Miami condo sales surged in March. Resi sales fell elsewhere in South Florida

Miami (Credit: iStock)

Miami’s condo market stood out in March — not for oversupply but for a boost in sales.

Residential sales throughout the tri-county South Florida region reported declines last month, with the exception of Miami’s condo market. Prices generally kept rising, but price growth slowed down compared to previous years.

Miami-Dade

Residential sales increased 7.6 percent year-over-year to 2,313 in March, thanks to a nearly 18 percent jump in condo sales, up to 1,230. Single-family home sales decreased by 1.9 percent to 1,083.

Sales totaling $1.1 billion closed in March, up 7.8 percent from the previous year.

Prices kept rising, but at a slower pace than before. The median price of a single-family home in March was $351,000, up 0.9 percent from the previous year. For a condo, the median price increased 6.7 percent to nearly $345,000.

Broward

A 3.3 percent decline in condo sales in Broward brought overall residential closings down slightly. Residential sales decreased 1.2 percent year-over-year in March to 2,830. Single-family home sales increased by 1.3 percent to 1,355, while condo sales fell to 1,475 from 1,525.

In Broward, residential sales volume increased to $944.1 million in March, up from $911.6 million the previous year.

The median price for single-family homes rose 4.1 percent year-over-year to $365,000. The median condo price increased by 4.3 percent to $169,525.

Palm Beach

Home sales dropped nearly 10 percent in March, down to 2,726 closings. Single-family home sales declined by 8.9 percent to 1,521, and condo sales decreased 10.5 percent to 1,205. The total sales volume declined as well, down 7 percent to $1.3 billion.

Price growth also slowed down. The median price of a single-family home increased slightly, up less than 1 percent to $350,000, while the median condo price fell by 1.1 percent to $175,000.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/23/miami-condo-sales-surged-in-march-resi-sales-fell-elsewhere-in-south-florida/
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Billionaire Michael Dell is buying the 1,000-plus room Boca Raton Resort

Jonathan Gray, Michael Dell and Boca Raton Resort

Billionaire Michael Dell’s MSD Partners is under contract to purchase the waterfront 1,047-room Boca Raton Resort & Club from the Blackstone Group.

The deal is expected to close at the end of the second quarter, according to a press release. The 337-acre resort, which was developed in 1926, includes two 18-hole golf courses, a 50,000-square-foot spa, seven swimming pools, 30 tennis courts, a full-service 32-slip marina, 13 restaurants and bars, and 200,000 square feet of meeting space.

MSD Partners declined to provide a sale price, but it could be one of the biggest hotel sales to close in South Florida. At $1 million a key, the property could trade for more than $1 billion.

Jeffrey Davis and Gregory Rumpel of JLL are representing Blackstone. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

Blackstone invested more than $300 million into renovating the resort, designed by Addison Mizner, since it purchased it 15 years ago. It’s managed by Hilton under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand.

Blackstone picked up the Boca Raton property in 2004 in a $1.25 billion deal that also included Bahia Mar and Pier 66 in Lauderdale as well as two resorts in Naples.

MSD Partners is an investment adviser that was formed in 2009 by the Dell Technologies founder and principals of his private investment firm, MSD Capital. Dell’s firm was also rumored to be the buyer of 1 Hotel South Beach, but that deal fell through and the hotel ultimately sold to Host Hotels for $610 million, or $1.42 million per room, in February.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/22/billionaire-michael-dell-is-buying-the-1000-plus-room-boca-raton-resort/
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South Florida realtor killed in South Beach boat crash

Christopher Colgan and Elisaine Colgan (Credit: Facebook)

A South Florida real estate agent was among those killed in a boat crash in South Beach on Saturday night.

Elisaine Colgan, with Lokation Real Estate, formerly the K Company Realty, and her husband, Christopher Colgan, died after the boat they were on flipped on Government Cut, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Elisaine, 38, and her husband, 56, worked together buying and selling investment properties, said Lokation Real Estate broker Jonathan Lickstein. Elisaine worked for Lokation out of its Pompano Beach office for more than three years, according to Lickstein.

“[She was] just a truly caring individual who sometimes gave up her own benefits and her own motivations to benefit those she was working with,” he said.

The couple and a third passenger, Jennifer Y Munoz Cadavid, were found dead. Their boat crashed in the same area where Marlins pitcher José Fernández died in a boat crash in 2016.

A fourth passenger, Troy Forte of Juno Beach, survived and is in stable condition, according to the Miami Herald.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/22/south-florida-realtor-killed-in-south-beach-boat-crash/
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ESJ Capital sells troubled Wellington charter school for $14M

ESJ Capital’s Arnaud Sitbon and Eagle Arts Academy

ESJ Capital Partners sold the site of a former troubled Wellington charter school for $14 million.

