Developers clear first hurdle in massive casino redevelopment, FPL fuels up with Homestead farmland for natural gas facility: Daily digest

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 throughout the day. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

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Rendering of the project

Cordish Companies and partner plan redevelopment of casino and horse racing track in Pompano Beach. Pompano Beach city commissioners granted the first approval to a land-use change that would more than triple the maximum number of residential units on the Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park. [TRD]

FPL buys 109 acres near Homestead for natural gas facility. Florida Power and Light bought 109 acres near Homestead for $9.8 million where its affiliate natural gas company plans to build a nitrogen gas plant. [TRD]

Turnberry Ocean Club condo tower scored a $460 million refinance. Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development secured a massive refinance of its Turnberry Ocean Club, a 54-story condo tower under construction in Sunny Isles Beach. JPMorgan Chase and Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies are the lenders. [TRD]

Forever 21 is planning to file for bankruptcy as soon as Sunday. The retail chain could close as many as 700 stores in such an event, bringing an end to months of hemorrhaging money while it struggled to secure a loan. [WSJ]

Benderson CEO Randy Benderson and 1635 Northwest 107 Avenue

Benderson Development scoops up Toys “R” Us property in Doral. The University Park, Florida-based real estate investment company purchased the parcel to a Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us in Doral for $5.3 million from Pacific Equities Capital Management. [TRD]

Billionaire Ken Griffin’s massive Palm Beach holdings now total $350M. Hedge funder Ken Griffin’s recent $99 million purchase of a Palm Beach estate highlighted his insatiable appetite for ultra-luxury homes, but it also added to his growing collection of properties in one of South Florida’s glitziest towns. [TRD]

Amid growing demand for university housing, Adam America buys a multifamily complex near FIU. Developers are increasingly seeking to build new upscale student living next to Florida International University as demand for that kind of housing grows. [TRD]

Adam Neumann (technically) lost $10 billion. The WeWork founder’s 22 percent stake was reportedly pegged as high as $14 billion earlier this year. But after a rocky path to the company’s IPO, its valuation has plummeted, and Neumann’s stake is now worth closer to $3 billion. [Bloomberg]

Low rates are increasing loan enthusiasm. Mortgage applications jumped 2 percent last week, compared with the previous week, and remained 69 percent higher than the same week last year. Interest rates are also down slightly; the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with conforming loan balances dropped to 3.82 percent from 3.87 percent over the week. [CNBC]

Anbang’s Andrew Miller with Fairmont Chicago and JW Marriott Essex House on Central Park South (Credit: Wikipedia)

A fraudulent deed complicated Anbang’s $6 billion hotel sale. Anbang has sold its U.S. hotel portfolio to the highest bidder at a price north of $5.8 billion, but a last-minute wrench was thrown into the deal when the Chinese insurance conglomerate discovered six of the properties’ deeds were fraudulently transferred to limited liability companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. [TRD]

The Wynwood property and David Edelstein

The owner of W South Beach buys up more land for Wynwood residential project. TriStar Capital’s David Edelstein paid $6.5 million to add a chunk of land to his growing assemblage along a booming stretch of Wynwood. He plans to develop the site into a residential building with about 365,000 square feet of space and up to 370 units. [TRD]

SoftBank is looking to use its leverage to call off WeWork’s planned IPO. SoftBank is urging WeWork’s parent company to shelve its IPO plans as the Japanese conglomerate tries to raise $108 billion for a second Vision Fund. It could struggle to attract major investors if the firm’s initial $100 billion Vision Fund is hurt by a poor performing investment in WeWork. [TRD]

Palm Beach condos shut off power as Hurricane Dorian approached. Some Palm Beach condominium buildings turned off their power after an evacuation was issued from Hurricane Doraine, leaving residents to endure miserably hot conditions. [Palm Beach Daily News]

Compiled by Keith Larsen