Turnberry Scores $172M Loan for North Miami Condo Tower

Turnberry secured a $172 million construction loan for One Park Tower at SoLé Mia, a planned luxury condo tower.

Bank OZK, one of the largest construction lenders for South Florida projects, is providing the financing for the planned 33-story, 292-unit building at 2411 Laguna Circle in North Miami. A Berkadia team led by Scott Wadler and Alec Fox arranged the loan, which closed on Monday, according to a press release.

Turnberry, led by Jackie Soffer and Carlos Rosso’s Rosso Development, began taking reservations for units at the project nearly two years ago. Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune Development Sales is leading sales and marketing of the units. Prices started in the low $500,000s and went up to $3 million for the penthouses.

Rosso is no longer a partner in the project, according to a spokesperson for Turnberry. He was only involved in the conceptual phase, the spokesperson said. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Units will range from one to three-bedrooms, plus penthouses. Arquitectonica designed the project, and Meyer Davis is designing the interiors. Amenities will include a beach club, fitness center, spas and a “social deck,” according to the release.

The building is about 60 percent presold, the spokesperson said. Construction began in December.

One Park Tower marks the first condo building in the master-planned SoLé Mia project, which is a joint venture between Turnberry and LeFrak. The name comes from a combination of Soffer and LeFrak.

SoLé Mia, built on the former site of Biscayne Landing next to Oleta River State Park, includes a 7-acre Crystal Lagoon, apartment towers, a new Costco store and gas station, and it will have a Mater Academy charter school, Reserve Padel’s first permanent location, and a 363,000-square-foot University of Miami medical center that’s under construction, in addition to other residential buildings.

Construction lenders like Bank OZK have been doling out large loans for condo projects in South Florida, despite the challenging financing environment. That’s in part because condo developers can use a portion or all of the buyers’ deposits to help fill their capital stacks, making the loans less risky to lenders.

More than $2 billion in construction loans have been issued in recent months, according to The Real Deal’s analysis. In February, Mast Capital secured $600 million in construction financing for its planned Cipriani Residences in Brickell, marking the largest-known condo construction loan ever to close in South Florida.