Eagle Arts Academy was shut down by the Palm Beach County School Board last summer after the school ran into financial trouble and reportedly was late paying rent and salary to its faculty.

Miami-based Academica bought the 12.4-acre site at 1000 Wellington Trace, records show. Academica is a charter school service company that manages more than 100 schools throughout the United States, according to its website.

ESJ Capital Partners had previously leased the property to Eagle Arts Academy, a visual arts charter school that was founded in 2012. The school once had more than 700 students, but attendance fell to less than 200 after the school suffered financial woes.

The Palm Beach Post reported the school’s founder, Gregory Blount, directed $150,000 of school’s money into his own personal companies. The publication also reported that Blount collected at least $42,000 from the charter school through one of his companies for the rights to use the name Eagle Arts Academy and use its eagle logo, website and data-processing system.

Palm Beach County’s School Superintendent Donald Fennoy sought to shut the school down last July arguing that its financial conditions made it unsafe for students.

The school was built in 1989. ESJ had bought the property in June 2014 for $9.5 million, records show.

Aventura-based ESJ Capital Partners has been an active buyer and seller of charter schools in South Florida. In March, ESJ and its partner, Hollywood-based MG3 Developer Group, sold the Renaissance Charter School at 3200 South State Road 7 in Wellington to Red Apple at Wellington LLC for $23 million.

ESJ and MG3 also sold the Renaissance Charter School at Goldenrod in Orlando to Red Apple for nearly $22 million.

The company is currently redeveloping Jungle Island in the city of Miami.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/22/esj-capital-sells-troubled-wellington-charter-school-for-14m/
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Virgin Trains closes $1.75B bond issue to fund expansion to Orlando

From left: Francis Suarez, Patrick Goddard, Richard Branson, Esteban Bovo and Ken Russell

Virgin Trains USA, formerly Brightline, closed a $1.75 billion private-activity bond issue to fund an expansion of its passenger train service to Orlando.

Investment banking firm Morgan Stanley was the underwriter for the bond issue purchased by 67 investors. A state agency, the Florida Development Finance Corp., approved the bond issue April 5.

Part of the Virgin Group founded by Richard Branson, Virgin Trains will use the bond-issue proceeds to fund construction of 170 miles of new track from West Palm Beach to an intermodal facility at Orlando International Airport.

Construction will start soon and is expected to conclude in 2022.

Virgin Trains, which also plans to extend its service in Florida to Tampa, has announced that it will operate passenger train service between Southern California and Las Vegas.

A subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group LLC, Virgin Trains last year launched service at downtown train stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

“We have already seen firsthand the economic benefits our project has delivered in South Florida from revitalizing downtown Miami to spurring growth in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.” Patrick Goddard, president of Virgin Trains, said in a prepared statement. – Mike Seemuth

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/21/virgin-trains-closes-1-75-billion-bond-issue-to-fund-expansion-to-orlando/
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South Florida firms buy Orlando retail center amid “fear of the death of brick-and-mortar retail”

Century Plaza in Orlando

Two South Florida firms acquired a fully leased shopping center in Orlando for $12.25 million, or $92 per square foot, with a loan from Miami Lakes-based BankUnited.

Palm Beach-based M Street Holdings and Miami-based Highline Real Estate Capital bought Century Plaza, a 132,725-square-foot shopping center about five miles north of Orlando International Airport.

The $12.25 million purchase price is less than half of the estimated cost of replacing the shopping center, according to David Moret, president of Highline.

“As fear of the death of brick-and-mortar retail grows in the market, M Street expects to capitalize on this climate to identify assets, such as Century Plaza, that are well located with below-market rents or vacancy,” David Milgram, founder of M Street, said in a prepared statement.

Century Plaza, a 13.52-acre property on Semoran Boulevard, was built in 1973 and renovated in 2008. The location is within a 10-minute drive of 160,000 Orlando residents in an area where annual household income averages $62,000.

Tenants of the shopping center include ALDI, Ross Dress for Less, dd’s Discounts, Big Lots, Shoe Land, Sprint, Gamestop and Amscot.

Chris Drew, senior managing director of HFF, and Rebecca VanReken, managing director, arranged the BankUnited loan on behalf of the buyers.

The Orlando office of Atlanta-based TSCG will handle leasing and property management at Century Plaza.

