Developers Pay off $115 Million in Miami Condo Loans

South Florida developers knocked out a combined $115 million in construction loans for Miami condo towers that are nearly sold out, as the demand for hospitality-branded residences heats up in the region.

North Development paid off a $70 million loan to Forman Capital and Core Capital for Domus Brickell Park, while Rosso Development and Midtown Development paid off a $45 million mortgage to Arkansas-based Bank OZK for The Standard Residences, Midtown Miami.

The projects have hit major milestones.

North’s 172-unit Domus Brickell Park recently opened and has posted 120 closings, while Rosso and Midtown’s 228-unit Standard Residences is nearing completion with only five units left to sell.

North Development, a partnership between Ricardo Dunin’s Oak Capital and Juan Carlos Tassara’s Edifica, paid off its loan in April for the building at 1611 Southwest Second Avenue.

The project offers a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that are short-term rental friendly. Units were marketed from the $600,000s to $1.2 million.

Zyscovich Architects is the architect, and Urban Robot Associates is the interior design firm. Amenities include the Peacock Room, which Dunin previously described as an activated lobby with food and beverage concepts, a market, and co-working spaces for guests and the public that were inspired by the ACE hotel in New York.

The payoff comes as North pushes ahead with Domus Brickell Center, another short-term-rental-friendly condo tower nearby. The developer said that 35-story, 579-unit project at 1034 Southwest Second Avenue is more than 50 percent sold and ahead of schedule. Less than a year ago, the project secured $220 million in financing, consisting of $180 million in C-PACE funding from Coral Gables-based Bayview PACE and a $40 million mortgage from Core Capital.

A few miles north, Rosso Development and Midtown Development paid off a $45 million construction loan for The Standard Residences, Midtown Miami, the first standalone residential project from the lifestyle hospitality brand. Another Standard-branded residential tower is under development in Brickell by Newgard Development Group and Two Roads Development.

Designed by Arquitectonica, the 12-story Midtown project includes 228 residences and more than 34,000 square feet of amenities, featuring a rooftop pool, pickleball court, coworking spaces and several food-and-beverage offerings, including a Juvia Group restaurant on the rooftop.

Units range from 432 square feet to 965 square feet, and include studios to two-bedroom condos. Owners will be able to rent their units out for terms as short as one month. In October 2023, fewer than 35 units remained, priced between $500,000 to $1 million.

A JLL Capital Markets debt advisory team led by Brian Gaswirth and Jimmy Calvo arranged the financing in 2023. According to JLL, the loan was paid off ahead of schedule.

Bank OZK is one of South Florida’s most active condo construction lenders. The bank also provided PMG’s state record-setting $668 million construction loan for Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami, which is expected to become the tallest residential tower south of New York City.

Even as interest rates have gradually come down in recent years, the environment is still relatively high, and construction costs continue to climb.