Dive Brief:
- A developer based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has purchased the nearly 2-acre beachfront property in Surfside, Florida, where the Champlain Towers South condominium once stood. The nearly $120 million deal with DAMAC Properties was finalized last month.
- Owned by billionaire Hussain Sajwani, who is known as the “Donald Trump of the Middle East,” DAMAC was the only bidder to hit the $120 million minimum for the property near Miami. The money from the sale, along with insurance funds, will be paid to owners of the Champlain condo tower and surviving family members. The building partially collapsed in June 2021, killing 98 people.
- DAMAC is likely to build “another condo tower, with luxurious amenities,” according to The Tampa Bay Times. Now that the land sale is official, the developer will soon unveil those plans. The developer’s spokesperson told The Real Deal that Miami was “a natural fit, given its reputation for being a popular, luxurious destination.”
Dive Insight:
The Champlain condo property was originally going to be auctioned in May, and bidding requests and qualifications were submitted to the court-appointed receiver ahead of time.
“We marketed the property throughout the U.S. and globally to thousands to potential buyers,” said Michael Fay of commercial real estate company Avison Young, who was court-appointed to manage the disposition of the Champlain Towers South site. “We received strong interest from over two dozen groups, mostly international, from Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.”
When no bids beyond DMAC’s $120 million were filed, the auction was canceled.
“As the stalking horse bidder, DAMAC not only came in with a strong purchase price from the beginning but also large deposits in quick timeframes,” Fay told Multifamily Dive.
Basically, the developer was motivated to close the deal. “DAMAC exhibited strength throughout the entire process,” Fay said. “They also increased their at-risk deposit to $50 million.”
The offering memorandum for the property shared with Multifamily Dive says its “permissive” zoning allows for a potential 12-story, 120-foot-high residential or hotel tower with 200 feet of direct beach frontage.
“With South Florida’s Atlantic coastline virtually fully developed, opportunities to acquire developable sites of scale are extremely rare and in high demand,” the memo states.
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