The Related Group is nearing a deal to acquire the majority of units at an older oceanfront condo building in Sunny Isles Beach where it has a litigious history, The Real Deal has learned.
Miami-based Related, led by condo king Jorge Pérez and his sons, Jon Paul and Nick Pérez, is in contract to purchase a majority of the units at Miami Beach Club at 19051 Collins Avenue, sources told TRD. The price is $145 million, according to a source.
The development firm plans to eventually knock the H-shaped, two-story building down and build a new luxury condo tower on the 2-acre property.
Miami Beach Club, a 107-unit complex that was built in 1951, is immediately north of the Residences by Armani/Casa, a luxury condo tower that Related co-developed with Gil Dezer’s Dezer Development.
Through executives, Related has owned units at Miami Beach Club for years, property records show. It also created a company in 2013 named after the property’s address, though that entity does not own any units.
Andrew Chesnick, who works at Related, owns two units. Carlos Rosso, former head of Related’s condo division who left in 2020, owns one unit. Matt Allen, Related’s chief operating officer, owns two units. Investor and developer Richard Meruelo — or an entity he previously managed — sold the units to the Related executives, records show.
Related declined to comment. Representatives for the Miami Beach Club building did not respond to requests for comment.
Related and Dezer acquired the site for Residences by Armani/Casa by purchasing each unit at the former Seashore Club property. The two developers completed the 60-story, 308-unit tower in late 2019. It was designed by the late architect César Pelli.
Miami Beach Club’s condo association and at least one unit owner filed lawsuits against the Related/Dezer entity that developed Residences by Armani/Casa. In a suit filed in 2018, with Coastal Construction named as a defendant, the Miami Beach Club association alleged that construction of the new tower damaged its property next door. It also alleged that the same Related/Dezer entity “engaged in a series of tactics… to reduce the marketability of the Miami Beach Club,” including acquiring individual units and engaging in expensive litigation. That suit was dismissed in 2022.
Condo buyouts are notoriously challenging, but developers are increasingly targeting older buildings after the Surfside condo collapse of 2021. Ninety-eight people died when Champlain Towers South collapsed overnight. Since then, state lawmakers passed condo safety legislation that requires buildings to fully fund their reserves and keep their buildings up to code.
The increased cost of that, coupled with soaring insurance premiums, is forcing some owners to sell their units or band together to find a developer to sell to as a group.
Dezer is now working on presales for his Bentley Residences tower, which is planned for the oceanfront site at 18401 Collins Avenue. It will mark the second luxury car-branded residential project for Dezer, following completion of Porsche Design Tower in 2017.
Other new high-rises in the pipeline in Sunny Isles include the St. Regis Residences. Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group and Manuel Grosskopf’s Château Group plan the two-tower development at 18801 Collins Avenue.
A handful of developers are attempting or recently completed bulk purchases of condo buildings along the coast.
Related is working with Macklowe Properties on the redevelopment of the Biscayne Sea Club, a waterfront co-op in North Bay Village, and adjacent properties into hundreds of luxury units. Macklowe acquired the co-op last year for $47.7 million following a litigious battle over the delayed sale of the property, and partnered with Related, sources told TRD.
In Miami Beach, Mast Capital is attempting a buyout at Amethyst, an older condo building at 5255 Collins Avenue that’s next to the site of Mast’s planned Perigon condo building. The Perigon is being built on the site of the former La Costa condo. Mast, led by Camilo Miguel Jr., is working with Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group on the Perigon.
David Martin’s Terra is also in contract to acquire Castle Beach Club at 5445 Collins Avenue, after Related and 13th Floor’s deal to purchase the oceanfront condo building fell apart. Both deals were for about $500 million.
Read more
Residential
South Florida
Condo insurance crisis in South Florida could push owners to sell
Residential
South Florida
The Weekly Dirt: Macklowe, Pérez move forward with waterfront megaproject
South Florida
How David Martin plans to deliver the biggest project of his career