Freshwater Group buys Miami office building

UPDATED, Feb. 3, 1:35 p.m.: Freshwater Group paid $7.2 million for an office building near Coral Way in Miami.

The Brooklyn-based private equity real estate firm closed on the six-story, 33,407-square-foot office building at 1800 Southwest 27th Avenue, said managing partner Joey Sayegh.

Property records show 1800 Professional Building LLC, led by Julio Del Rey, sold the 51,722-square-foot building for $216 per square foot. The family owns a line of “love hotels,” that offer guests short-term stays, including hourly, in rooms equipped with Jacuzzis and private driveways.

Andros Sarduy and Giovanni Vasquez of Fortune International Realty represented the buyer and seller.

The office building sits on a 51,722-square-foot lot. Zoning allows for 97 residential units to be built. Sayegh said Freshwater plans to keep the building for about three to seven years and does not plan to redevelop the site.

It last sold for $3.5 million in 2005.

The building is 98 percent leased to a majority of medical tenants and lawyers, Sayegh said. The average rent is about $35 per square foot. It’s about five blocks north of Coral Way, near the Silver Bluff neighborhood. It also has ground-floor retail space.

Freshwater, which was active in Miami-Dade in recent years, has shifted its focus to markets such as Dallas. The company acquired about 500 multifamily units in North Miami Beach, Miami Beach and Hialeah in 2018.

“Miami is really tight now,” Sayegh said. “We moved onto Dallas. We’re still looking, but it’s been quite dry [in Miami].”