Kolter, BH Inch Toward Buyout on Oceanfront Miami Beach Condo

Developers Kolter Group and BH Group are almost done assembling their oceanfront site in Miami Beach, with plans to redevelop it into a luxury condo complex.

The joint venture now owns the majority of units within the Port Royale condo building at 6969 Collins Avenue in the North Beach neighborhood. Since July, it has paid $61.6 million for 163 units within the 172-unit building, according to an analysis of property records by data company Vizzda, first reported by the Business Journals.

Five years ago, Port Royale residents were evacuated after the 55-year-old building was deemed unsafe, CBS Miami reported. The evacuation came after the deadly collapse of the nearby Champlain Towers South condo building in 2021.

The condo sales are likely related to state reforms passed after 2021 that have increased building maintenance fees for many condo owners, some of whom are selling to developers.

The recent purchases add to Kolter Group and BH Group’s assemblage, which spans about 2 acres along the oceanfront between 69th and 71st streets and includes two neighboring hotels.

Starting in 2023, Kolter purchased the 34,980-square-foot Normandy Plaza Hotel for $18 million. Located at 6985 Collins Avenue, the three-story structure was built in 1950.

This January, an entity tied to the joint venture paid $26 million for the four-story Crystal Beach Suites, which was built in 1936 at 6979 Collins Avenue. This July, it also purchased the 7,600-square-foot commercial condos within the building for $14.4 million.

This week, Wells Fargo increased a loan tied to those properties to $83.2 million. The bank doubled the debt amount from a mortgage first issued in January.

Last week, the developers filed plans to demolish the Normandy Plaza Hotel. In 2025, they filed plans to build a 37-unit condo development designed by Kobi Karp on a portion of the site. The 17-story project is set to include 947 square feet of ground-floor retail and 86 parking spots.

The project is the latest luxury condo development slated in North Beach, a sleepy and relatively affordable neighborhood about 10 miles north of Downtown Miami.

The developers are frequent collaborators. Just last month, they nabbed a $197 million construction loan to build a boutique luxury condo across the state in Naples.

A representative for the developers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.

Source: commercialobserver.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.