Started in 2016, Highline has acquired six commercial assets valued at about $100 million. M Street Holdings is a real estate investment firm focused on retail and mixed-use properties in densely populated markets. – Mike Seemuth

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/21/two-south-florida-firms-acquire-shopping-center-just-north-of-orlando-airport-for-12-25m/
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Billionaire Michael Dell is buying the 1,000-plus room Boca Raton Resort

Jonathan Gray, Michael Dell and Boca Raton Resort

Billionaire Michael Dell’s MSD Partners is under contract to purchase the waterfront 1,047-room Boca Raton Resort & Club from the Blackstone Group.

The deal is expected to close at the end of the second quarter, according to a press release. The 337-acre resort, which was developed in 1926, includes two 18-hole golf courses, a 50,000-square-foot spa, seven swimming pools, 30 tennis courts, a full-service 32-slip marina, 13 restaurants and bars, and 200,000 square feet of meeting space.

MSD Partners declined to provide a sale price, but it could be one of the biggest hotel sales to close in South Florida. At $1 million a key, the property could trade for more than $1 billion.

Jeffrey Davis and Gregory Rumpel of JLL are representing Blackstone. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

Blackstone invested more than $300 million into renovating the resort, designed by Addison Mizner, since it purchased it 15 years ago. It’s managed by Hilton under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand.

Blackstone picked up the Boca Raton property in 2004 in a $1.25 billion deal that also included Bahia Mar and Pier 66 in Lauderdale as well as two resorts in Naples.

MSD Partners is an investment adviser that was formed in 2009 by the Dell Technologies founder and principals of his private investment firm, MSD Capital. Dell’s firm was also rumored to be the buyer of 1 Hotel South Beach, but that deal fell through and the hotel ultimately sold to Host Hotels for $610 million, or $1.42 million per room, in February.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/22/billionaire-michael-dell-is-buying-the-1000-plus-room-boca-raton-resort/
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South Florida realtor killed in South Beach boat crash

Christopher Colgan and Elisaine Colgan (Credit: Facebook)

A South Florida real estate agent was among those killed in a boat crash in South Beach on Saturday night.

Elisaine Colgan, with Lokation Real Estate, formerly the K Company Realty, and her husband, Christopher Colgan, died after the boat they were on flipped on Government Cut, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Elisaine, 38, and her husband, 56, worked together buying and selling investment properties, said Lokation Real Estate broker Jonathan Lickstein. Elisaine worked for Lokation out of its Pompano Beach office for more than three years, according to Lickstein.

“[She was] just a truly caring individual who sometimes gave up her own benefits and her own motivations to benefit those she was working with,” he said.

The couple and a third passenger, Jennifer Y Munoz Cadavid, were found dead. Their boat crashed in the same area where Marlins pitcher José Fernández died in a boat crash in 2016.

A fourth passenger, Troy Forte of Juno Beach, survived and is in stable condition, according to the Miami Herald.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/22/south-florida-realtor-killed-in-south-beach-boat-crash/
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ESJ Capital sells troubled Wellington charter school for $14M

ESJ Capital’s Arnaud Sitbon and Eagle Arts Academy

ESJ Capital Partners sold the site of a former troubled Wellington charter school for $14 million.

Eagle Arts Academy was shut down by the Palm Beach County School Board last summer after the school ran into financial trouble and reportedly was late paying rent and salary to its faculty.

Miami-based Academica bought the 12.4-acre site at 1000 Wellington Trace, records show. Academica is a charter school service company that manages more than 100 schools throughout the United States, according to its website.

ESJ Capital Partners had previously leased the property to Eagle Arts Academy, a visual arts charter school that was founded in 2012. The school once had more than 700 students, but attendance fell to less than 200 after the school suffered financial woes.

The Palm Beach Post reported the school’s founder, Gregory Blount, directed $150,000 of school’s money into his own personal companies. The publication also reported that Blount collected at least $42,000 from the charter school through one of his companies for the rights to use the name Eagle Arts Academy and use its eagle logo, website and data-processing system.

Palm Beach County’s School Superintendent Donald Fennoy sought to shut the school down last July arguing that its financial conditions made it unsafe for students.

The school was built in 1989. ESJ had bought the property in June 2014 for $9.5 million, records show.

Aventura-based ESJ Capital Partners has been an active buyer and seller of charter schools in South Florida. In March, ESJ and its partner, Hollywood-based MG3 Developer Group, sold the Renaissance Charter School at 3200 South State Road 7 in Wellington to Red Apple at Wellington LLC for $23 million.

ESJ and MG3 also sold the Renaissance Charter School at Goldenrod in Orlando to Red Apple for nearly $22 million.

The company is currently redeveloping Jungle Island in the city of Miami.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/04/22/esj-capital-sells-troubled-wellington-charter-school-for-14m/
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