Dwight Mortgage Lends $60 Million for Miami Condos

A pair of developers scored a $60 million loan to build a condo building in Miami, as construction financing flows for South Florida residential projects amid higher interest rates.

Ascendra Capital and BAM Development scored the loan for their planned eight-story, 117-unit Seventeen Gables Condominium at 1715 Southwest 27th Avenue/Douglas Road, according to the lender’s news release. Dwight Mortgage Trust provided the debt.

Isaac Filler and Steve Edelstein were part of the Filler Capital team that represented the borrowers. David Scheer and Alex Izso of Dwight Mortgage originated the loan.

Construction is expected to start immediately, with completion slated for next year, the release says. The building will consist of one- to three-bedroom condo units, 178 parking spaces and 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Sales are expected to commence once construction commences, with asking prices starting under $700,000, according to the release. Tensie Forry of Cervera Real Estate is leading sales.

An entity led by Mayer Berkovits of BAM paid $14.3 million for the 0.9-acre development site in 2023, assuming the seller’s $4 million loan on the property and bumping it to $8.5 million, with S III Capital Partners as the lender, records show. That debt was reassigned to S III SB Real Estate Credit A, with Dwight Mortgage assuming the debt this month and bumping it up to $60 million, according to records.

Dwight Mortgage Trust is a real estate investment trust and affiliate of New York-based Dwight Capital.

The planned Seventeen Gables Condominium marks a change of plans for the site. BAM had planned an eight-story, 120-unit apartment building, Mayer Berkovits told The Real Deal at the time of its site purchase.

Ascendra Capital is led by David Steinberg.

Developers have jumped on the area, which is close to Coral Gables, with plans for high-end condos.

Last month, Allen Morris Company secured a $132.5 million construction loan for its long-planned 11-story, 58-unit Ponce Park condo development at 3000 Ponce de Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables. Raimundo Onetto’s Alta Developers is developing the 174-unit Cassia – The Residences at Coral Gables in Coral Gables at 4011 Salzedo Street, scoring a $94.2 million construction loan in May.

Last year, Constellation Group and Boschetti Group switched their planned apartment project in Coral Gables to condos. They launched sales of the 13-story, 74-unit Cora for 4241 Aurora Street, with asking prices starting at $950,000.