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Eichner lands $90M construction loan for fully booked Bay Harbor condos
“You don't have to pitch 100 percent sold,” developer says
Ian Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company had nothing to worry about when it was seeking a $90 million construction loan for the La Baia South condos in Bay Harbor Islands.
“You don’t have to pitch 100 percent sold,” he said. “There’s nothing to discuss when you’ve sold all the units.”
An undisclosed New York-based lender is providing the financing for the sold-out waterfront project. The loan covers the 68-unit, eight-story building under construction at 9201 East Bay Harbor Drive, which is expected to be completed later next year, according to a press release.
Sales launched for La Baia South in 2021 with Phil Gutman of Phil Gutman LLC marketing the project. Floor plans range from one- to four-bedroom units, with prices ranging from just more than $800,000 all the way up to $3.5 million. The Luis Revuelta-designed condominium will also have 30,000 square feet of amenities and a dock.
The project is one of two Eichner has planned for Bay Harbor Islands. Continuum’s second project, La Baia North, is a near twin of the south building and launched sales in 2022. The eight-story, 57-unit is 50 percent presold.
Eichner also secured a $13 million refinancing from Miami-based Benmark Capital for the North building.
The buildings, just 80 yards apart, create a rare development dynamic, according to Eichner. The North building, at 9481 East Bay Harbor Drive, is about two streets north of La Baia South.
“It’s very unusual to have projects where you are generating your own comp,” he said. “Normally, [with] real estate projects, you can’t compare one to the other.”
With the success of La Baia South’s presales and a sunnier forecast for interest rates, Eichner expects to have ample interest from lenders when it comes time to secure the north project’s financing.
His dual La Baia developments are two in a deep stack of luxury projects planned for Bay Harbor Islands. Ari Pearl and Jonathan Leifer jumped in on the action in November, launching sales of their planned eight-story, 44-unit Bay Harbor Towers with prices starting at $1.9 million.
Benchmark, led by founder and CEO Mark Simon, has projects in Florida, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to its website. In June, Benmark provided a $15 million construction loan to SB Development and Hazelton Capital Group for a planned 40-story, 116-unit building in Miami’s Edgewater.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the lender for the $90 million construction loan.