Partners Land $119M Refi for Miami Condo Project

La Playa de Varadero site. Image via Google Street View

Fortune International Group and Château Group have scored a $119 million refinance loan for La Playa de Varadero, an oceanfront condo development in the City of Sunny Isles Beach north of Miami Beach, Fla. Newmark Knight Frank arranged the loan, which was provided by Bank OZK.

Multi-Housing News received independent confirmation of the deal after it was first reported by Commercial Observer. Located at 18801 Collins Ave., the project is fully approved for the development of 1.2 million sellable square feet with 490 residential units. The two-phase development will consist of two condominium towers with resort-style amenities across 4.7 acres, with 435 feet of direct beach frontage.

Pre-development work has already been completed including demolition of the previous property along with structural build-out of the sales center. The project has been in the works since 2014, when Fortune International and Château purchased the existing four-building La Playa de Varadero condo and hotel complex from its individual unit owners. The partners received approval from the city for the new development in the following year and recently secured final approval after further tweaks to the original design.

The Newmark Knight Frank team that secured the loan was led by Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub, vice chairmen & co-heads of Debt & Structured Finance, together with Nick Scribani, Chris Kramer and Dominick Calisto.

Just down the street at 18501 Collins Ave., Fontainebleau Development is building Turnberry Ocean Club, a 54-story luxury condo tower. JP Morgan Chase and Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies provided a $460 million refinancing loan for the project last September.