Between buying the Raleigh Hotel, pending deals to purchase two neighboring boutique hotels and proposing a new residential tower, Michael Shvo and his partners are already looking at a $250 million investment – and that amount could double.
“We will invest $500 million over the next year,” Shvo said, speaking at the annual Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce real estate luncheon on Thursday. “Once there is real restoration, you will see beautiful buildings come to life that will bring in other developers.”
The New York developer participated in a panel discussion alongside Matis Cohen, principal of Kahunah Properties; Rory Greenberg, founder and managing partner of RB Green companies; and Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, managing partner of Cervera Real Estate. The event was hosted at Faena Forum in Miami Beach.
Shvo was making the case for developers and Miami Beach officials cooperating on developments that combine new construction and historic preservation in a city that has stringent regulations for its Art Deco architecture.
From left: Matis Cohen, Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, Rory Greenberg and Michael Shvo
“There is always this debate about historic preservation versus development when it should go hand-in-hand,” Shvo said. “I wanted to buy a beautiful building with a lot of inherent value along with something new that supports the historic part.”
In late July, the Miami Beach City Commission endorsed a proposed ordinance that would allow property owners who control 115,000 square feet of land to build “ground level additions” up to 200 feet high in the RM-3 zoning district between 16th and 21st streets. Shvo, along with Bilgili Group and Deutsche Finance Group, bought the 83-room Raleigh at 1775 Collins Avenue for $103 million from a Tommy Hillfiger and Dogus Group.
The developer also purchased the Richmond Hotel and the South Seas Hotel, two Art Deco properties on the same block as the Raleigh.
Combined, the three properties sit on more than 125,000 square feet of land. Shvo wants to build a slender, 200-foot residential tower behind the Richmond and the South Seas.
The panel’s Greenberg also addressed another proposed new ordinance to give height bonuses and eliminate parking requirements for office and co-living projects on Washington Avenue.
“Washington Avenue is an obvious place for different uses,” Greenberg said. “Can co-living work on Washington? Probably. We need to pull back restrictions in a reasonable way.”
City commissioners on Wednesday delayed a second reading vote on the Washington Avenue ordinance because of opposition to allow co-living apartment buildings in that area of South Beach.