Developer Shahab Karmely sold a waterfront site on the Miami River for nearly $59 million to a joint venture between his KAR Properties and Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group.
The sale of the property at 24 Southwest Fourth Street to One River Point Partners marks progress for the long-stalled One River Point project. They plan to co-develop the site, with sales launching next year, according to a press release.
The Karmely-led Miami River Project LLC sold the site. It paid $27.5 million for the 1.8-acre property in 2013.
Architect Rafael Viñoly designed the two-tower luxury condo. Original plans called for an 85-foot waterfall, a three-story, floating glass skybridge, and a 55th floor, members-only “Sky Club” by Adrian Zecha with two restaurants, a cigar lounge, wine cellar and a screening room.
It’s the third project that Karmely and Defortuna will work on together. Fortune led sales and marketing of Karmely’s 2000 Ocean condo project in Hallandale Beach, and the two companies partnered on a bulk purchase of completed condos at Brickell City Centre’s Reach and Rise towers, near the Miami River site. Swire Properties developed Brickell City Centre.
Karmely, based in New York and backed by billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, embarked on a number of projects in South Florida. He exited his investment in a Wynwood assemblage months ago. Loeb is in contract to sell the development site to the Brooklyn firm LIVWRK for about $20 million.
Karmely first unveiled plans for One River Point in 2014, hiring a sales director the following year and opening a sales center in 2017. But the 60-story, 386-unit condominium was put on hold as the condo market slowed.
A number of projects are planned for the Miami riverfront. The Polish American Club wants to build an eight-story, mixed-use project on the organization’s former banquet hall site at 1250 Northwest 22nd Avenue. The glass-and-steel building would include 40,000 square feet of office space, 20,000 square feet of banquet hall and meeting space, 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and just over 100 apartments.
In October, Newgard Development Group added to its assemblage for a Miami River megaproject. The properties it acquired will serve as the gateway to three residential towers and a marina Newgard plans to develop at a 1.6-acre site at 99 Southwest Seventh Street.