Miami board OK with Canvas design

Nir Shoshani and Ron Gottesmann
Nir Shoshani and Ron Gottesmann

NR Investments now has the green light from a City of Miami board to build a 37-story residential tower in the Omni area.

Miami’s Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved design changes for Canvas, a 403-foot condominium that NR Investments principals Nir Shoshani and Ron Gottesmann intend to build at 1630 NE First Avenue, during Wednesday’s meeting. Canvas plans calls for 513 residences ranging from 620 to 1,120 square feet and 9,925 square feet of retail and 588 parking spaces.

Shoshani told The Real Deal the units will be priced from $370,000 to $470,000. Fortune International Realty is handling sales.

The Canvas site is about 500 feet from the Filling Station Lofts, another NR Investments project that is now awaiting a certificate of occupancy from the city.

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NR Investments tweaked a 2007 major use special permit issued for the 1.1-acre site for Max Miami, a mixed-use project proposed by Prema LLC. That company, managed by Jordi Verite, ended up filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. NR Investments purchased the property for $7.3 million during an October 2013 bankruptcy auction.

A subsidiary of NR Investments obtained a $3.65 million mortgage from City National Bank of Florida in December 2013.

Miami commissioners approved a subsidy package for Canvas last month. Under the deal, NR Investments could receive up to $9 million—or $750,000 a year—in property tax rebates from the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency.

To obtain the entire subsidy, NR Investments must spend at least $100 million constructing Canvas, invest another $2 million in sidewalk and street improvements near the site and make sure more than 30 percent of its construction workers live in Miami — preferably within the Omni area. The developer also must begin construction by June 2015 and substantially complete the project by January 2017.