Coral Gables Office Complex Sells Out Of Receivership For $76M
Pennsylvania-based Tourmaline Capital Partners purchased a Coral Gables office complex that was on its way to foreclosure.
Tourmaline acquired Columbus Center at 1 Alhambra Plaza for $76M, according to deed records from the Vizzda real estate database. The seller was Chris Neilson, the court-appointed receiver and managing partner of Trigild.
Neilson was managing the property after the mortgage's loan servicer filed a foreclosure lawsuit in October against its previous owner, Affinius Capital.
Affinius, formerly Square Mile Capital and USAA Real Estate, had defaulted on its $69M CMBS loan tied to the nearly 500K SF complex, which includes a 14-story tower and an eight-story mid-rise office building. It agreed to the receivership last year after it couldn't reach a deal with the special servicer, Trimont.
The sale to Tourmaline, backed by $71.6M in new debt from Miami-based Banesco USA, appears to satisfy the troubled loan, originally issued by lender Värde Partners, a Minneapolis-based investment manager.
“We’re proud to add an iconic Class-A office complex such as Coral Gables’ Columbus Center to our growing portfolio of high-quality, amenity-rich assets,” Jeff Fronek, managing principal and president of Tourmaline, said in a statement to Bisnow.
Affinius declined Bisnow’s request for comment. Neilson didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment before publication.
Columbus Center, built in 1990, faced occupancy issues when it fell from 69% leased in mid-2021 to 63% leased in June, Bisnow previously reported. Affinius had renovated the building in 2023.
Tenants Wargo French Singer and Yoga Joint moved in at the beginning of January, according to a receiver report drafted by Neilson.
The office market in Coral Gables has attracted major tenants such as Apple, FIFA and Bank of America, and with a direct vacancy rate of 8.2%, the submarket has become one of the most sought-after in Miami, according to a fourth-quarter Colliers report.
While this will be Tourmaline’s first dip into Coral Gables, it has been amassing a substantial Miami portfolio.
The firm purchased the office tower at 801 Brickell Ave. in 2023 for $250M in partnership with Monarch Alternative Capital and has a stake in Citigroup Center at 201 S. Biscayne Blvd., according to its website.
Tourmaline plans to add an amenity space programmed by its subsidiary company Onsite.
“We look forward to integrating Onsite, our workplace experience platform, to continue delivering incredible spaces, highly curated services, dedicated people, and the technology that fuels it all,” Fronek said.
