A developer scored a $103 million loan for a nearly finished apartment project in North Miami, marking a continuing surge in South Florida lending.
Omega Real Estate Management landed the financing, which consists of a construction loan refinancing and a bridge loan, for the 358-unit Gardens Residences at 1155 Northeast 126th Street, according to Berkadia’s Charles Foschini and a news release from the firm.
Foschini and Christopher Apone were part of the Berkadia team that represented Omega in the deal.
San Antonio, Texas-based Affinius Capital and Houston-based Corebridge Financial are the lenders. The floating-rate loan has a two-year term with a one-year extension option, the release says. It refinanced the $100 million construction loan Omega took out for the project in 2022 from Churchill Real Estate.
The nine-story Gardens Residences, which already has a temporary certificate of occupancy, will offer studios, as well as one-bedroom to three-bedroom apartments, with units averaging 511 square feet to 1,447 square feet, according to the release. About 36 of the units will be designated for households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income.
Miami-Dade County’s annual AMI is $79,400, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
North Miami-based Omega is developing Gardens Residences as the first phase of a 7-acre mixed-use project that will also rise on adjacent sites at 1075, 1111 and 1125 Northeast 125th Street.
The Gardens District will include the 28,000-square-foot Gardens Corporate Center office building; the 8,000-square-foot Creative Center building; and the 12,000-square-foot The Hall food and beverage hub, the release says.
Omega, led by CEO Sebastien Scemla, is a real estate development and investment firm with a portfolio of about 1,100 units and another 700 in the popeline, according to its website.
It’s not the only firm homing in on North Miami. Redwood Dev Co scored approval in July for a 2,193-unit apartment complex with eight 18-story buildings and 121,500 square feet of commercial space at 1255 Northwest 135st Street and an adjacent vacant lot at 1525 Northwest 135th Street. The project will be one of the largest in the western part of the city.
South Florida construction loans and refinancings have flowed at a brisk pace, despite elevated interest rates. This month, Aimco scored a $172 million construction loan and $56 million in preferred equity for a planned 38-story, 114-unit apartment tower at 560-640 Northeast 34th Street in Miami’s Edgewater.
Last month, Vanderbilt Office Properties and Trinity Capital Advisors landed a $96 million refinancing for downtown West Palm Beach’s Northbridge Centre office tower at 515 North Flagler Drive.