Forest Development, Royal Palm Partner on Florida Project

Forest Development has received a $269 million construction loan for Nautilus 220, a 330-unit luxury condominium project in Lake Park, Fla., from Fortress Investment Group LLC. The financing was arranged by Concord Summit Capital LLC and comes as Forest Development formed a joint venture partnership with Royal Palm Cos. for the mixed-use Palm Beach County project.

Construction is underway with a completion date set for the second quarter of 2024. Forest Development launched sales for the condo units in March 2021. The project, which has a floating sales center located on a barge in the Lake Park marina, is 60 percent pre-sold. Prices of the condos range from $800,000 to more than $3 million.

Concord Summit Director Justin Morrow and Managing Director Kevin O’Grady, both of the firm’s Miami office, sourced the financing on behalf of the borrowers. O’Grady said in prepared remarks Concord Summit has worked with Fortress on numerous transactions over the years. He said they were able to leverage the firm’s strong relationship with the team at Fortress to complete the transaction.

Peter Baytarian, managing partner at Forest Development, said in a prepared statement the Concord Summit team worked with the firm over the past two years and guided them through more than 13 financing options for the mixed-use development.

Luis Flores, Anthony Kang and Rick Carroll of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP represented Forest Development in closing the transaction.

Property Details

Daniel Kodsi, CEO of Royal Palm Cos., a development and management company that has more than 6,000 residences in is portfolio and more than $3.5 billion in managed real estate projects, said in a prepared statement Nautilus 220 will be a neighborhood-making development for the town of Lake Park and surrounding area. He said sales are strong and he was pleased to offer the company’s expertise to finish the development. Royal Palm has completed more than 50 of its own projects.

Forest Development has a team with more than 30 years of experience in real estate development in the United State and Europe, including apartments, condominiums, townhomes, professional offices and shopping centers. Baytarian said in prepared remarks the Forest Development team is committed to creating value with all its projects and engaging with Royal Palm, a seasoned high-rise developer as a partner for Nautilus 220, aligns with that goal.

Nautilus 220 will have one- to three-bedroom residences ranging from 1,100 to 3,400 square feet in two, 24-story towers. The condos will have various floor plans with unobstructed views of the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean. The luxury development will be constructed alongside the Lake Park Harbor marina with 100 slips accommodating boats up to 100 feet. The property will also include a two-level, 7,500-square-foot waterfront restaurant from famed Chef David Burke. It will be his first in Florida and feature modern American cuisine.

Penthouses come with 2,000-square-foot private rooftop terraces, plunge pools, summer kitchens and 12-foot ceilings. The project will have a one-acre outdoor amenity deck. Amenities will include resort-style pool, rooftop lap pool, wellness plaza, putting green, club room, theater lounge, billiards, mini-bowling, a multipurpose soundproof studio for music and podcasts, golf simulator, off-leash dog run, guest suites and private beach club access.

Kast Construction is the general contractor. Interiors by Steven G. Inc., is the designer for the lobby, common areas, fifth-floor amenities and model residences. Other project team members include: Zabik & Associates Inc., owners’ representative; R+N Architecture; Insite Studio for planning and landscape architecture; VS Studios, virtual design and renderings; and Compass Development Marketing Group for sales and marketing.