Developers Edgardo Defortuna and Shahab Karmely secured financing for their planned waterfront condo project along the Miami River.
Defortuna’s Fortune International Group bought into the One River Point site late last year, joining Karmely’s KAR Properties. Karmely’s plans for the 60-story, connecting two-tower project were first revealed in 2014.
Bank OZK provided a $38 million loan to the developers for the 1.8-acre site at 24 Southwest Fourth Street in Miami, records show. Defortuna said the loan is a line of credit to be used for sales and marketing and the development of the 386-unit luxury condominium. Sales are expected to launch this year after the unit layouts are finalized, he said.
The developers will make some tweaks but keep the original design by architect Rafael Viñoly, Defortuna said. Original plans called for an 85-foot waterfall; a three-story, floating glass skybridge; and a 55th floor, members-only “Sky Club” by Adrian Zecha with two restaurants, a cigar lounge, wine cellar and a screening room.
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In October, a Karmely-led entity sold the property for nearly $59 million to ORP Partners, the new joint venture developing the site.
One River Point will mark the third property Karmely and Defortuna will work on together. Fortune led sales and marketing of Karmely’s 2000 Ocean condo project in Hallandale Beach, and the two companies partnered on a bulk purchase of completed condos at Brickell City Centre’s Reach and Rise towers, near the Miami River site. Swire Properties, developer of Brickell City Centre, sold the units to the joint venture in May 2021.
Developers are moving forward with a handful of projects along the Miami River and nearby Brickell.
The Related Group recently secured a $164 million construction loan for the riverfront 44-story, 506-unit rental building planned for 77 Southeast Fifth Street, which is on the site of its planned Baccarat Residences development.
In December, the Chetrit Group revived plans for its $1 billion megaproject along the river, and tapped hospitality mogul David Grutman to run the food and beverage operations. The project’s first phase calls for a 54-story rental tower and two retail buildings, and the next phase will be a 52-story luxury condo tower. Construction of the condo building is expected to begin next year and be delivered in 2026.
In the fall, the Polish American Club proposed a mixed-use project on the organization’s former banquet hall site, also along the river. The project calls for a glass-and-steel building with 40,000 square feet of office space, 20,000 square feet of new banquet hall and meeting space and roughly 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The project would also have about 100 apartments and a parking garage.