Witkoff, Monroe score record $430M construction loan for Shore Club

Witkoff and Monroe Capital secured $430 million in construction financing for their Shore Club project in Miami Beach, likely marking the largest such loan for a residential development in South Florida — at a challenging time in the market. 

J.P. Morgan provided the financing for the luxury condo and resort development planned for 1901 Collins Avenue, according to a press release. 

New York-based Robert A.M. Stern is designing the oceanfront project alongside Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design. The 49 luxury condos will be in a new 20-story tower and an eight-story renovated Cromwell House building that was constructed in 1939. The project will also include a single-family beach house and a hotel.

Lotus Capital Partners, led by Faisal Ashraf, arranged the financing.

The condos will be part of Auberge Resorts Collection, which will operate the 75-room Auberge hotel and amenities, which are expected to include a spa, beach club, a restaurant, poolside cafe, bar and outdoor lounge. 

Douglas Elliman is leading sales and marketing. Units begin at $6 million. The developers said they’ve secured presales for two-thirds of the units, totaling more than $550 million, since launching sales at the start of the year. Units are in contract at $5,000 per square foot, with an average sale price of more than $20 million, according to a spokesperson. The current record in Miami-Dade County is about $5,800 per square foot, for a condo at the Four Seasons-branded Surf Club development in Surfside last year. 

Condos at the Shore Club will range from two to six bedrooms, and from 1,900 square feet to more than 10,0000 square feet, according to the release. Three duplex units and one penthouse will be built in the Cromwell House building, with four to five bedrooms each. The beach house will span about 6,000 square feet with three outdoor spaces totaling almost 2,200 square feet. The residential amenities will include a separate pool, fitness center, library and lounge. 

Shore Club, previously a hotel, closed before the pandemic. The former owner, HFZ Capital Group, planned a Fasano-branded condo development that was later canceled. Monroe acquired HFZ’s interests in the Shore Club entities that owned the property in 2020, and brought Witkoff on as a partner. 

Shore Club is one of a handful of new beachfront projects on Collins Avenue that will include a historic preservation component. 

New York-based developer Michael Shvo and his partners plan the Rosewood Residences at the Raleigh in Miami Beach. In May, Shvo tapped Oren and Tal Alexander’s Official to lead sales, which are invitation-only. A group led by New York-based Eldridge Industries’ Todd Boehly is planning a revamp of the Delano Hotel at 1685 Collins Avenue; and developer Vlad Doronin partnered with Len Blavatnik on the Aman-branded hotel and condo project in the Faena District, which is under construction. 

Lenders are being more selective following the wave of bank collapses earlier this year, slower presales marketwide and still high construction costs. Developers are also in many cases borrowing less than they previously would have because of the higher cost of debt. But other developers have also been able to lock down large construction loans. 

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South Florida

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In May, Madison Realty Capital provided a $340 million loan to Dan Catalfumo’s Catalfumo Companies for the planned Ritz-Carlton Residences, Palm Beach Gardens. That now marks the second largest construction loan to close in South Florida. 

More recently, Property Markets Group and Greybrook scored a $226 million construction loan for the second phase of their Society Las Olas mixed-use apartment development in Fort Lauderdale. New York-based Related Fund Management and Lubert-Adler provided the financing.