Political Activist J.J. Rendon Buys Miami Penthouse for $15M
A photo illustration of J.J. Rendon and Elysee Miami (Getty, Elysee Miami, Oficialjjrendon, CC BY-SA 3.0 – Wikimedia Commons)
Political consultant, psychologist and activist J.J. Rendón paid $14.7 million for the largest penthouse sold in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood and one of the highest-priced units in the area.
Rendón, who is exiled from Venezuela, acquired a penthouse at Elysee Miami through an LLC he manages. He financed the purchase with a $9 million loan from a Fort Lauderdale lender linked to Skymark Real Estate Investors, and a $1.4 million loan from the developer, records show.
The unit, with 14,300 square feet of interior space and a 3,000-square-foot terrace, is the most expensive to sell at Elysee, a 57-story, 100-unit condo tower at 700 Northeast 23rd Street, records show. The unit has six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Two Roads Development completed the bayfront building last year.
Alicia Cervera Lamadrid of Cervera Real Estate represented the developer in the penthouse sale. Sebastian Acosta of One Sotheby’s International Realty represented Rendón. Both brokers declined to comment.
The Miami New Times once called Rendón a “Karl Rove-esque gun-for-hire” for right-wing candidates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Rendón has been critical of the late Hugo Chávez, former president of Venezuela, and Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s current president. Rendón led a failed secretive effort to remove Maduro from office, the Washington Post reported. He’s also appeared on TV and radio news stations.
Elysee was designed by Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica with interiors by Paris-based designer Jean-Louis Deniot. It has an amenity level with a pool deck, and an owners lounge with a theater and wine room.
Two Roads, led by Reid Boren and Taylor Collins, developed the bayfront tower with funds from New York investment firm DW Partners. Douglas Elliman took over sales and marketing of the project from Cervera during development.
Edgewater is booming with new residential towers. More than a dozen projects with 6,000 apartments and condo units are planned for the neighborhood north of downtown Miami.
A group of four developers plans a mixed-use high-rise with more than 170 condos, office and retail space on the southwest corner of Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 34th Street.
Two Roads in September began sales of its latest Edgewater project, a three-tower, Edition Hotels-branded condo development at 2121 North Bayshore Drive.
