David Martin.
David Martin
Co-founder and CEO at Terra
David Martin’s Terra is well known in Miami for a lot of reasons, perhaps principally for sticking to a certain aesthetic — modern and glassy — and partnering with star architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Renzo Piano and Bjarke Ingels to leave a mark on Miami’s skyline.
Over 2022, Martin and his firm were busy, scoring a number of construction loans while navigating litigation related to the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South — which did not appear to faze the real estate industry. First came $141 million from Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies to build a mixed-use complex in the wealthy town of Bay Harbor Islands. After the settlement, Apollo Global Management and, once again, Mack Real Estate funneled $230 million for a 38-acre, mixed-use development near Miami International Airport.
The deals speak to Martin’s prominence in Miami’s real estate scene. Since founding Terra in 2001 with his father, Pedro, Martin has developed almost every type of real estate: office; retail; office and residential; affordable and luxury; suburban and urban; boutique and large scale.
Terra’s building spree is set to continue. Late last year, the developer snagged a $35 million construction loan to commence work on Upland Park, a transit-oriented, 47-acre development in Miami-Dade County. After a pandemic delay, Terra and its partner Turnberry Associates are set to break ground this year on a hotel next door to the Miami Beach Convention Center, where events like the Art Basel fair are held each year.
This is on top of the $345 million construction loan — one of South Florida’s largest — that Terra received in 2021 to build a 44-story luxury condo tower in South Beach.
That’s all despite operating under a cloud of litigation that might have tanked the career of a lesser developer — but not Martin.
Terra and its partners had built a 16-story condo next door to the Champlain Towers South building, which collapsed in 2021. The families of the 98 killed in the collapse and the survivors sued the developer, along with about 20 other entities, alleging they helped cause the disaster. A year later, all defendants settled the case, admitting no fault, and their insurance carriers paid over $1 billion.— J.E.
