Mayer Berkovits-led group plans 120-unit multifamily project in Miami

A group of New York real estate developers and investors wants to build a 120-unit multifamily project in Miami. 

BAM Property Development plans an eight-story building with 178 parking spaces at 1715 Southwest 37th Avenue, according to Mayer Berkovits, founder and CEO of BAM. The property is near Coral Gables. 

The firm scooped up the 0.9-acre site for $14.3 million, a news release from the seller’s broker shows. An entity led by Francisco Espinosa and Marlon Gomez sold the property, which now consists of a two-story commercial building, records show. 

Roberto Pesant and Jaret Turkell were part of the Berkadia team that represented the seller. Tomas Sulichin of RelatedISG Realty represented the buyer. 

BAM borrowed $8.5 million from S3 Capital for the deal, a source said. 

Designed by Karen Asprea, the project would consist of one- and two-bedroom apartments, ranging from 578 square feet to 1,024 square feet, according to a RelatedISG news release. 

The project marks BAM’s second wager on South Florida’s multifamily market. In February, the firm paid $12.6 million for 1.3 acres at 650 North Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village, with plans for a 257-unit apartment project, according to records. 

Berkovits, who formed New York-based BAM, said he developed residential real estate in New York and also made value-add multifamily investments nationwide. In Brooklyn, he said he co-developed an 86-unit apartment project at 670 Pacific Street with Robert Wolf’s Read Property Group. In 2018, John Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Group picked up the eight-story building near the Barclays Center for $69.2 million.

Bekovits said he is now developing a five-unit condominium in New York’s SoHo.

BAM’s other partners are Anthony Rinaldi and Benjamin Landa, according to Berkovits. Rinaldi, who heads New Jersey-based general contracting firm The Rinaldi Group, is a partner in the Flagler Village and Miami projects and will be the general contractor. 

Landa is the embattled CEO of Woodmere, New York-based for-profit nursing home operator Sentosa Care. In December, New York Attorney General Letitia James named Landa as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging nursing home fraud. The alleged scheme, led by father-son nursing home investors Bent and Avi Philipson, allegedly siphoned Medicare and Medicaid funds, through a web of entities, from the 588-bed Cold Spring Hills nursing home to the facility’s operators, according to the complaint. In August, a judge denied Landa’s motion to dismiss, records show. Landa is appealing the decision. 

Berkovits said Landa is a “silent partner” in BAM and won’t be involved in the day-to-day project development. Berkovits declined to comment on the New York attorney general’s lawsuit against Landa. 

South Florida’s multifamily market was supercharged by an influx of out-of-state residents that started in late 2020 but slowed by mid-last year. Developers still are building apartments and are slated to complete 19,000 units by year’s end. 

In Miami’s Edgewater, LCOR plans a 42-story, 544-unit rental tower at 1775 Biscayne Boulevard. In Coral Gables, MG Developer scored a $67.5 million construction loan this summer for a 48-unit project with townhomes, lofts, villas and condos at 535 Santander Avenue.