An under-construction salmon farm in Homestead just reeled in $210 million in refinancing.
Atlantic Sapphire secured the construction loan for the four-phased development at 22275 Southwest 272nd Street from DNB Bank, according to a spokesperson for Holland & Knight. Attorneys Alberto Hernandez and Elena Otero and associates Faisal Kraziem, Brittany Fox and Danielle Moore represented Atlantic Sapphire in the deal.
The refinancing breaks down to a $180 million term loan and a $30 million revolving credit facility, the spokesperson said.
The Miami Bluehouse facility will consist of a 390,000-square-foot climate-controlled main building where salmon will be hatched, raised and harvested. It’s expected to be one of the largest salmon farms in the world once it’s completed.
Atlantic Sapphire has a Bluehouse facility operating in Denmark that served as a pilot for the company, according to Atlantic Sapphire’s website.
Salmon farms such as the one in Homestead allow for raising salmon closer to the end-consumers, reducing the carbon footprint, experts say.
Brickell-based Atlantic Sapphire, led by founders and Norwegian salmon entrepreneurs Johan Andreassen and Bjorn-Vegard Lovik, selected Homestead after a 14-state search as their first location in the U.S., according to the company’s website.
In 2016, the South Florida Water Management District granted permits to Atlantic Sapphire to source 20 million gallons of water a day from Florida’s underground aquifers, UPI reported earlier this year. The company’s goal is to produce 100,000 tons of fish by 2026. It plans to sell salmon to major grocery store chains.
Developers like Lennar and DR Horton have been aggressively buying up hundreds of acres in Homestead and the surrounding area to build new home communities, as land becomes scarce closer to the urban core.