Ram Realty Nabs $81M Loan for Multifamily Project Near Miami Zoo – Commercial Observer

Ram Realty Advisors landed an $80.6 million construction loan for a controversial multifamily project near the Miami Zoo, property records show.

The financing from U.S. Bank will go toward the third phase of the Botanica Apartments, which is set to include 353 apartments. Construction got underway this week.

The site — located near 15520 SW 127th Avenue, between the zoo and Southwest 152nd Street in Kendall, where the third phase is being erected — spans 18 acres. 

The Palm Beach Gardens-based developer has previously sold off portions of the property. In 2021, Ram Realty sold the first phase for $174 million to Cortland, an Atlanta-based investor, which renamed the property Cortland South Kendall.

Cortland paid $160.3 million for the 408-unit building and another $14 million for a vacant 8-acre lot, where the second phase has been under construction since January. That phase is set to feature 192 units. 

Ram Realty also built a Walmart supercenter on the property, which it sold for $19.5 million in 2021. 

When Ram got started, environmental groups criticized the development, claiming it would destroy the rare pine rocklands habitat that surrounds it. In 2017, four environmental groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies that had approved the developer’s conservation plan. The parties settled the suit a year later, which allowed construction to move forward. 

A representative for Ram Realty did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Julia Echikson can be reached at [email protected].