Related Ross and its partners landed a $145 million refinancing for the Esperanté Corporate Center in downtown West Palm Beach.
Billionaire Steve Ross’ West Palm-based Related Ross, along with JZ Capital Partners and Greenmont Group, scored the debt from Hudson Bay Capital Management, according to a Related Ross news release. Eastdil Secured facilitated the financing.
The 17-story Esperanté, at 222 Lakeview Avenue, spans 256,000 square feet and was completed in 1989, according to Related Ross’ website. The funding amounts to about $566 per square foot.
Related Ross, London-based JZ Capital and New York-based Greenmont completed an $8 million renovation of the building, the release states. Esperanté is fully leased, with tenants including Bank of America, Balyasny Asset Management and Blue Sea Capital.
Ross bought a stake in the building in 2021, at the nascent stages of his push into downtown West Palm. Esperanté is adjacent to the 25-story One Flagler office building, which Related Ross completed last year, and near the Phillips Point office buildings that Ross bought in 2021 for $282 million.
The refinancing comes as lending flows in South Florida, despite elevated interest rates.
Related Ross, which Ross founded in 2024 after stepping back from New York-based Related Companies, is downtown West Palm’s biggest office landlord and a major force in the local real estate markets. To fill his office buildings, Ross has tapped his New York network, lining up financial firms in alignment with the county’s yearslong push to become “Wall Street South.”
Related Ross has nine office buildings in downtown West Palm, including those purchased, developed, planned and under construction.
In August, it scored a $340 million refinancing for One Flagler from BDT & MSD Partners.
Related Ross is developing the 23-story 10 CityPlace and 26-story 15 CityPlace office buildings on a portion of the CityPlace mixed-use complex that Related Companies completed in 2000. In December, the firm scored a $772 million construction loan for the two buildings, marking the biggest construction loan in South Florida history.
Related Ross also is developing condos in West Palm, landing $157 million in financing this month to build 98-unit Shorecrest and also $600 million last year for 105-unit South Flagler House.
Ross, who also has a hand in shaping the county’s future through philanthropy and his push for a Vanderbilt University campus, also has talked about the need for more affordable housing in South Florida. This month, Related Ross launched a mixed-income multifamily division with plans for a 164-unit complex in downtown West Palm.
Ross is non-executive chairman and the largest single shareholder of Related Companies, which he founded more than 50 years ago.
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