker with Avison Young, said the Hamilton site will garner a lot of interest, and will sell for “well over $100 million.” Fay recently listed a blocklong site nearby at 1700 Biscayne Boulevard in an Opportunity Zone.

The Hamilton is about two blocks south of I-195, near the Shops at Midtown Miami and the Design District. Bainbridge Companies, a Wellington-based property management company, manages the building.

Developers like the Related Group, Melo Group, OKO Group and Two Roads Development all have bayfront projects in Edgewater. Just south of the Hamilton, Related recently completed its Paraiso Bay complex of multiple condo towers and townhouses.

Melo Group recently filed plans for two 60-story residential towers with nearly 800 units at 700 Northeast 24th Street.

Offers for Hamilton on the Bay are due Sept. 6, Hussami said.

Correction: A previous version of the story misrepresented Rani Hussami’s relationship with Kelly Arison.