Merrimac Ventures scored a $72 million construction loan for a multifamily project in Plantation.
The Fort Lauderdale-based, Motwani family-owned Merrimac will start construction on the 306-unit project at 1711 North University Drive in June, according to a news release. Bank OZK lent $50.6 million and CanAm Enterprises lent $21 million.
David Harte and Jason Krane of Ackman-Ziff handled the loan on behalf of the borrower.
The $90 million Merrimac Plantation is expected to be completed by 2023. The six-story, 293,945-square-foot development will include a pool, gym, club and game rooms, and 543 parking spaces, according to the release.
Merrimac Ventures is led by co-CEOs Nitin Motwani and his brother Dev Motwani. It was started by their parents, the late Ramesh “Bob” Motwani and his wife, Ramola Motwani, in the 1970s as an import-export business, and it expanded into buying beachfront Fort Lauderdale hotels in the 1980s, according to its website.
Since then, it has partnered on bigger projects, such as the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale Beach and the 218-key dual-branded Home 2/Tru by Hilton at 315-333 Northwest First Avenue in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village neighborhood. In another venture in the trendy neighborhood, Merrimac in September bought the properties at 317 North Federal Highway and 515 Northeast Third Street for $14 million.
Also, Nitin Motwani worked with Art Falcone on the development of the 27-acre Miami Worldcenter in downtown Miami.
Multifamily construction financing has been flowing, marking confidence in the market. In another Broward County financing deal, Eden Multifamily and Cypress Equity Investments in April scored a $23.7 million construction loan and a $8.6 million preferred equity investment for 212-unit Eden West in Tamarac. Also in April, Terra and New Valley obtained a $64.8 million loan for the 460-unit Natura Gardens in northwest Miami-Dade County.