The Kushner Companies has completed a shopping spree in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.
The New York-based developer purchased a 1.3-acre lot for $36 million at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard between 19th and 20th Street, according to property records.
It’s the last parcel needed for Kushner’s planned 1,300-unit residential development in the coveted neighborhood. Across the street at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard, it purchased a 0.7-acre lot for $20.5 million last June.
The parcels are in “opportunity zones,” a federal government program designated to spur investment through tax breaks. As a co-owner, the developer bought on PTM Partners, a firm specializing in opportunity zone real estate.
Kushner Cos. — led by father, daughter duo Charles and Nicole Kushner as well as CEO Laurent Morali — scored a $127 construction loan in October 2021 from AIG Asset Management and Valley National Bank. For the latest purchase, the buyers secured a $20 million loan from MSD Partners.
The project’s first phase, a 36-story rental tower with 420 units, broke ground shortly thereafter. Leasing is slated to begin in a year.
Kushner is developing large projects across South Florida, finding it financially more advantageous to build rather than buy, Morali told Commercial Observer.
“There was this interesting arbitrage opportunity, where instead of buying apartments at a 3.5 percent or 4 percent cap rate, we realized we could build at a yield on cost that would be closer to 6 percent,” the executive explained. “So that’s why you’ve seen us make a big splash in Florida.”
Last year, the firm broke ground on a mixed-use development in Edgewater’s neighboring district, Wynwood. In Fort Lauderdale, it’s working on another residential building, set to become one of the city’s tallest, after purchasing the site for $49 million.
Disclosure: Joseph Meyer, chairman of Observer Media, owner of Commercial Observer, is married to Nicole Kushner Meyer, a principal at Kushner Companies.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.