Kushner starts construction on first South Florida development, scores $80M loan

Gustavo Miculitzki, Laurent Morali and Charles Kushner with a rendering of their Wynwood project

Kushner Companies started construction on its first South Florida development with partner Block Capital Group.

The developers are financing construction of their Wynwood project with a roughly $80 million loan from Axos Bank and Fortress. New York-based Kushner, founded by Charles Kushner and led by president Laurent Morali, has a number of projects planned throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, after making its first investment in Wynwood.

The construction loan replaces and adds to $17.6 million in financing that the developers secured a year ago from CIT Bank.

The developers broke ground on Wynd 27 and Wynd 28 on Thursday. The project will have 152 apartments, 46,000 square feet of office space, 33,500 square feet of retail, and 232 parking space. Amenities will include co-working spaces, an outdoor pool deck and lounges, barbecue areas, and an arts program. It’s expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2022.

Kushner and Block Capital Group paid $32 million for the 1.5-acre assemblage at 127 Northwest 27th Street and 129 Northwest 26th Street in Miami’s Wynwood in 2019.

“Everything we bought two years ago is more valuable today as a result of the rapid acceleration of trends,” Morali said, referring to the influx of people and companies moving to South Florida.

Block Capital has been working with Kushner for more than two years, and has been investing in Wynwood for more than a decade, said Block Capital CEO Martin Miculitzki.

BM2 Realty is handling the commercial leasing. Miculitzki said the firm has received interest from food and beverage operators. Retail asking rents will be about $75 per square foot, triple net. Office rates will be about $50 per square foot, triple net.

Kushner plans to break ground on its planned apartment project at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard in June, and 1900 Biscayne Boulevard early next year. The properties, in an Opportunity Zone in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, would eventually include more than 1,000 units in three phases.

Construction of Kushner’s planned industrial and mixed-use developments in Delray Beach and Lake Worth, and  could break ground next year, Morali said.

The company is also expected to begin construction of its planned Fort Lauderdale development, across the street from the Brightline station in the Himmarshee District, in 2022.

Miculitzki of Block Capital said the partnership is looking for more opportunities in Wynwood. They also acquired a lot next to Wynd 27 that they eventually plan to develop, he said.