Babba Joshua Yesharim Lists Miami River Site for $26M

A 1.2-acre development site on the Miami River owned by Babba Joshua Yesharim is on the market for $26 million. 

The adjacent lots at 678, 700, 710 and 720 Northwest North River Drive in Miami allow for a project rising up to four stories and with 44 units maximum, according to listing broker Virgilio Fernandez. A townhouse or condominium development could be suitable for the assemblage, which is called The River Line and is in the largely residential Spring Garden Historic District.

Fernandez is marketing the land with Mitash Kripalani, both of Colliers. 

If the parcel sells for its asking price, it would mark a nearly fivefold gain for Yesharim, a longtime investor in riverside properties. He assembled the land for a combined $5.4 million, paying $1.2 million for one lot in 2015 and the balance for the other three lots in 2021, property records show. 

But Yesharim says he isn’t listing the site only because of the potential profit he could reap. 

The investor, who got into the field in the early 2000s, has holdings in the Miami River District and across Florida. But he has never built a project of his own. 

“I am not listing it because I want to make 5x,” he said. “I want the area to continue to grow … This site is a very special site and it needs to get into experienced developers’ hands where they can build a world-class project.” 

Potential buyers who have inquired about the assemblage include family offices, along with local and out-of-state developers, said Fernandez, who put the site on the market early this month. 

Yesharim said he has wanted to develop a project of his own and considered building on some of his land holdings, including the 678-720 Northwest North River Drive land, but opted to wait until borrowing costs cool from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

His Miami River District holdings include the site of Seaspice Brasserie & Lounge at 412 Northwest North River Drive and the site of Roman Jones’ Crust restaurant at 668 Northwest Fifth Street. 

The potential 381 percent gain in value for the land Yesharim put on the market is “not that crazy,” he said. 

Prices for Miami development sites have dropped this year under the weight of elevated financing costs, but the Miami River District’s growth has caught developers’ eyes for land plays that fetch healthy gains. 

In January, Yesharim sold 0.2 acres at 3442 and 3490 Northwest Second Avenue to David and Leila Centner for $4.7 million. The deal marked a 16-fold price increase from the $275,000 Yesharim’s affiliate had paid for the land 12 years ago. 

Perhaps the biggest project completed in the river district in recent years is River Landing Shops & Residences, a 2.2 million-square-foot development that opened in 2020 at 1480 Northwest North River Drive. 

Hyatt and Gencom plan an even bigger project on the river: the 3.3 million-square-foot Miami Riverbridge development with multifamily, service branded apartments and a hotel on the current site of the James L. Knight Center and an adjoining 615-room hotel at 400 Southeast Second Avenue.