Barrington scores $60M construction loan for El Portal multifamily project

Barrington Brothers scored a $60 million construction loan for The Kavista multifamily project in El Portal, as the hot apartment market prompts development in traditionally single-family enclaves.

The Miami-based family owned and run company will build the eight-story, 282-unit project on almost 2 acres at 495 Northeast 83rd Street, according to the lender’s news release.

Ben Jacobson of Trez Forman originated the senior note. Melissa Rose and Michael DiCosimo led the JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team that secured the financing for Barrington Brothers. Attorney Michael Gallinar of Adams Gallinar also represented Barrington Brothers in the deal.

Construction on The Kavista will start in April and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2023, said Ken Barrington, who co-founded and is co-managing partner of the development firm with his brother, Arthur Barrington.

The project will offer one- to three-bedroom apartments. Amenities will include a pool and deck, barbecue and grilling areas with outdoor seating, a coworking lounge, theater, gym and electric vehicle charging stations, according to a separate JLL release. The plan also is for 351 parking spaces.

Barrington Brothers, through an affiliate, bought the two lots for the development site in 2013 for almost $1.2 million combined, property records show.

The company’s other apartment projects include ventures in Miami, including the 64-unit The Corridor West; the 64-unit The Corridor East; and the 62-unit The Corridor South, according to Barrington’s website.

The El Portal Council voted in favor of a Kavista development agreement in May 2020.

El Portal – an incorporated village west of Biscayne Boulevard, north of Miami and south of Miami Shores – is a largely bedroom community that takes pride in its environmental preservation, as manatees can be sometimes spotted in canals. The village also is a bird sanctuary.

Also planned in El Portal: The redevelopment of the boarded up Rader Memorial United Methodist church and school along Northeast Second Avenue and between 88th and 87th streets. The plan is to turn it into an office-retail complex with restaurant space. Miami-based Elm Springs bought the property in March 2021 for $5.5 million from investors Seth Gadinsky and Samuel Soriero, who had obtained approval to redevelop the property into a mix of uses.

The multifamily market is robust throughout South Florida, as the population influx has created high demand and led to skyrocketing rents. It also has prompted developers to embark on new projects.

In North Miami, Jorge Pérez’s Related Group has put a portion of the closed Johnson & Wales University campus under contract and is proposing Manor Biscayne, a 382-unit apartment project.