Daniel Kaplan, Ryan Shear and Kevin Maloney

Property Markets Group — better known as PMG — had a pretty good 2024. After all, it’s not every year you set a record for the largest construction loan in South Florida.  

In June, PMG scored a $668 million construction loan for its Waldorf Astoria tower in Miami. PMG led a joint venture with Hilton, Canadian private equity firm Greybrook, Mohari Hospitality and S2 Development. The 100-story development is due to include a luxury hotel and hundreds of condos.

“It was like an army’s effort to get that thing financed and off the ground,” said Ryan Shear. “It’s definitely — in my career — the biggest accomplishment to date.”

Daniel Kaplan shares Shear’s sentiment about the gravity of what they pulled off with the Waldorf Astoria tower.

“Closing a construction loan is a milestone,” Kaplan said. “What the milestone really means is we adequately accomplished entitlements. We were able to buy the job correctly within establishing the right profit margin. We were able to attract the right investors. We were able to attract the right brand, and we were able to sell enough [condos] to give financiers the confidence that the loans were incredibly safe. So the closing of the construction loan was sort of the culmination, the highlight of 2024.”

Now all they have to do is finish the job. 

“It should deliver end of 2027, early 2028, and so far so good,” Shear said. “We’re on schedule. It is a 12-year deal from the day we bought the dirt to the day we turn it over.”

Overall, PMG has established itself as a key player in South Florida real estate. With a national portfolio that spans a range of luxury condominiums, luxury rentals, hospitality properties and commercial spaces, the firm is well positioned to cater to the region’s diverse needs. 

“South Florida doesn’t track historically with the rest of the country, really, because it’s a feeder city,” Shear said. “Some reference Miami specifically as Latin America’s largest capital. Because we don’t track exactly with the country’s trends, we’re able to source business from truly Central and Latin America. Florida in general has always just been a generally attractive market because of taxes, because of the laws down here, and because of the weather.”