Related, Macklowe Add to North Bay Village Assemblage

The Pérez family’s Related Group and New York developer Harry Macklowe acquired more units at a waterfront condo building in North Bay Village, where they plan a luxury residential development on a larger assemblage of land.

The partnership paid $7.9 million for 14 units at Majestic Isle, at 7946 East Drive. It now controls just over half of the building, or 20 of 56 units, according to real estate database Vizzda. Residents were forced to move out after the city declared the building unsafe last year.

Related is taking the lead on the projects, sources told The Real Deal.

Related and Macklowe also own the Biscayne Sea Club waterfront co-op next door. An entity linked to the developers paid $47.7 million for the property late last year after a drawn-out and litigious sale process with the co-op community.

Coconut Grove-based Related, led by Jorge Pérez and his sons Jon Paul and Nick Pérez, and Macklowe Properties plan hundreds of luxury residential units, likely condos, for the entire assemblage.

Biscayne Sea Club, built in 1955, sits on 3 acres on the north end of Harbor Island. That deal was at the center of a web of lawsuits. Majestic Isle sits on just under an acre.

The partnership would still need to acquire the overwhelming majority of condos at Majestic Isle to complete the bulk purchase and subsequent termination of the condo association to demolish the structure. The three-story building, constructed in 1960, is vacant.

Related has handled a number of condo buyouts in South Florida. It’s working on a deal to purchase a majority of units at Miami Beach Club, a 107-unit complex at 19051 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, for $145 million, a source told TRD earlier this year.

Developers are increasingly targeting older condo buildings after the Surfside condo collapse in 2021. Lawmakers tightened condo safety legislation following the tragedy, requiring buildings to fully fund their reserves and keep their buildings up to code. The increased cost to repair and maintain buildings, pay higher insurance premiums and fully fund reserves has put pressure on condo owners, leading some to sell their units.

The North Bay Village project would mark Macklowe’s first in South Florida. Macklowe also owns a development site near Dadeland Mall in Miami, where its lender Fortress Investment Group has initiated a foreclosure. Macklowe listed the site for sale in March, and an auction is set for this summer.