Isaac Kodsi Takes Over Stalled Coconut Grove Condo Project

Real estate attorney Isaac Kodsi acquired Arbor Residences, a stalled luxury condo development in Coconut Grove, with plans to relaunch sales in the coming weeks.

Kodsi acquired the property at 3034 Oak Avenue in Miami from the developer, a partnership led by Nick Hamann. The project, which is partially completed, was at the center of a foreclosure lawsuit filed by Trez Capital last year. It will relaunch as a five-story, 45-unit building with prices starting at $1.2 million, or under $1,200 per square foot, according to Kodsi.

Kodsi, whose brother is Miami Worldcenter developer Dan Kodsi, told The Real Deal that he returned buyers’ deposits and paid the subcontractors and contractor working on Arbor. Had the lender foreclosed on the site, the buyers likely would not have received their deposits back.

“All of these buyers were going to be subject to the foreclosure,” he said. “Eventually through a lot of fighting, they would have been wiped out. That was not my goal.”

The building, which began with 48 units, was 95 percent presold, Kodsi said. Hamann and his partner, Jeremy Waks, launched sales of Arbor more than six years ago and planned to deliver the building in 2019. Completion was delayed before the pandemic. Trez Capital sued over a $20.4 million loan it provided the developer in 2019.

“Every buyer was subject to lose about half a million dollars each,” Kodsi said. He said he invited the original buyers to purchase their units back at today’s prices. “Some buyers really committed to their units. Some of them moved on. The years of delay changed their plans.”

Kodsi expects that he will complete the project by the third quarter of next year. Though the building shell is completed and the windows have been installed, the interiors, amenities and landscaping have not been completed. Amenities will include a rooftop terrace with a bar and lounge space and a second-floor pool deck.

It’s immediately north of CocoWalk and downtown Coconut Grove, where new restaurants and office tenants have moved in in recent years.

Kodsi’s Arbor Grove Development LLC acquired the property and assumed the $20.7 million mortgage, according to documents recorded in mid-October, following a year of negotiations and paying off creditors. He expects to spend more than $60 million to complete the project, including costs associated with sales and marketing.

Kodsi hired Sandra Masis from Cervera Real Estate to lead sales, which could begin in about three weeks, after the developer submits updated condominium documents to the state.

Arbor was designed by Behar Font Architects. Units will start at 1,450 square feet and some will go up to 3,000 square feet. They will range from two- to four-bedroom units and townhouses.

Masis, who represented some of the original buyers, said she expects locals to purchase units.

“That’s something everyone wants now: To be in the center of the Grove, to be at this price point, to be new construction,” she said.

New developments in the Grove include Mr. C Residences, which is expected to be completed next year. GlassHaus, a similarly sized luxury condo building as Arbor, was completed at 3161 Center Street in 2021.

Nearby, the saga of a portfolio of new homes and townhomes in Coconut Grove developed by Doug Cox is playing out in court. The properties, on Coconut Avenue, Bird Road, Virginia Street, Gifford Lane, Woodridge Road and elsewhere, are at the center of lawsuits from lenders, buyers and investors who allege Cox and his partner, Nicole Pearl, orchestrated a scheme that involved selling the properties to multiple buyers and failing to complete and close on sales of the homes.