Lender sells Wynwood dev site for $26M a year after foreclosure

Lender Gamma Real Estate sold a Wynwood development site for $26 million, marking a new chapter for the 1-acre assemblage that went through a foreclosure last year. 

New York-based Gamma, led by the Kalikow family, sold the properties at 2825 Northwest Second Avenue, 169 and 179 Northwest 28th Street, and 166 and 172 Northwest 29th Street, according to records. 

The buyer is unknown. The purchasing entity ties to Investment Property Exchange Services, or IPX1031, a company with locations nationwide that handles 1031 exchanges on behalf of clients. 

Gamma’s Jonathan Kalikow declined to disclose the buyer’s identity, only saying it’s a “big institutional” real estate player. 

The site consists mainly of vacant lots, except for a one-story, 10,500-square-foot retail building at 2825 Northwest Second Avenue built in 1936; and a one-story, 2,000-square-foot commercial building at 166 Northwest 29th Street built in 1953, property records show. 

Four years ago, British co-living company The Collective planned a 12-story building on the assemblage, with 180 co-living residential units, 70 lodging rooms and 9,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. In May 2021, The Collective scored project approval from the Miami Urban Development Review Board for the project.

Plans went awry, however, with Gamma filing a UCC foreclosure against The Collective last year. The filing came as The Collective was facing financial woes. It had filed for administration in the United Kingdom, or the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as occupancy at its projects dropped and its project pipeline hit delays amid the pandemic. 

In April of last year, Gamma acquired the Wynwood property through a credit bid, or essentially a process that allows lenders to use their existing mortgage amount to purchase properties in foreclosure. Gamma had issued a $23 million loan on the property. 

Wynwood, once a gritty warehouse district, came to prominence about a decade ago as an art gallery hub. In subsequent years, the district has experienced an overhaul, with an onslaught of residential and commercial projects. 

The Pérez family’s Related Group, Alex Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development and Ben Mandell’s Tricera Capital recently completed the Dorsey mixed-use project. The 12-story building consists of 306 apartments, retail and offices. 

Nearby, Jackie Soffer’s Turnberry Associates plans a mixed-use project, likely with a hotel, retail and offices at 127 and 135 Northwest 24th Street and 128 and 138 Northwest 25th Street. Turnberry dropped $13.1 million for the 0.7-acre assemblage in December.