Chetrit Group got a financial boost for its Collins Park Hotel project, nabbing a $82.5 million construction loan.
Kawa, a Hallandale Beach-based international asset manager, provided the financing, according to a spokesperson for Henry Bodek of New York-based Galaxy Capital, which brokered the loan.
The new mortgage replaces a $62.5 million construction loan provided by Maxim Capital last year. Chetrit, led by founder Joseph Chetrit, is redeveloping six Postwar modern and Art Deco properties into a 271-room hotel complex spanning 172,000 square feet on 1.6-acres.
In 2012, the New York-based developer paid $10.8 million for the group of hotels and apartment buildings at 2035 Washington Avenue, 430 21st Street, 2030 Park Avenue, 2000 Park Avenue, 425 20th Street and 435 20th Street.
Three years later, the construction phase began with renovations to the Collins Park Hotel at 2000 Park Avenue, records show. Work on the other buildings commenced between 2017 and 2019.
A Moroccan native, Chetrit is among New York’s top dog developers and real estate investors, owning the Sony Building, the Hotel Chelsea and the old Daily News building in Manhattan. He previously was also a partner in Downtown Brooklyn, a 1,066-foot skyscraper slated to be the borough’s tallest building.
Chetrit is also very active in South Florida. In September, Joseph Chetrit and Bay Harbor Islands-based developer Ronny Finvarb paid $15.5 million for a Macy’s store near Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
In May, Chetrit landed a $94 million construction loan for an oceanfront condo project with 121 units and a 20-slip marina in Pompano Beach. The same month, Chetrit completed a $15.5 million bulk purchase to acquire 102 condos at the Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood.
In September, a Miami-Dade judge awarded partial judgment in favor of a lender, Safe Harbor Equity, that sued Chetrit last year. In its complaint, Safe Harbor alleged that Chetrit stole $2 million in insurance money tied to Hurricane Irma damages at the Tides Hotel in Miami Beach. Chetrit owns the 45-key hotel at 1220 Ocean Drive.