This Week's South Florida Deal Sheet: Morning Calm Cashes In On West Palm Office
Morning Calm Management more than tripled the value of a 100-year-old office and retail property the firm renovated in West Palm Beach.
Morning Calm, led by Mukang Cho, sold the Echo mixed-use development at 205 Datura St. for $45.7M to an undisclosed buyer, according to a release.
Cho's firm purchased the 71K SF property in 2019 for $14M, according to property records provided by Vizzda, and renovated it in 2021 to add a new lobby, conference center, lounge and private courtyard.
It is 80% occupied by tenants including Stone Point Capital, AltaRock Partners and Sound Point Capital. The building also has about 10K SF of ground-floor retail and 257 parking spaces.
A JLL Capital Markets team of Ike Ojala, Hermen Rodgriguez, Matt McCormack, Blake Koletic and Hunter Smith represented the seller.
SALES
Home Depot purchased a mixed-use retail and office strip center from 3101 Realty Corp. in Hallandale Beach for $20M, according to records provided by Vizzda.
The six buildings were built between 1984 and 1990, making up 65K SF at 3101 to 3129 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. Ballroom dance class Florida Danceport is listed as a tenant, according to its website.
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An entity tracing to Aventura-based S2 Development sold a 1-acre development site in North Bay Village to Elad National Properties for $20M, according to records provided by Vizzda.
S2 in 2023 had proposed a 94-unit, 22-story apartment tower at 7913 West Drive with 177 parking spaces in a four-level parking garage.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Vista Residential Partners broke ground on a 221-unit apartment community in Palm Beach Gardens, according to a release.
The Gardens Vista at 12450 Central Blvd. will hold 131 one-bedroom units, 68 two-bedrooms and 22 three-bedrooms. Residents will have access to a nature preserve, pickleball courts, a pool, a game room, coworking space, a dog park and more.
Vista agreed to allocate 10% of the development's apartments as workforce housing, which is for residents making 120% of the area median income.
MILESTONES
Housing Trust Group and Mount Hermon African Methodist Episcopal Church delivered the 104-unit Mount Hermon Apartments in Fort Lauderdale, according to a release.
The $43.5M affordable senior housing community for seniors 62 and older is open for people who earn at or below 25% to 60% of the area median income, with rents ranging from $433 to $1,422 per month.
The seven-story development at 750 NW Fourth St. holds one- and two-bedroom units ranging between 650 SF and 950 SF. Residents have access to a rooftop terrace, an outdoor kitchen, a fitness center, a clubroom and an outdoor community gathering space on the second floor.
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Miami-based Pinnacle celebrated the opening of its 215-unit affordable housing community in South Miami-Dade County.
Pinnacle at Tropical Pointe adds 215 affordable housing units at 25155 SW 136th Ave. in South Miami-Dade. The garden-style development spans six buildings and offers one-to-four-bedroom units for residents earning up to 60% of AMI.
Amenities include a pool, fitness center, business hub and playground. A mural by Venezuelan artist Gabriela Benatar was installed as part of Pinnacle’s Art in Public Places initiative.
The project received a $37M construction loan and $30.6M in tax credit equity from Bank of America, a $20M loan from Citibank and $1M from Miami-Dade County’s Development Inflation Adjustment Fund to offset rising construction costs.
Willow Bridge Property Co. opened the 392-unit apartment complex Leksa at CityPlace in Doral at 8401 NW 34th Terrace.
The complex offers studio, one- and two-bedroom residences that span between 480 SF and 1,200 SF. Amenities include a fitness center, a coworking lounge and outdoor entertainment spaces like a cinema lawn.
FINANCING
Continuum Co., led by Ian Bruce Eichner, secured a $25M predevelopment loan from Benmark Capital for its North Bay Village project Continuum Club & Residences, according to a release.
The Arquitectonica-designed project broke ground in late March and is set to offer 198 residences, a private marina and 60K SF of amenities when it opens by 2028.
Set to rise at 1755 John F. Kennedy Causeway and developed in partnership with Aksoy Holdings, the 32-story project has 50% of its units under contract, the release says.
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Boca Raton-based Grover Corlew landed $47.5M in refinancing from the City National Bank of Florida for the redeveloped Palmetto Central Campus, according to a release.
Palmetto Central consists of two buildings totaling 170K SF at 1489 and 1499 W. Palmetto Park Road. The properties underwent a $60M renovation, with the 1499 Palmetto Central office building getting upgrades to the lobby, restrooms, common areas and elevators. The building houses tenants like HairClub, Gilbane Building Co., Texas Instruments and Grover Corlew’s headquarters.
The 1489 Palmetto Central building received updates to the windows, patio areas and common areas. Tenants include UHealth Boca Raton and a Venture X coworking space.
THIS AND THAT
NDT Development, Place Projects and Wheelock Street Capital tapped CBRE as the exclusive office leasing agent for Phase 1 of The Nora District.
The Nora District is a 2.5M SF, multiphase project along North Railroad Avenue between Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and Seventh Street that began construction on its first phase in 2023 and is set to offer 150K SF of retail and office space.
CBRE is responsible for 50K SF of second-floor office suites across seven buildings. Offices will range from 1K rentable SF to 4K rentable SF and will be available for move-in in the third and fourth quarters.
The second phase of development is The Nora Hotel by BD Hotels, which is under construction and expected to deliver by the end of 2026.
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Codina Partners has launched an in-house multifamily property management division to oversee the firm's residential portfolio.
The decision was driven by the firm's newest 126-unit project, Regency Parc, which will include on-demand lifestyle services through a custom app for building communications and white-glove concierge service, Codina said in a release.
The division will also assume management of the Palma Downtown Doral and future properties like the 411-unit Sevilla Downtown Doral that is expected to break ground this year.
