LCOR Pays $49M for Miami Site, Plans Rental Tower

UPDATED, June 1, 11:26 a.m.:  LCOR is making its South Florida development debut with plans for a 540-unit apartment tower in Miami’s growing Arts & Entertainment District.

Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based LCOR, through an affiliate, bought 1.1 acres of land at 1775 Biscayne Boulevard from an entity led by Aventura orthopedic surgeon Barry Silverman and his wife, Judy Silverman, according to records. The site is on the border of Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.

The buyer took out a $33.4 million loan from Webster Bank. Keith Kurland and Michael Stepniewski of Walker & Dunlop represented LCOR in the financing deal. Brad Capas of Cushman & Wakefield represented LCOR in the purchase.

LCOR plans a 40-story tower with units ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments and 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, according to the developer’s news release. The apartments will have stainless-steel appliances, washers and dryers, and quartz countertops.

The project, which will have a more than 600-space garage, will offer amenities including WiFi throughout the property, a gym, rooftop pool deck, an outdoor terrace and grilling space, tenant lounges with co-working space and conference rooms, and package retrieval services, the release says.

Construction is expected to start in early 2024 and to be completed in 2026.

The Silvermans, through their V Downtown affiliate, previously planned a 53-story mixed-use tower on the site with 444 residential units, 200 hotel keys, 45,600 square feet of commercial space, 64,500 square feet of office space, and a 546-space garage. In 2017, a Miami board signed off on waivers needed for the development, but the project was never built.

Although this is LCOR’s first ground-up project in South Florida, the company has been investing in the region and other Southeast markets for more than a decade, according to the release.

LCOR is a real estate developer, manager and investor with a $9.5 billion-plus portfolio of projects that are completed, under construction and in pre-development, according to its website. Its partners include the California State Teachers Retirement System, Ares Management and PGIM. Anthony Barsanti is LCOR’s CEO, and Anthony Tortora is senior vice president.

In other recent projects, LCOR presented a plan in March to redevelop a waterfront site near Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey’s Hudson County with a 20-story office building and a 28-story, 389-unit residential building just west of the offices. LCOR also wants to renovate the terminal and Warrington Plaza, a cobblestone lot next to the station mainly used as parking for NJ Transit vehicles.

LCOR is the latest developer to target the Arts & Entertainment District.

In December, The Melo Group paid $105 million for just over 3 acres across Biscayne Boulevard from LCOR’s site. Brothers Martin and Carlos Melo, along with their father, Jose Luis Ferreira de Melo, had not yet hammered out plans at the time, but Martin Melo said the preliminary vision is for an up to 60-story, four-tower complex with both apartments and condominiums.

Alex Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development and New York-based Hidrock Properties plan a multifamily project at 1601 North Miami Avenue, although they are considering other uses. Hidrock Properties and Karakhanian’s Lndmrk bought the site from Karakhanian in May for $19 million.

Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights wants to develop a 43-story, 1,100-unit residential tower atop a podium with an eight-story garage and two-story offices next to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. The proposal hinges on Crescent completing its assemblage with the purchase of the lot at 1370 Northeast Second Avenue from the School Board of Miami-Dade County for an expected $20.6 millon.

In other Arts & Entertainment District plans, ex-Kushner Companies executive Jenny Bernell, through her Clearline Real Estate, paid $19.8 million for the multifamily development site at 1550 Northeast Miami Place.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to include the financing brokers. 

Contact Lidia Dinkova