These headlines led last week’s real estate news in South Florida.
On Monday, a drill rig collapsed across Brickell Bay Drive on the site of Citadel and Citadel Securities’ planned $1 billion-plus headquarters tower. Four people were injured. Billionaire Ken Griffin paid $363 million for the 2.5-acre site at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive in 2022, and acquired more land surrounding the property. Related Companies is developing the tower. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the collapse of the piling rig, which will likely delay the project’s timeline. Those injured included three construction workers and a driver in a car that was struck. Keller North America, a subsidiary of London-based Keller, is the contractor for the foundation work.
Bugatti was revealed to be branding a waterfront condo tower in Miami’s Brickell. The French hypercar brand is teaming up with Prosper Group and Versluys Group’s planned tower at 75 Southwest Miami Avenue Road, The Real Deal first reported. This is part of the One Brickell Riverfront assemblage that Harvey Hernandez and Two Roads sold to Prosper and its partner last month. Bugatti isn’t a total stranger to branded condos, though the project marks the first in the US for the carmaker; it is also branding a tower in Dubai.
It’s unknown what brokerage firm will lead sales of the Miami project when it is launched sometime next year. Douglas Elliman was expected to be the brokerage of record, but a spokesperson told me the firm was no longer involved.
The 183-unit condo building joins a crowded race of branded projects. Other car-branded towers include the stalled Mercedes-Benz Places nearby in Brickell, the completed Aston Martin Residences right across the bridge in downtown Miami, the under-construction Pagani Residences in North Bay Village, and the O.G. Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach. (Porsche Design Tower developer Gil Dezer is also building the Bentley Residences.)
Big players trade marquee hotels. In Palm Beach, developer Jeff Greene sold the Tideline to Nadim Ashi’s Fort Partners for about $150 million, TRD first reported. The 134-key hotel sold for $1.2 million per room, a price that includes fixtures, furniture, equipment and assets such as the branding. Greene spent $20 million renovating the hotel at 2842 South Ocean Boulevard.
In a smaller deal, the Goldman family sold their Tony Hotel on Ocean Drive to French hospitality duo Philippe Le Guennec and Benjamin Debard for $16.5 million, or about $317,000 per key. The buyers plan to expand the property with additional rooms via the lease of a building next door. The Goldmans initially weren’t interested in selling the hotel but were persuaded by a buyer they believed would preserve the property’s character, according to broker Susan Gale. It was originally known as the Tiffany Hotel, and renamed in 2022 in honor of the late Tony Goldman, the family’s patriarch.
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CLOSING TIME
Residential: AquaBlue Group owner Philippe Harari sold the Miami Beach waterfront spec home at 320 West Dilido Drive to the 320 West Dilido Drive Trust for $27.6 million. The true buyer is concealed by the trust. The house is planned for six bedrooms, six bathrooms and two half-baths, according to a listing. Harari also sold his waterfront home in Coconut Grove over the summer for more than $80 million.
Commercial:In Palm Beach Gardens, the Promenade Shopping Plaza at 9810 Alternate A1A traded for $66.9 million. The buyer was Mount Vernon Company of Boston, and the seller was Nuveen Real Estate.
— Research by Mary Diduch
NEW TO THE MARKET
The ocean-to-Intracoastal estate at 960 South Ocean Boulevard in Manalapan hit the market for $95 million. The 2.7-acre property, with five bedrooms, seven and a half bathrooms, includes two pools and a private dock. It’s on the market with Cervera Real Estate’s Myra Yung. Property records show Panda Investors Limited paid $10.5 million for the home in 2011. The house is being marketed as a teardown, expansion or renovation opportunity.
In memoriam
Restaurateur Mark Soyka, who was known for concepts such as News Cafe, the Van Dyke, his namesake Soyka, Andiamo and Cafe Roval, died last week at the age of 82, according to the Miami Herald. Soyka played a significant role in shaping South Beach into a destination in the late 1980s, working hand in hand with people like Tony Goldman.
Elsewhere in Florida
- Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a South Florida Republican in a competitive reelection race, released a campaign ad breaking with President Donald Trump over his immigration enforcement policies, arguing they have gone too far and alienated some Hispanic voters, PBS News reported.
- Florida citrus growers are planting trees modified with gene editing designed to resist citrus greening, a disease that has devastated the state’s citrus industry since 2005. The EPA approved the modified trees earlier this year, and growers are now waiting to see whether they can survive the disease, according to NPR.
- A woman in Hillsborough County became the first known person in Florida to die as a result of dengue fever this year. The Florida Department of Health confirmed that Gay Small’s death was the result of a mosquito bite she got near her home, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
