South Florida appears to be having an inspirational effect on Jared Kushner. The ex-White House adviser and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump is launching a Miami-based investment firm called Affinity Partners.
Kushner has spent the past six months with his wife Ivanka Trump in Surfside, where he’s been working on a book about his White House experiences as a top adviser to Trump. The power couple is renting a luxury condo in developer Alex Sapir’s Arte by Antonio Citterio, two blocks from the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South. They also bought a six-bedroom waterfront estate in Indian Creek for $24 million.
Affinity Partners is still in the planning stages and no information has been released about potential investors. Kushner is considering opening an office in Israel to pursue investments in the Middle East, according to Reuters, which first reported the Affinity news. The Wall Street Journal reported that Affinity Partners would open sometime in the fall, and that the investment firm would be separate from the Kushner’s family’s real estate business, Kushner Companies. Jared Kushner stepped down as CEO in 2017.
Kushner Companies is bullish on South Florida, unveiling plans in 2019 to develop three major apartment projects with 3,000 total units in Fort Lauderdale and Miami’s Wynwood and Edgewater neighborhoods. The price tag is pegged at more than $1 billion.
In June, Kushner Companies paid $20.5 million for a 0.75-acre property at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard, more than two years after going into contract. The developer is planning a nearly 400-unit tower that is the first phase of a 1,100-unit project consisting of three buildings. The site is in an Opportunity Zone.
Kushner Companies is also planning a four-tower, mixed-use project with 1,300 apartments, office and retail in Fort Lauderdale. The city commission recently granted final approval for rezoning the development site at 200, 300 and 520 Broward Boulevard. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2022.
In July, Kushner and Trump closed on 36 Indian Creek Island, a 1.3-acre estate with an 8,150-square-foot mansion, manicured landscaping, reflecting pools and a large dock that was originally listed at $25 million. His brother Joshua Kushner and his wife, model Karlie Kloss, bought a waterfront mansion at 2318 North Bay Road in Miami Beach last year.