Vladislav Doronin’s OKO Group just paid $54 million to buy a 2-acre parcel fronting Biscayne Bay, adding to the Russian billionaire developer’s assemblage in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.
The property, at 720 Northeast 27th Street, is north of OKO Group’s Missoni Baia, a 57-story, 146-unit luxury condominium planned for 777 Northeast 26th Terrace.
London and New York-based private investment firm Cain Hoy partnered with OKO on the purchase. An OKO spokesperson told The Real Deal that Cain Hoy is also a partner on Missoni Baia and all OKO’s other developments in Miami.
OKO Group and its partner bought the Edgewater property from Jesuit Fathers of the Province of the Antilles, a Jesuit group that had used the site for educational purposes and a retreat, the OKO Group spokesman said.
The property, on a corner lot surrounded by water on two sides, has a total of 475 feet of water frontage, “providing a prime development opportunity,” according to a release. OKO declined to provide more information on its development plans.
Brokers from various firms were involved in the deal, including HFF, Fairchild Partners, Global Investments Realty, and Shelton & Stewart Realtors, according to attorney Steven Carlyle Cronig, a partner in the Coral Gables office of Hinshaw & Culbertson, who represented OKO Group.
Cronig said negotiations lasted more than two years. Security Benefit Life Insurance Company provided the financing. Steven Bassin of Greenberg Traurig advised OKO on organizational and tax matters. The deal closed on Monday and has not yet been recorded.
OKO Group’s 649-foot Missoni Baia will be the Italian fashion brand’s first residential project. The condo tower is designed by Asymptote Architecture and Revuelta Architecture, with landscaping by Swiss architect Enzo Enea and interiors by Paris Forino Design. Units range from two to four bedrooms and will each have private terraces overlooking Biscayne Bay and two parking spaces. Miami’s Urban Development Review Board approved zoning waivers for the project in September.
OKO is also planning to build a 48-story residential tower at 175 Southeast 25th Road to be designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, and a retail and residential tower at 830 Brickell Avenue. Doronin, chairman and CEO of OKO Group, is also the chairman of Aman, a luxury hotel brand.