South Florida’s commercial real estate sector has seen significant financing activity at the start of the year, with three major loans totaling about $308 million supporting multifamily and office projects in Miami-Dade County and Fort Lauderdale.
The recent transactions reflect lenders’ ongoing confidence in the region’s real estate market. From November to December, banks issued a combined $1.7 billion in construction and refinancing loans across five projects. These included a $465 million loan for Naftali Group’s JEM Private Residences at Miami Worldcenter and an $830 million refinancing for 830 Brickell, an office tower developed by OKO Group and Cain International.
The largest recent deal involved Tokyo-based Nomura, which provided a $185 million refinancing for a 25-story office tower within The Main Las Olas mixed-use complex at 201 East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. According to a news release, “A JLL team led by Paul Stasaitis and Geoff Goldstein arranged the loan on behalf of The Main Las Olas developer, a joint venture between Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles, led by Kenneth Stiles, and San Francisco-based Shorenstein Investment Advisors, led by Brandon Shorenstein.” The office tower was completed in 2020 and is fully leased to tenants that include national financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Raymond James.
In Miami-Dade County, affordable housing developer Pinnacle secured a $68 million construction and equity financing package for Caribbean Isles. “Miami-based affordable housing developer Pinnacle, led by Louis Wolfson III and David Deutch, nabbed a $68 million construction and equity financing package for Caribbean Isles,” according to the release. The planned apartment complex will offer 142 affordable senior housing units at 19755 Southwest 110th Court. Residents must be at least 62 years old and have incomes up to 60 percent of the area median income—$79,400 annually for an individual.
Caribbean Isles marks the second phase of this affordable community; Pinnacle completed the first phase with 123 units in 2020 alongside a new parking garage. The latest financing includes a $34 million construction loan from Bank of America, a $27 million first mortgage from Chase Bank, and $10 million from Miami-Dade’s community development block grants and surtax program.
Another deal saw Freddie Mac provide a $52.5 million refinancing loan for Horizons North—a 276-unit garden-style apartment complex located at 665 Ives Dairy Road in northeast Miami-Dade. JLL arranged this transaction on behalf of Fifteen Group. “A JLL team led by Mark Wintner and Joshua Odessky represented the borrower, Miami-based Fifteen Group, led by Mark and Ian Sanders.” Fifteen Group acquired Horizons North in 1999; while the sale price was not disclosed publicly, it recently completed extensive renovations required under Miami-Dade County’s recertification rules.
