Black Lion’s den: Robert Rivani pays $8M for waterfront Miami Beach penthouse

A Los Angeles-based retail investor known for his South Florida commercial condo buying binge just purchased a waterfront Mid-Miami Beach penthouse.

Robert Rivani, president of Black Lion Investment Group, paid $7.5 million for a four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom unit in the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach at 4701 North Meridian Avenue, records show. Rivani paid $1,762 a square foot for the condo. City National Bank of Florida financed the purchase with a $5.3 million mortgage, records show.

An inside look at Rivani’s new condo (Source: Redfin)

Philip Freedman with Douglas Elliman represented the seller, and Dina Goldentayer, also with Douglas Elliman, represented the buyer, according to an online listing. The condo is currently rented to a tenant paying $45,000 a month until June — when the annual lease goes up to $52,000 a month, the listing states.

The seller, an affiliate of real estate investors Ashok “Chuck” Khubani and Anita Khubani, paid $5.1 million last year for the 4,255-square-foot penthouse, records show. Chuck Khubani is the founder and CEO of Ontel Products, and the brother of A.J. Khubani, founder and CEO of “As Seen On TV” products company Telebrands. The Khubani affiliate, Ask Florida, still owns 14 condos throughout Miami and Miami Beach, including three in Paramount Miami Worldcenter and three in The Carillon Hotel & Spa.

The Khubanis customized the Ritz-Carlton Residences unit during pre-construction, according to the listing. The penthouse features a family room and a master suite overlooking La Gorce Country Club and Biscayne Bay, the listing states.

Lionheart and its partner, Elliott Management, completed the 111-unit Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach, in 2019 after construction delays.

Among other buyers at the luxury development, Witkoff family members purchased two units last year for nearly $11 million, combined. An entity led by Lauren Witkoff, who is married to developer Steve Witkoff, paid $5.8 million for unit 612, and another entity, led by Steve’s son, Zach Witkoff, paid $5.1 million for unit S07.

Rivani’s Black Lion is among the most active firms acquiring retail spaces in South Florida, specializing in condominium commercial spaces. Recently, Black Lion paid $11.5 million for a restaurant space adjacent to the Continuum South Beach in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood. Black Lion also owns the ground-floor commercial units at boutique condominium Marea in South of Fifth. Rivani’s firm paid $19 million for the units in December.

Last year, Black Lion paid $12.1 million for Amara, a 12,300-square-foot restaurant operated by Michael Schwartz at Paraiso, a condominium in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.