The last undeveloped beachfront lot in Miami Beach sells for $40 million
August 30, 2019Now it’s official: Miami Beach is out of vacant oceanfront real estate. On Tuesday, developer Urbanica Management became the owner of a 0.98-acre lot at 6747 Collins Avenue; the deal cost $40 million, or roughly $1,000 per square foot. The seller, China Construction Company (CCC), bought the land for $38.5 million in 2015.
City officials claimed the property was the last undeveloped beachfront lot in Miami Beach. The off-market deal only happened thanks to Stefano Santoro, the senior investment advisor of the brokerage firm APEX Capital Realty, who represented the buyer.
The property was not listed for sale, but that did not stop him. After approaching CCC a few times, he finally got the entrance he was hoping for: “CCC finally said ‘If you bring us a builder who’s worthwhile, maybe we’ll entertain a sale,'” Santoro explained.
That’s all Urbanica needed. The company has been aggressively increasing its participation in the hospitality market of the Beach. They are currently operating two boutique hotels and have two other hotels under construction: the 50-room The Fifth Hotel, with opening expected for 2020, and the 30-room The Euclid Hotel, with completion scheduled for this year.
The new site should be the home of Urbanica’s fifth hotel, with 200 rooms and various bars and restaurants, according to a press release. The site has preapproved plans to build a 19-story, 60-condo tower, and a 150-room condo-hotel.
“This site is the last undeveloped oceanfront land on Miami Beach,” said Miguel Pinto, President and Managing Broker of APEX Capital Realty. “There is no other property like this now, and there won’t be in the foreseeable future. We’re proud to have initiated this unexpected sale that will bring this exciting development opportunity to life and help Miami Beach to continue to flourish.”