Receiver Alan Fine has been appointed to oversee the troubled 1212 Aventura mixed-use project after more than a dozen office condo owners were forced out of the property earlier this year.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Thomas Rebull signed an order on Tuesday designating Fine as receiver for Medical District Developments, which is responsible for the nearly completed development at 21290 Biscayne Boulevard. The project includes a senior living facility with 163 apartments, 39 office condos covering about 25,796 square feet, and roughly 29,684 square feet of retail space.
Judge Rebull is presiding over a foreclosure case brought in March by a lender tied to Dornin Investment Group from Las Vegas. According to the complaint, Medical District Developments defaulted on a $49.6 million mortgage. David Avan currently manages Medical District Developments in Miami.
Between November and January, Medical District Developments sold 25 office condos for $9.4 million in total. Prices ranged from $164,100 to $1.1 million per unit. After purchasing these units, buyers were ordered by the city of Aventura to vacate in May because the developer let both the master building permit and temporary certificate of occupancy lapse.
Miguel Chamorro, attorney for Medical District Developments, declined to comment.
Victor Sanabria, lawyer for Dornin Investment Group’s affiliate lender, said: “We felt the court’s appointment of a receiver was necessary to protect and stabilize 1212 Aventura. We believe it will safeguard the property’s value and put the project back on track.”
The foreclosure complaint also lists Rieber Developments—based in Aventura—and thirteen contractors including Arquitectonica as parties with pending liens totaling almost $1 million for unpaid work on the site. Bernardo Rieber, CEO of Rieber Developments, previously told The Real Deal that his firm and other companies are owed money.
Glen Waldman, attorney for Rieber Developments stated: “We are pleased the court entered the order. Things will now get attended to properly, which will benefit all parties.”
Alan Fine is a retired Miami-Dade judge who has managed receiverships involving commercial properties facing foreclosure before. In 2023 he was briefly retained by investors in Location Ventures—a Coral Gables-based firm—to liquidate real estate assets until early 2024 when federal regulators sued Location Ventures’ founder Rishi Kapoor over alleged investor fraud; another receiver was then appointed by a federal judge.
Fine was also recently named court receiver over an entity holding a distressed development site along Miami River listed at $18 million.
Judge Rebull’s order noted that Medical District Developments failed to renew essential permits or certificates needed for lawful occupancy or completion of construction—which remains about ninety percent finished—at 1212 Aventura.
The senior living component is projected to generate upwards of $7 million annually but remains non-operational while unsold office condo buyers cannot close their purchases due to these permitting issues.
Meghhaa Kumaarr represents seventeen affected office condo owners and described Tuesday’s ruling as positive: “This means the receiver will now be able to move forward with getting the master permit and the temporary certificate of occupancy reinstated so that they can go back into their units,” Kumaarr said. “Our clients have not been able to conduct their business, but they are still paying mortgages on their units. It’s been very disruptive.”
