Witkoff, PPG Score $273M Construction Loan for Hotel-Condo in South Florida
By Julia Echikson November 20, 2024 2:09 pm
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Even as Steve Witkoff prepares to enter the second Trump administration, his real estate company, The Witkoff Group, remains fast at work, securing $273 million in construction financing for a luxury condo and hotel tower in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
The 20-story development — a partnership with PPG Development — will house 108 condo units and 60 hotel rooms at 661 Diplomat Parkway, within the Shell Bay country club, which is already open. Auberge will service both the condo and hotel.
Construction for the Kobi Karp-designed high-rise is expected to be completed in 2027.
The lenders are J.P. Morgan and BDT & MSD Partners, the latter of which formed last year between the New York-based BDT merchant bank and Michael Dell’s investment firm. Faisal Ashraf of Lotus Capital Partners represented the sponsors.
So far, about 50 percent of the condo units have sold at an average of $2,000 a square foot, according to a spokesperson for the joint venture. Since 2021, before securing the construction loan, the project has secured $55 million in financing
PPG Development, led by Ari Pearl, purchased the 150-acre property for $43 million in 2018, according to property records. Shell Bay country club includes an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman, a 12-acre golf practice facility, a racquet club and a 48-slip marina. Hallandale Beach is near Hollywood, Fla., midway between Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
The Shell Bay’s loan closing comes just a week after President-elect Donald Trump tapped Witkoff, his longtime friend, as special envoy to the Middle East. As Witkoff has entered the political fray in the past few years, his son Alex Witkoff has stepped up as Witkoff Group’s co-CEO.
Last year, the New York-based developer scored a $430 million construction loan, also from J.P. Morgan, to build the oceanfront Shore Club condo and hotel project in Miami Beach. In March, a penthouse unit went under contract for $120 million — setting a record in Miami-Dade County for condo sales.
Correction: The address of the development was corrected. A previous version of the article incorrectly stated that Michael Dell’s family office merged with BDT. It was Dell’s investment firm.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
