Billionaire developer Vladislav Doronin assembled and closed on three blocks of land in Fort Lauderdale for nearly $63 million, marking his first plan to develop in Broward County.
Doronin’s OKO Group, through a land trust, closed on 6.7 acres south of the New River and Las Olas Boulevard, an area that has attracted a group of developers, property records show. OKO’s seven deals cover 27 parcels, including developer Dev Motwani’s site of the planned 629 Residences, a 34-story, 251-unit apartment building at 629 Southeast Fifth Avenue.
Dev Motwani’s 629 Residences rendering (Credit: South Florida Business Journal)
OKO Group, based in New York and Miami, is planning a mixed-use project on the assemblage. In a statement, OKO said the area benefits from “an urban grid which lends itself to a pedestrian-oriented development,” as well as strong demographics.
OKO has four major projects in the works in the Miami area, including the Missoni Baia condo tower in Edgewater, Una Residences in Brickell, the WeWork-anchored 830 Brickell office tower, and the planned Aman hotel and condo in Miami Beach. Last week, Doronin announced he brought on Vanessa Grout to lead a newly formed real estate sales and marketing arm of the company.
The largest piece of OKO’s latest assemblage was the $33.16 million purchase of land at 633 South Federal Highway that stretches west to Southeast Fourth Avenue. Scherer Realty LLLP, led by lawyer William Scherer Jr., sold the properties. Another Scherer-led LLC sold a smaller piece for $3.8 million.
Dixie Land Holdings, led by Ceiba Groupe developer Adam Bedzow, sold land on Sixth Avenue and Fifth Terrace for $9.15 million. Motwani’s 616 SE Fourth Avenue LLC sold the site on Fifth Avenue. Members of the Buckley family sold some land for $4.2 million.
Billionaire Michael Dell’s MSD Partners, OKO’s lender for 830 Brickell, provided a $33 million loan for the purchase. (MSD purchased the Boca Raton Resort & Spa for nearly $900 million last year.)
Ackman-Ziff’s Marc Sznajderman, Romano Tio and Chris Gathman arranged the financing for OKO’s Fort Lauderdale purchase.