A company tied to Kawa Capital Management paid $42.5 million to acquire a development site in downtown Miami.
Records show Kawa 340 Biscayne LLC bought three contiguous lots at 340 Biscayne Boulevard, 250 and 252 Northeast Fourth Street, which are currently home to the Holiday Inn and parking lots on Biscayne Boulevard. Kawa Managing Partner Daniel Ades declined to comment on the deal, but told The Real Deal that the structured transaction involved a sale leaseback. “It was not below market,” he said.
The Kawa affiliate financed the deal with a $42.5 million loan from Wells Fargo, while the seller took out an $18.5 million loan from FirstBank Florida.
The seller and leaseholder is 340 Biscayne Owner LLC, an entity controlled by Guy Martin on behalf of Brazilian developer Gilberto Bomeny. It acquired the 40,350-square-foot development site in November 2014 for $65 million. The Kawa affiliate now owns the land, records show.
Back in 2014, Center Miami LLC planned to build a 77-story mixed-use tower on the property. Among those plans were 400 residential units, 240 hotel rooms, 270,000 square feet of retail space, 246,000 square feet of office space and parking for 516 cars. Arquitectonica designed the 935-foot skyscraper, which was approved by the city of Miami.
Currently operating on the property is the 10-story, 200-room Holiday Inn, built in 1950. A Colliers International listing shows the 1.4 million-square-foot project was seeking an equity of joint venture development partner to build the skyscraper. The existing hotel currently generates about $4.3 million in net operating income, according to broker Larry Stockton’s listing.
It’s on the same block as Property Markets Group’s 300 Biscayne projects, which include luxury condominium and apartment towers.