PMG and its partners secured $668 million in construction financing for the planned Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences in downtown Miami, marking the largest ever condo construction loan in Florida.
Bank OZK, the most active construction lender in South Florida, and Related Fund Management provided the financing, according to a press release. The 1,049-foot tower, designed by architect Carlos Ott with Sieger Suarez Architects as a set of glass cubes stacked on top of each other, is planned for 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way.
New York and Miami-based PMG, Canadian private equity firm Greybrook, Cyprus-based Mohari Hospitality, Aventura-based S2 Hospitality and Hilton are partnering on the supertall. The building will have 387 condos and 205 hotel rooms and suites.
The loan closed four months after Miami-based Mast Capital obtained $600 million in financing for its planned Cipriani Residences condo tower in the Brickell Financial District, just south of downtown Miami. Cipriani was about 50 percent presold at the time, and the lenders are Banco Inbursa and Ascendant Capital Partners.
The Waldorf Astoria-branded project is more than 90 percent presold, according to the release. The in-house sales team includes Christian Tupper, Aura Aragon, Daiana Quiceno, Alejandra Castillo and Karine Carvalho.
JLL’s Christopher Peck, Chris Drew, Brian Gaswirth, Jimmy Calvo and Mateo Bolivar brokered the financing. Saul Ewing partner Luis Flores and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP represented the developer.
Construction crews have been preparing the site for its 36-hour foundation pour, coming soon. The high-rise is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2028, the release states.
The project is about a decade in the making. PMG paid $80 million for the site in late 2014, and announced plans for the Waldorf brand in 2018. The building could mark the tallest residential structure south of New York City.
In a statement, Bank OZK President Brannon Hamblen cited the project’s strong presales, “substantial equity investment, low leverage and sole senior secured position.” Miami is Bank OZK’s “ largest market for our Real Estate Specialties Group, surpassing New York, as of this year’s first quarter,” he said in the release.
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Despite high interest rates, South Florida condo developers have been able to secure large loans over the past year because developers can tap into their buyers’ deposits, reducing a prospective lender’s risk. This week, Related Group and its partners obtained a $400 million loan from Madison Realty Capital for the Residences at Six Fisher Island, an ultra luxury condominium project.
Developers are also primarily working on branded residential projects, which they say boost the value offered to buyers.