Related Group Scores Construction Loan for Baccarat Miami

Related Group and its partner scored $328 million in construction financing for their planned Baccarat Residences condo tower in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.

Coconut Grove-based Related, led by Jorge Pérez and his sons Jon Paul and Nick Pérez, and New York-based GTIS Partners secured the floating rate loan from Bank OZK, according to a press release.

Bank OZK is the most active condo construction lender to South Florida projects. Despite high interest rates and lenders pulling back, more than $2 billion in construction loans have closed in recent months in South Florida. The majority are for condo projects because condo developers can tap buyers’ deposits, which makes the loan less risky.

Baccarat, a 75-story, 355-unit tower planned for the site at 77 Southeast Fifth Street, is more than 95 percent presold, the release states. Sales launched in 2021, and the tower could be completed in 2028.

Arquitectonica is designing the high-rise. The building is expected to include more than 75,000 square feet of amenities on five floors, including a La Mer spa. Barry Sternlicht’s SH Hotels & Resorts will manage the property.

The Baccarat tower is one of three buildings Related plans to develop on a larger assemblage that includes the current office building at 444 Brickell Avenue. Related is financing construction of a 44-story, 506-unit apartment tower on the site with a $164 million loan from Truist. It’s unclear what the firm intends for the third building.

Related’s plans for the overall site were in limbo after the discovery of some of the most archaeologically significant findings in more than two decades near the mouth of the Miami River. The city of Miami gave a portion of the property an archeological designation, but that will likely not change Related’s plans for the three towers. Artifacts and human and animal remains dating back 7,000 years have been discovered during the excavation of the property.

Related paid $104 million for the assemblage in 2013, records show.

Berkadia’s Scott Wadler and Michael Basinski arranged the financing for the Baccarat project.