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September 2, 2010 |
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| November 04, 2009 |
By: Review staff |
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James Shindell and Marshall Pasternack
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ealmakers: Attorneys James W. Shindell and Marshall R. Pasternack
The Deal: The Bilzin Sumberg partners represented SBR-Fortune Associates in its $78 million sale of the Sonesta Beach Hotel in Key Biscayne to an affiliate of Consultatio S.A., an Argentine development group.
Details: Shindell and Pasternack represented Fortune International in January 2005 when it acquired an interest in the Sonesta property.
The value of the property then was $120 million. Fortune, whose president is veteran Miami developer Edgardo De Fortuna, later partnered with an entity controlled by Sonesta Hotel Corp. to form SBR-Fortune Associates.
The attorneys represented the joint venture in land-use and zoning issues. The group planned to demolish the 40-year-old building and construct a luxury condo. That plan ended with the recession and seizure of the credit markets.
Key Biscayne Consultatio’s purchase of the nearly 10.3 acre property was quick. The parties entered into a letter of intent for the purchase in mid-August and the sale closed Sept. 24.
Nearly $56 million of the $78 million deal will go to satisfy the existing mortgage on the site, Shindell said.
“We dealt with some minor title issues and we helped the buyer understand the status of entitlements for existing approved site plans for the new project,” Shindell said.
The seller assigned all of its rights and interest in the proposed project to the buyer. Consultatio and Key Biscayne Consultatio plan to construct a 165-unit condo complex when the high-end housing market recovers.
Shindell said the speed of the deal was not spurred by any external deadline.
Shindell said the seller made the deal attractive to the buyer keeping construction approvals active. That included performing asbestos abatement and building a perimeter wall.
“We wanted to keep those approvals alive for as long as possible [despite selling the property] particularly because we knew it was important to the buyer,” Shindell said.
Quote: “In my experience with these kinds of transactions, this is about as smoothly as a deal can go. You have a willing buyer and a willing seller that want to consummate a transaction, as opposed to looking for ways not to get the deal done.”
Background: Shindell, chairman of Bilzin’s real estate group, has been with the firm since April 1999. Pasternack is a partner in the firm’s corporate and securities group and has been with the firm since October 2000.
The buyer was represented by Hallandale Beach attorneys Mark Rousso and Alexis Sirulnik.
— Jordana Mishory
Marcus & Millichap assists in sale of Leslie Hotel in Miami Beach
Dealmakers: Mark Wohl, Jason Goldfarb and Lawrence Usher
The Deal: The three brokers represented Leslie Beach Associates, a Great Neck, N.Y., investment group that sold Miami Beach’s Leslie Hotel for $8 million.
Miami-based Ocean Hotels Investments Corp., led by Juan P. D’Onofrio, purchased the vacant, 48-room hotel at 1244 Ocean Drive. The deal closed on Oct. 20.
Details: The trio began marketing the art deco hotel a year ago. The seller initially wanted $13 million but later dropped the asking price to $11 million.
The seller received several offers for more than $8 million but rejected them because they were significantly below its asking price. Goldfarb said the hotel was debt free and Leslie Beach executives were in a rush to sell.
The seller eventually realized the market didn’t support a higher price and agreed to sell for $8 million, he said.
The seller, an affiliate of Gould Leslie, purchased the hotel for $9.1 million in 2005 and planned to convert it into a condo hotel. The real estate market collapsed before the conversion started and the building has been closed for almost four years.
Gould Leslie is not a hotel operator so it decided to sell the building and invest the proceeds in warehouses, retail and office properties, Goldfarb said.
D’Onofrio plans to spend about $3.5 million to upgrade the hotel, including adding a rooftop pool and replacing the plumbing and electrical systems.
D’Onofrio owns the Beachcomber and Nassau Suite hotel in the city’s South Beach district.
Background: Wohl is vice president of investment for Marcus & Millicap in Miami. Goldfarb is a senior associate and Usher is an associate with the firm.
Walgreens helps brokers seal deal on building in South Miami-Dade
Dealmakers: Drew Kristol and Kirk Olson
The Deal: Kristol and Olson helped Miami-based Quail Roost Partners sell a free-standing retail building in southern Miami-Dade County for $7.4 million. Miami-based Profin Investments purchased the 14,820-square-foot property, which is leased to Walgreens. The deal closed on Oct. 14.
Details: Kristol and Olson marketed the property at 12711 SW 200th St. for nearly five months. Quail Roost Partners completed the building earlier this year and signed Walgreens to a triple net, 25-year lease.
Olson said Quail Roost initially wanted $8.4 million for the property but as the real estate market deteriorated, the company reduced its expectations.
Proceeds from the deal were enough to payoff a construction loan on the building, he said.
“It wasn’t a huge success, but it was a success in light of the condition of the market,” Olson said. “And the seller was happy to get off the debt.”
Walgreens, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, is one of the most sought after tenants in the country. Olson said numerous Walgreens-occupied buildings are up for sale and that helped depress the price.
“So the supply exceeded the demand,” he said.
Walgreens was in an expansion mode before the country slid into a recession in 2007.
Now, many developers who built stores for the Deerfield, Ill.-based company are trying to sell the buildings to pay off short-term construction loans, he said. With credit markets still in disarray, refinancing debt remains difficult.
Profin Investments, managed by Amadeo and Miriam Guazzini, obtained a $4.85 million loan from Coral Gables-based BBU Bank, according to Miami-Dade County property records.
Background: Kristol and Olson are senior associates with Marcus & Millichap in Miami.
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