Chaim Cahane’s Forte Capital Management flipped a property in Wynwood to a Miami Beach couple for 75 percent more than he paid in December, as demand for development sites continues to soar in South Florida, The Real Deal has learned.
Alex Kleyner acquired the corner property at 2830 Northwest Fifth Avenue for $11.2 million in an off-market, all cash deal, sources told TRD. State records show Kleyner and Diana Ulis control an LLC named after the address. They are also building a modern mega mansion in Miami Beach’s Sunset Islands.
Kleyner shares the same name as Alex Kleyner who leads ABK Capital, an investment management firm based in Miami Beach; as well as with Alex Kleyner, the founder of Store2Door, which exports products to international markets. There is also an Alex Kleyner who is co-founder and CEO of New York-based National Debt Relief.
Miami-based Lndmrk Development, headed by Alex Karakhanian, sold the 14,000-square-foot building on the site to Cahane for $6.4 million in late December, and kept a minority interest in the property.
Jordan Karp of Jordan Karp LLC brokered the latest deal. Karp, Cahane and Karakhanian declined to comment on the buyer or the plans for the property.
The two-story vacant building was built in 1950 and expanded in 1957, and sits on a 17,160-square-foot lot, records show. It’s within walking distance of 545wyn, a new office building developed by Sterling Bay Properties.
Cahane said he wasn’t planning to flip the site, adding that the deal shows how Wynwood is “probably the hottest market in the country right now.” He planned to convert the retail building into creative offices.
“We got a call from a broker three weeks after closing asking if we were interested in selling. We threw out a number and he said yes,” Cahane said. “The number was too attractive to say no.”
Kleyner and Ulis bought two adjacent homes at 1771 and 1773 North View Drive on Sunset Island I in Miami Beach for $44.5 million in 2020. They purchased the property through a land trust, and their identities were revealed when the couple proposed a two-story mansion designed by architect Kobi Karp.
Development is booming in Wynwood. Lndmrk is partnering with TriStar Capital, Tricera Capital and Related Group to build a residential project with more than 300 units at 2700 Northwest Second Avenue. The partnership paid $26.5 million for the redevelopment site in September.
Roughly two blocks away, Lndmrk, Tricera and Related teamed up to develop Dorsey Wynwood, a mixed-use project that will have apartments, commercial space, office space and amenities.
Forte’s other real estate in Wynwood includes the retail property at 310-318 Northwest 25th Street, which he and 7G Realty acquired from East End Capital last year for $11.8 million.