Alex Kleyner and Diana Ullis, who heavily invested in Location Ventures and are suing its founder Rishi Kapoor, paid $30 million for an oceanfront development site in Fort Lauderdale Beach.
The Miami Beach-based couple acquired the 1.5-acre property at 551 Bayshore Drive where Coral Gables-based Location Ventures had previously planned the Edition Residences Fort Lauderdale, a boutique condominium project consisting of two 11-story buildings with 65 units, records and Vizzda show.
They financed the purchase with a $26.5 million loan from Bayshore Landco, a Delaware entity managed by Parag Mehta, a managing director at JPMorgan Chase.
Kleyner declined comment, and Ulis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The seller, Bayshore Concepts, led by Par Sanda in Fort Lauderdale, paid $3 million for the site in 2005, records show.
Kleyner and Ulis invested $45 million in Location Ventures, a once fast-rising development firm that imploded earlier this year amid a wave of lawsuits and investigations. The company is in the process of shutting down, as remaining investors seek to liquidate all of its assets to pay off creditors. Kleyner and Ulis’ investment also included funding the Fort Lauderdale project and another planned development in Coral Gables, court records show.
The couple is suing Kapoor, who stepped down as Location Ventures CEO in July, in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. They are seeking to recoup $25 million they are allegedly owed after reaching an agreement for him to buy back their interests in the company and the two projects. Kapoor paid back $20 million, the lawsuit states. On Friday, Kleyner, Ulis and Kapoor jointly filed a motion requesting a stay in the case for 180 days, court records show.
Ulis and Kleyner also recently took over as managers of the entity that owns a 1.6-acre development site in Coral Gables where Location Ventures had planned to build a 16-story condominium, records show.
Unrelated to Location Ventures, the couple owns a Wynwood commercial building that they bought for $11.2 million last year, as well as two adjacent Miami Beach waterfront homes they acquired for $44.4 million in 2021. Kleyner is CEO of New York-based National Debt Relief, as well as a partner with ABK Capital, an investment firm also based in New York.
Last year, Kapoor launched sales for the Fort Lauderdale Edition project even though Location Ventures had not closed on the property. The disgraced developer brought in Douglas Elliman to lead sales and marketing for units ranging from $3 million to $10 million. At the time, Kapoor told The Real Deal that the project was about 20 percent reserved.
Read more
Development
South Florida
Spilling the tea: Rishi Kapoor’s ex-CFO drops bombshells in deposition
Politics
South Florida
More money: Rishi Kapoor’s firm donates $50K to support Miami Beach mayoral candidate
Development
South Florida
Miami law firm sues Location Ventures affiliates for alleged nonpayment of $199K
Commercial
South Florida
Location Ventures’ new boss, Alan Fine, has one goal: Liquidation