If Alex Diaz de la Portilla gets re-elected, Miami developers will have helped propel the suspended city commissioner back into office.
Nearly a third of the $1.6 million raised since January by Proven Leadership for Miami-Dade County, a political action committee controlled by Diaz de la Portilla, came from 13 builders, most with active projects in the city, campaign finance reports show. The Republican elected official is aiming to reclaim his city commission seat in the Nov. 7 municipal election.
Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Diaz de la Portilla from office following his arrest on public corruption charges, including felony bribery and official misconduct counts. Contributions to Proven Leadership also dried up after Diaz de la Portilla was charged on Sept. 14, but the committee still had $1.4 million in the bank for get-out-the-vote efforts — with $450,000 coming from developers.
None of the developers who gave contributions responded to The Real Deal’s inquiries about why they donated to Proven Leadership, if they still support Diaz de la Portilla and if any of them have requested refunds from the PAC.
Proven Leadership is among two PACs that allegedly received $245,000 in illegal campaign contributions between 2020 and 2022 from Miami Beach-based power couple David and Leila Centner, according to Diaz de la Portilla’s arrest affidavit. The contributions were allegedly laundered through a Delaware entity, Pristine DE, that was purportedly solely owned by William Riley Jr., a lawyer and lobbyist for the Centners. Riley was criminally charged alongside Diaz de la Portilla.
The Centners, who have denied criminal wrongdoing, allegedly funneled the political donations to Pristine DE in exchange for Diaz de la Portilla spearheading a no-bid deal allowing the couple to build a $10 million recreation center at a city park, the affidavit alleges.
Pristine DE also donated an additional $130,000 to Proven Leadership this year. The funds were not investigated in the public corruption probe.
Below are the 14 developers that donated large sums to Proven Leadership, campaign finance reports analyzed by TRD show:
NR Investments
Three entities managed by Miami-based NR Investments principals Ron Gottesmann and Nir Shoshani made four separate contributions between March and August totaling $94,000. Last year, NR submitted an unsolicited proposal to Miami officials seeking a 99-year lease to redevelop 18 acres of city-owned property in Allapattah, a neighborhood within Diaz de la Portilla’s district. NR proposed a mixed-use project with 2,500 apartments with some workforce housing units; 300 hotel keys; 200,000 square feet of office space; and 100,000 square feet of retail. The city commission voted to issue a request for proposals for other developers to bid on the site.
Suntex Marina Investors
The Dallas-based marina developer and operator contributed $50,000 on July 28. Suntex and its partner, Miami Beach-based RCI, are seeking a deal to redevelop the city-owned Rickenbacker Marina after losing the project to scuttled competitive bid processes. The city of Miami is appealing a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge’s ruling that ordered a new voter referendum on the proposal submitted by Suntex and RCI, which Diaz de la Portilla supported. Manny Prieguez, a former lobbyist for the joint venture’s competitor, Aabad Melwani, is suing Diaz de la Portilla, alleging the suspended city commissioner tried to shake him down as well as his then-client to include his cronies on a new marina deal.
Coral Rock Development Group
Two affiliates of Coral Rock, a Coral Gables-based developer led by Victor Brown, Stephen Blumenthal, Michael Wohl and David Brown, made three donations totalling $42,500 in March, July and August. In July, Coral Rock reached an agreement with the city of Miami to purchase a 1.3 acre city-owned property in Allapattah. The firm is planning to develop Dulce Vida, a $75 million mixed-use project with 200 affordable and workforce housing apartments. The two affiliates are Dulce Vida Holdings and Dulce Vida Apartments.
Gencom
Affiliates of Gencom, a Coconut Grove-based real estate investment and development firm led by Karim Alibhai, contributed twice, in March and in May, for a total of $40,000. In July, the Miami City Commission, including Diaz de la Portilla, voted 5-0 to approve a 99-year lease with Gencom and Hyatt to redevelop the city-owned James L. Knight Center and an adjoining hotel at 400 Southeast Second Avenue. The joint venture is proposing to build Miami Riverbridge, a $1.7 billion mixed-use project with three towers and a new event space spanning more than 100,000 square feet. Two buildings will house apartments and the other building would be a new Hyatt-branded hotel. Last November, voters approved the project by a 64 percent margin.
OKO Group
Vlad Doronin’s firm kicked in $35,000 on June 12. OKO Group and Cain International, led by Jonathan Goldstein, are the developers of 830 Brickell, a 55-story Miami tower that will add 640,000 square feet of offices when it is completed this year.
ROVR
Affiliates of ROVR, a Miami-based multifamily developer led by founding partners Oscar Rodriguez and Ricardo Vadia, contributed $31,000 in two separate contributions made in May. One of the entities, River Rapid Partners, owns a development site in Allapattah where ROVR is planning to build a 1,000-unit apartment project. The assemblage includes a self-storage facility that ROVR bought for $23.5 million in July.
Legacy Residential Group
Two entities managed by Tom Cabrerizo, CEO of Legacy Residential Group, a Miami-based multifamily real estate investment and development firm, donated a combined $25,000 in May. Legacy’s South Florida portfolio includes six apartment buildings in Miami.
Neology Life Development Group
Four entities managed by Lissette Calderon, CEO of Miami-based Neology Life, contributed a total of $20,000 on May 31. Neology Life is among the most active developers in Allapattah. In May, the firm announced plans to build three 15-story buildings with 1,250 apartments on the site of a former car rental facility at 2301 Northwest 33rd Avenue. Calderon’s firm paid $32.2 million for the property.
Neology Life is currently developing The Julia, a 14-story building with 323 rental units, and Fourteen Allapattah Residences, another 14-story building with 237 apartments. Both projects are expected to be completed next year. In 2021, Calderon completed the 13-story, 192-unit No. 17 Residences at 1569 Northwest 17th Avenue.
The Related Group
In March, The Coconut Grove-based development firm led by Jorge, Jon Paul and Nick Pèrez donated $20,000 through a pair of Related affiliates.
A Miami board voted to grant preliminary archeological designation to part of Related Group’s development site on Brickell Avenue, with an unclear effect on the project’s future. Related, one of the most prolific developers in South Florida, is proposing a Baccarat-branded condominium in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. In July, the Miami Historic & Environmental Preservation Board granted a preliminary archeological designation to part of the development site where Native American artifacts were discovered.
Four other developer donors
Other developers that gave five-figure sums are Miami Beach-based Deco Capital Group ($15,000); Miami-based Magellan Housing ($10,000); an entity managed by executives of Coral Gables-based The Allen Morris Company ($10,000); and Coral Gables-based Black Salmon Capital ($10,000).