R&B Realty Group lost its grip on the Gateway at Wynwood office building after a yearlong effort to hold onto it.
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The New York-based company lost the building after falling short on a $113M mortgage and being unable to refinance it by an Aug. 22 deadline set by a New York bankruptcy judge, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
A10 Capital, which provided the loan to refinance the 14-story office building to R&B Realty in 2023, assigned its $90M credit bid to San Diego-based Cire Equity, led by Joshua Volen and Trevor Smith.
R&B Realty acquired the 1.1-acre site for Gateway in 2016 for $11.5M, according to property records. The firm acquired a $76M construction loan in 2020. A year later, Gateway opened doors with 195K SF of office, 25K SF of retail and 490 parking spaces at 2916 N. Miami Ave.
The debtors, R&B-managed entities named Gateway Wynwood LLC and 2830 Wynwood Properties LLC, had been trying to hold onto it ever since.
After the firm began missing payments in 2024, Delaware-based Wilmington Trust, which acted as the CMBS trustee, filed a lawsuit to force a sale of the property in March 2024. R&B filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July of that year after losing a foreclosure judgment to delay the auction in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
In May, a bankruptcy judge ordered an auction to be held on June 30 for the office building and the neighboring 5K SF Chase Bank branch. It was delayed to provide R&B’s entities time to try to refinance the loan with Miami-based Beach Hill Capital Investors, which didn’t come to fruition, The Real Deal reported.
A10 and R&B Realty did not respond to a request for comment.
The office currently houses Mindspace Miami, Marcus & Millichap, Villatel, Royalty Auto Wash and Central Rock Gym. It still has about 71K SF of office available, making it 64% occupied, according to a listing on Loopnet.
“As a vertically integrated real estate operator, we plan to enhance the property through hands-on operations and strategic capital investment,” Cire Equities Co-founder and principal Smith said in a statement. “Our aim is to establish Gateway as a vibrant destination that supports the Wynwood community, attracts top tenants, and thrives as a long-term investment.”
Cire owns a national portfolio of residential, retail, office and industrial assets, according to its website.
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