Multifamily real estate investment trust Aimco, owner of the waterfront Hamilton on the Bay apartment tower, is expanding its land assemblage in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.
Aimco has closed on or is in contract to buy nearly the entire block of 34th Street, across from the Hamilton, sources told The Real Deal. The Denver-based REIT was rumored to be buying more land so that it can seek Special Area Plan zoning designation.
A spokesperson for Aimco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Aimco’s holdings and planned purchases could total about 5.5 acres, and it would need to continue acquiring land to reach the minimum of 9 acres needed for an SAP in the city of Miami. SAPs, a controversial zoning tool, were used to develop major projects such as Brickell City Centre, River Landing Shops and Residences, and Mana Wynwood.
Aimco made headlines when it terminated the leases of roughly 150 tenants at the Hamilton in May, as first reported by TRD. Its nearly $90 million purchase of the Hamilton last year gave it 4.4 acres of land.
The company just paid $6.2 million for the 16,500-square-foot assemblage at 522, 526 and 534 Northeast 34th Street. An affiliate of Spider Investments sold the latest piece to Aimco, according to brokers involved in the deal, Jamie Rose Maniscalco and Alexandros Tsoulfas of Apex Capital Realty. Maniscalco and Tsoulfas brokered the deal.
Spider planned to develop a condo building on the property, but canceled plans for the project and listed the site for sale in 2018, then asking $7 million. The developer paid $3.6 million for the three lots in 2014.
Aimco also paid $1.8 million this week for the corner 5,500-square-foot lot at 510 Northeast 34th Street, which includes a four-unit multifamily building. Louis McMillian with Global Investments Realty was the listing agent.
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The REIT is in contract to buy 560 to 610 Northeast 34th Street for $6.3 million, adding 16,500 square feet of land to Aimco’s portfolio. David Ballard of RelatedISG Realty is the listing agent. The three-parcel deal includes three low-rise multifamily buildings.
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Two properties on that block remain: 620 Northeast 34th Street, which Aimco is also reportedly buying, and a parking lot owned by the adjacent condo Bay Park. Combined, they total 11,000 square feet.
Aimco could negotiate to buy the parking lot from Bay Park in a deal that would have to be approved by the condo association.
Bay Park is currently the subject of a $130 million bulk buyout offer from Beach Hill Capital Partners. Sources say Aimco is not behind the offer, though the company is reportedly pursuing the smaller parking lot.
Aimco and AIR Communities, a spinoff company that completed its separation from Aimco late last year, have been ramping up their activity in South Florida.
AIR Communities recently paid nearly $223 million for an apartment complex in Pembroke Pines, marking the largest multifamily sale in South Florida this year.
In Miami Beach, Aimco is seeking a height increase to build a 300-foot luxury tower on a piece of its Flamingo Point property.
The company also owns Bay Parc in the Arts & Entertainment District of Miami — which is separate from Bay Park — and the Yacht Club at Brickell.
In Edgewater, other major developers include Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights, the Related Group and the Melo Group. Galbut has assembled land on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard, while Related completed the nearby Paraiso condo complex on the bay, and Melo recently launched sales of a two-tower waterfront condo project.