Soffer in talks to buy Diplomat resort in Hollywood, 1-800 PetMeds founder sells Miami Beach house: 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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Jeffrey Soffer and the Diplomat Beach Resort (Credit: Getty Images)

Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to sell its 1,000-room Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood to developer Jeffrey Soffer in a deal that would value the property at under $1 billion. Bloomberg reported that Soffer is looking to acquire the property, which would give him control of the second largest hotel in South Florida. Soffer already owns the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, the biggest hotel by room count in the tri-county region. [TRD]

Marc Puleo, the founder and former CEO of 1-800 PetMeds, sold his waterfront Miami Beach estate – a property that once belonged to Enrique Iglesias – for $13 million. The half-acre property first hit the market with another broker for $25 million in 2015, which means it sold at a 48 percent discount off the original ask. [TRD]

ADF lawyer Stuart Sobel and Virgin MiamiCentral

Virgin MiamiCentral station developer and builder to pay $10.5 million settlement. Steel maker ADF International alleged that mismanagement, errors and revisions resulted in an additional $22.4 million of unpaid construction work for the Virgin MiamiCentral train station. [TRD]

Hollywood has more than $1.4 billion of commercial and residential real estate development planned or under construction – but precious few office projects. “There is an under-supply of quality office space in downtown Hollywood,” said Michael Feinstein, founder and CEO of co-working office space operator Büro, during an Urban Land Institute and the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce event last week. [TRD]

Here’s just how much the biggest Opportunity Zone projects stand to earn in tax benefits. The Real Deal identified five major projects in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward Opportunity Zones that will reap significant benefits from the program. [TRD] 

WeWork’s rivals are eager to take advantage of its struggles. Smaller coworking companies such as IWG, Convene, Knotel and Industrious are pitching themselves to landlords as more stable options than WeWork, effectively turning the tables on the industry giant, according to Bloomberg. They see WeWork’s disastrous IPO rollout as a chance to gain market share, with Convene CEO Ryan Simonetti telling Bloomberg it has “created a tremendous opportunity for us to tell our story and show not just existing landlord partners, but potential ones, how different our model is.” [Bloomberg]

American developers have a complicated relationship with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Firms are continuing to flock to Israel for financing as banks pull back from construction deals, and they have raised hundreds of millions of dollars there so far this year, according to TRD. However, newer offerings are also more pragmatic, with bondholders becoming more aware of the challenges that come with working in New York real estate, especially following the struggles of Brookland Capital. [TRD]

Stay Alfred townhouses with Mike Wilson

Stay Alfred is expanding in Miami. The short-term rental operator opened in late August at 761 and 765 Northwest First Street in Little Havana, and signed on last week to take an additional two townhouses at 769 and 771 Northwest First Street. Developer Andrew Frey developed the buildings. Stay Alfred began operating in Miami when it opened Stay Alfred Brickell in February, and the company is looking to expand throughout South Florida, said Mike Wilson, senior vice president of real estate. It’s among a growing number of short-term rental operators with eyes on Miami.

941 North Venetian Drive

A Venetian Islands spec home hit the market for $18.5 million. Developers Eduardo Otaola, Rodrigo Diaz and Eduardo Lucca completed the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion at 941 North Venetian Drive in Miami. The waterfront property, designed by architect James Wall, features a glass elevator, 19-foot front door, and a master suite with a plunge pool on the balcony. It’s on the market with Dina Goldentayer of Douglas Elliman.

The Trump Organization will not host a fundraiser for an anti-Muslim extremist group at Mar-a-Lago. After news broke that ACT for America, a group with over 1 million members, planned to have its annual fundraiser at President Trump’s Palm Beach club on Nov. 7, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said, “This group absolutely will not be hosting their event at Mar-a-Lago,” according to the Palm Beach Post. [Palm Beach Post]

The Altman Companies has almost completely knocked down a Little Havana church that neighbors sought to protect. A group collected more than 2,000 signatures online to preserve the structure, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez even stepped in to ask the city’s historic preservation office to look into whether the former Shenandoah Presbyterian Church site on Southwest 22nd Avenue should be preserved, but he ended up withdrawing that request. Altman, a Boca Raton developer, is planning to build 224 apartments on the site. [Miami Herald]

Compiled by Katherine Kallergis