Doronin’s OKO, Cain Intl Score FLL Rental Tower Loan
OKO Group’s Vlad Doronin and Cain International’s Jonathan Goldstein along with the development site at 629 Southeast Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale (OKO Group, Cain International, LoopNet, iStock)
Vladislav Doronin’s OKO Group and partner Cain International scored a $97.2 million construction loan for an apartment tower planned south of the New River in quickly redeveloping downtown Fort Lauderdale.
The 34-story, luxury One River will have 251 units and 2,600 square feet of ground-floor retail at 629 Southeast Fifth Avenue, according to the developers’ news release. The financing breaks down to a senior construction loan from Bank OZK and a mezzanine loan from JVP Management.
One River will offer studios, as well as one- to three-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 607 square feet to 1,511 square feet, the release says. With more than 13,000 square feet of amenities, the tower will have a rooftop pool, gym, spa with sauna and steam facilities, and a dog spa, according to the release.
Project architect Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill’s portfolio includes the Central Park Tower, a residential supertall in Manhattan, and the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which is poised to be the world’s tallest building and is designed with Dorsky + Yue International. Smith, one of the firm’s founding partners, also designed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the tallest tower in the world.
Construction on One River is scheduled to start this summer, and completion is expected in September 2024.
OKO Group bought the One River site as part of a larger, 6.7-acre assemblage spanning three blocks purchased from various sellers in 2020 for a combined $63 million. Developer Dev Motwani sold the property where One River will rise. Motwani, part of the Miami Worldcenter master development team, also had planned a 34-story apartment building for the site.
This is at least the third project Miami-based OKO and London-based Cain are partnering on in South Florida. They are developing the luxury Missoni Baia condominium in Miami’s booming Edgewater neighborhood, as well as the high-end Una Residences condo and the 830 Brickell office tower, both in Miami’s Brickell.
The duo’s move on downtown Fort Lauderdale makes them the latest big name real estate players to bet on the area, which has more than 40 projects with 16,000 condos and apartments in the works.
Among them, Kushner Companies and real estate investment trust Aimco paid $49 million for the properties at 200, 300 and 520 West Broward Boulevard in January, where Kushner has approval for a 3 million-square-foot multi-tower development. This and most other projects are north of the New River.
Others south of the river include Moderno Development Group’s 29-story Rivr Lofts between Southwest Fourth and Fifth streets at Southwest Third Avenue, and Jean Francois Roy’s eight-story Aviva Rio Vista at 501 Southeast 6th Avenue.
