PMG, Michael Simkins, and Lndmrk Buy Overtown Development Site

Known as Block 19, the 1.5-acre parcel sits two blocks west of E11even, a nightclub that Simkins co-owns, and about half a mile from the Metromover railine. City National Bank provided a $8.3 million mortgage for the acquisition.

The seller, New Jersey-based investor Mitchell Newman, assembled the site in 2008, following the Great Recession, for an undisclosed amount. Last year, Newman filed an application to build a 25-story apartment building with 413 units, but construction never took place and the site remains vacant. 

The new owners plan to construct a transit-oriented development but declined to provide additional details.

First known as “Colored Town,” Overtown became the residential district for Black workers during the Jim Crow era of the late 19th through the mid-20th century. In the 1950s, the construction of Interstate 95 decimated the bustling neighborhood, displacing thousands.

Over the past decade, developers and business owners have taken another look at Overtown thanks to the neighborhood’s proximity to Downtown Miami and Wynwood. 

Swerdlow Group is building a 1.4 million-square-foot project in the neighborhood, called Block 55 at Sawyer’s Walk, which will house Target, Aldi and the headquarters of Swiss maritime company MSC Group, as well as apartments.

Last year, Atlantic Pacific Companies secured a $158 million construction loan to complete another mixed-use development in Overtown, called Block 45.

In 2020, famed chef Marcus Samuelsson opened the Miami branch of his New York Red Rooster restaurant nearby.

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.