Michael Shvo Taps Norman Foster for Miami Beach Office Project
By Julia Echikson June 21, 2022 10:44 pm
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Hot-shot residential broker-turned-developer Michael Shvo tapped star architect Norman Foster for his Alton Road project in Miami Beach.
Earlier this month, Shvo, in partnership with Deutsche Finance America, paid $39.3 million for a five-property assemblage between Lincoln Road and 17th Street, according to the developer. The properties, at 1290 Lincoln Road, 1656 Alton Road to 1680 Alton Road, as well as a parking lot at 1677 West Avenue, include 1.5 acres of land in total.
New documents filed with the City of Miami Beach show that architectural firm Foster + Partners will design the five-story project. Dubbed The Alton, the 250,000-square-foot development will house Class A offices on the top floors and retail on the ground floor, according to the documents.
“Our design is inspired by the climate and vegetation of Florida to create a protected courtyard and to merge the workplace with nature and the outdoors,” Foster said in a statement.
To connect the West Avenue lot and the Alton Road properties, the developer is asking the city to grant him control of a public street, a type of easement known as an alley vacation. The city commission will hear the proposal Wednesday.
Shvo has already nabbed a $28.3 million mortgage from Maxim Credit Group, according to property records.
One of New York’s top residential brokers in the early aughts, Shvo turned to development starting in 2013. Five years later, the New York-based developer was embroiled in a legal scrap over his taxes.
He bought marquee properties such as Coca-Cola Building in Manhattan, at 711 Fifth Avenue, for $955 million, and the historic Raleigh Hotel, located oceanside in Miami Beach, which he’s redeveloping.
Shvo is the latest developer to propose an office development in Miami Beach as companies rushed into the region over the past two years. Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Property Group and Don Peebles’ Peebles Corporation have proposed separate office projects near Lincoln Road, which Miami Beach residents will vote on this November.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
Update: The article was amended to include a statement from Norman Foster and additional information about the sale and upcoming development.
