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| Written by South Florida Business Journal |
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iStar FM Loans, a subsidiary of iStar Financial (NYSE: SFI), has filed a $78.9 million foreclosure action against the developer of South of Fifth Condominium in South Beach. The Oct 1 complaint is against BR Villa Luisa LLC and guarantors Michael Samuel, R. Ramin Kamfar, Romano C. Tio and Marc Sznajderman, according to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court records. It targets the 25 unsold units in the 28-unit oceanfront building at 125 Ocean Drive, which was completed this year. Samuel was one of the partners in the mixed-use Midtown Miami project, but he sold his interest to the other partners. He didn’t immediately return a call and e-mail seeking comment. There were only three sales made in the seven-story building: a first floor unit for $400,000, a second floor unit for $1.3 million, and a top floor unit for $6.8 million. Adam Greenburg, the managing director of Miami-based Baybridge Real Estate Group, said the developer’s asking price is $1,300 a square foot in this struggling real estate market. “It’s a very solid project, but the price point of the units is tough in this market,” Greenburg said. “There aren’t very many people buying super high-end units in a new building like that.” If South of Fifth’s prices were cut to $800 a square foot, it would sell fairly quickly because of its great location, he added. This is the second foreclosure lawsuit that BR Villa Luisa has faced over this site. In 2006, Capmark Financial filed a foreclosure action against the developer related to its $77.6 million mortgage. A few months later, Freemont Savings and Loan bought the mortgage from Capmark, which dismissed the case. Freemont later sold its loan portfolio to iStar. West Palm Beach attorney Nathan Nason, who represents iStar in the lawsuit, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. |
