Jordan Kornberg of Mast Capital: 5 Questions

As Mast Capital finishes the 80-story Cipriani Residences in Miami’s Brickell district, the company has turned its attention to West Palm Beach, Fla., where it’s marketing the 26-story Banyan Tree Residences.

Prices start at $1.9 million for a one-bedroom unit. The 88-unit project on Hibiscus Street is expected to begin construction in 2027.

Jordan Kornberg, chief investment officer for Mast Capital, said the growth of West Palm is hard to ignore.

“[It’s] walkable, great dining, good residences, and it’s a vibrant city that I think there’s a lot of investment going into,” Kornberg said.

Kornberg spoke with Commercial Observer recently about that growth, and the new challenges that come with it.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Commercial Observer: Why are you looking to West Palm Beach?

Jordan Kornberg: We’ve always been focused across Florida. We’ve been active in Tampa, southwest Florida, up and down southeast Florida as far south as the Keys, and up to West Palm. A lot of people are moving there, a lot of office-using jobs are going there.

So just great things are happening in a city that’s really seeing a boost, and we’re excited to be a part of that. We started marketing Banyan Tree this year. We’ve got some other stuff that we are sort of active on, but we can’t talk about now, but hopefully there’ll be more to come in the market.

How much are you following Steve Ross and his big investment there, and how much of it is your own due diligence and analysis?

I can’t speak to other developers. For us, it’s our own due diligence and analysis. There’s no doubt that the investment that Steve Ross is making is part of the transformation of the city. He amongst others are bringing a lot of great jobs, great retail and making that vibrant, walkable city with a great culture.

I think it’s really kind of that whole atmosphere that’s coming together and really creating that boost in the city. Our mentality is never just to follow somebody because they’re doing it. It’s to form our own view and decide if the fundamentals marry the investment and what we think the trends going forward look like. We’re very, very optimistic about what the future looks like for West Palm Beach.

What’s the biggest challenge as you start doing projects in West Palm?

I’d say developing condos is not an easy business. It’s a very local market. We are making sure we are very in tune with the local brokerage community, the local trends, for really every project we do.

An important part of it is not coming in with a perspective that what we do in Miami should be the same as West Palm — the buyers are different, the cities are different.

Really ingraining ourselves in that market and making sure that in the whole atmosphere of what the city is, that what we’re doing is additive to that and contributing to that overall city.

For a long time, $1.9 million for a one-bedroom unit in West Palm was unheard of.

The level of service, luxury, quality, everything is kind of being taken up to another level. Obviously, the level of income and wealth that’s coming down also.

What we found is if you deliver the right quality with the right services and amenities, people are willing to pay, assuming that it has that quality, it has that service, and it feels like you’re living effectively in a hotel environment with the services of a hotel, with the privacy and exclusivity of a residential community.

Every unit truly is a corner unit, which is a pretty unique thing. Every residence is essentially its own private corner home. Great views, large terraces, indoor/outdoor living, very lifestyle- and wellness-focused.

Who’s buying these units?

We’ve seen that local regional buyer from South Florida, a large contingent from the Northeast and some key domestic markets. We’ve seen the West Coast pop up more. A lot of them are people that are downsizing locally or buying a second home. People are tired of having to have a whole staff and having the big house and dealing with the tennis court and the yard and all that stuff.

Jeff Ostrowski can be reached at jostrowski@commercialobserver.com.

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