Location Ventures proposes 16-story Coral Gables condo building, puts Tibor Hollo-owned site under contract

Almost 100-year-old rental building on site will be preserved

Location Ventures founder and CEO Rishi Kapoor along with a rendering of the planned 16-story condominium at 1505 Ponce De Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables (Location Ventures, Hamed Rodriguez Architect)
Location Ventures founder and CEO Rishi Kapoor along with a rendering of the planned 16-story condominium at 1505 Ponce De Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables (Location Ventures, Hamed Rodriguez Architect)

Rishi Kapoor’s Location Ventures proposes a 16-story condominium in Coral Gables, marking continued redevelopment in the city.

Location Ventures wants to build 87 condos on a 1.6-acre site at 1505 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, as well as at 122 and 126 Menores Avenue, filings with Coral Gables show.

The developer has the site under contract from the seller, an affiliate of Tibor Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty, according to the Coral Gables Planning & Zoning Board’s June meeting minutes.

The city commission is expected to vote on the proposal at its Tuesday meeting. If approved, the project would come up for a second and final vote by commissioners at a yet unscheduled meeting.

Location Ventures, based in Coral Gables, plans seven of the units to be live-work condos on the lower floors of the building and the remaining 80 on the upper stories, filings show. The project also would have a 319-space garage; 10,500 square feet of retail; 20,144 square feet of open space and a public dog park.

The majority of the site is vacant except for a two-story, eight-unit apartment building at 122 Menores Avenue, according to property records. The historic building, constructed in 1925, will be preserved and incorporated into the project, possibly as retail space, according to the planning & zoning board’s meeting minutes.

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Location Ventures is a real estate investor, developer and manager. Kapoor is the founder and CEO.

In Coral Gables, the company’s projects include the completed 13-story, 39-unit Villa Valencia condominium at 515 Valencia Avenue. Location Ventures had paid $16 million for the site in 2018.

Last year, the company paid $20 million for a pair of Miami Beach commercial buildings at 1260 and 1234 Washington Avenue. The 1260 Washington Avenue property will be redeveloped under Location Ventures’ Urbin co-living brand and the 1234 Washington Avenue building will be renovated.

Coral Gables, planned and developed by George Merrick and also known as “The City Beautiful” for its Mediterranean Revival architecture, has been experiencing a development boom.

In one of the biggest projects, developer Nolan Reynolds International and Life Time last year completed the 1.2 million-square-foot, 14-story Life Time Coral Gables project at 237 South Dixie Highway. The development, visible to drivers along U.S. 1, has 495 luxury apartments; an 80,000-square-foot athletic resort; a 25,000-square-foot co-working space, and ground-floor retail with a Trader Joe’s.

MG Developer, in partnership with New York-based Baron Property Group, plans a pair of apartment towers with 450 units combined, as well as parking, shops and restaurants at 3898 Shipping Avenue near Coral Gables.