Brickell Flatiron retail space closes for $22.5M amid lawsuit

The complaint alleges developer deviated from design that appealed to prospective restaurant tenant

Brickell Flatiron (Photo Credit: Golden Dusk Photography)
Brickell Flatiron (Photo Credit: Golden Dusk Photography)

Despite suing developer CMC Group for an unfavorable redesign of Brickell Flatiron’s commercial space, Avi Dishi and Haim Yehezkel finalized a $22.5 million deal to buy the 24,800 square feet on the ground floor and mezzanine level set aside for a restaurant and retail.

The sale closed earlier this week, according to representatives for Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group and Dishi and Sons, the shell company formed by the two real estate investors.

“Buyer and seller fully complied with the purchase contract,” said a CMC Group spokesperson in a written statement. Dishi and Sons attorney Adam Lamb confirmed his clients paid the agreed upon price from 2016, when the deal was brokered by Cervera Real Estate’s Nickel M. Goeseke. Lamb added Dishi and Sons is not withdrawing its lawsuit, filed in August in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

“We are pursuing a claim for damages,” Lamb said. “The property is not what was presented to us.”

Lamb said his client completed the sale to fulfill commitments for some of the commercial space that has been pre-leased.

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In its lawsuit, Dishi and Sons sought a court order to slash the purchase price. The partnership alleged CMC Group altered the construction plans without notifying Dishi or Yehezkel. Those revisions allegedly made significant portions of the commercial space unusable by placing a garage ramp through it.

Dishi and Sons, which paid a deposit of $11.25 million, claims CMC Group only provided plans and other renderings showing the commercial units contained usable, unobstructed spaces on the ground floor with appropriate ceiling heights. Dishi and Sons obtained letters of intent from prospective tenants, including an unnamed high-end restaurant that wanted to take advantage of the high ceilings and ample space.

Dishi and Sons alleges that when the 64-story tower was being built, CMC Group put a “several-ton cement parking garage ramp” in the middle of the commercial space.

The 597-unit condominium at 1000 Brickell Plaza was recently completed. Brickell Flatiron‘s amenities include a rooftop sky spa and pool deck, a billiard and cigar room, wine cellar, movie theater, children’s playroom, outdoor lap pool and a children’s pool. Luis Revuelta, along with Italian designer Massimo Iosa Ghini and artist Julian Schnabel, designed the project.