Developer Snags $27M Construction Loan for Little Havana Development
By Celia Young August 18, 2021 6:24 pm
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Alan Amdur, a principal at i3 Development, secured $26.5 million from Los Angeles-based Parkview Financial to build a mixed-use development in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.
The funds will go towards the construction of the first phase of the Riverwest Miami complex, at 805 West Flagler Street, which includes retail and residential components.
The first phase is expected to cost $32 million and complete 55,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, as well as a parking garage above the retail portion. The majority of the retail space is pre-leased to discount retailer Ross Dress for Less and grocer Aldi, which will occupy the space once construction is complete and is scheduled for the 2023 holiday season.
“This property will really be a catalyst for other development in the Little Havana Riverwest area,” said Aztec Group’s Charles Penan, who brokered the deal on behalf of the developer. “There’s nothing like this there. So, the local community [will] have a new shopping center where they could go grocery shopping and buy clothes for their family.”
Parkview’s loan is one of its first loans in the Miami area. It chose to make the deal, in part, because the retail property is already 80 percent leased. The remaining space will be leased to smaller, local business tenants, Penan said.
“There’s substantial collateral for the lender, and then the borrower and developer [have] a great track record developing retail and mixed-use projects,” he said.
The entire project, which will include 278 multifamily units and a residential tower, is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2025. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project’s permit process as the city was slower to respond, Penan said, but he does not anticipate any further delays.
Aztec Group’s Joel Zusman joined Penan in brokering the deal, and Amdur also helped arrange the loan.
Miami-based Kobi Karp is the architect of the project. Amicon Management, also based in Miami, is building the retail structure and two-story garage, and is in negotiations with a general contractor.
