Category: Miami

Aztec Group arranges $142 million in debt financing for Melo Group’s 667-unit Art Plaza



Aztec Group, Inc., Florida’s leading real estate investment and merchant banking firm for the past 38 years, announces that Peter Mekras, President of Aztec Group, has arranged $142 million in debt financing for Art Plaza in Miami, Florida, consisting of 667 rental apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space.

Art Plaza was developed by Miami-based Melo Group, a family-owned and operated real estate development firm based in Miami, Florida and specializing in the construction, design and delivery of high-quality residential buildings. Art Plaza opened June 2019, and achieved rapid leasing velocity with 95 percent occupancy in less than six months. Art Plaza is located at the corner of NE 1st Avenue and NE 14th Street in the heart of Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District, just one block from the Metromover’s School Board station.

Aztec Group was engaged on an exclusive basis by the Owner to conduct a broad investment banking process. The firm obtained quotes from banks, agencies, pension fund advisors, private equity, financial and life insurance companies. After assisting the borrower to analyze numerous quotes and structures, the $142 million loan was awarded to Freddie Mac via Berkadia’s Miami Office as its seller servicer. The 10-year loan features full-term interest-only and a fixed rate under 3.50 percent.

This is the 10th loan Mekras has placed for Melo Group. Mekras most recently placed $142 and $108 million loans for Melo’s 710-unit Square Station and 497-unit Melody Tower respectively.

“Our process mitigated Art Plaza’s limited stabilized operating history and Miami’s perceived housing supply concerns.” said Peter Mekras, President of Aztec Group. “We are pleased to be a part of Melo Group’s unparalleled effort to deliver more than 2,000 units of needed rental housing in the heart of the Arts & Entertainment District.”

Art Plaza marks the third multifamily development that Melo Group has delivered in the Arts & Entertainment District since 2016, and is part of the firm’s larger plan to bring over 2,300 transit-oriented rental units to the growing neighborhood. The firm’s previously completed developments, including the 497-unit Melody apartment tower and 710-unit Square Station towers, all cater to young professionals wanting to live close to their jobs in and around Downtown Miami and Brickell. The firm’s next rental development in the area, the 437-unit Miami Plaza tower, is now under construction adjacent to Square Station on the north side of the Metromover and is slated for completion in mid-2020.

Mekras and Aztec’s team remains active in the Florida multifamily market, with more than $250 million in recently completed sales, joint venture equity and debt financing transactions for rental apartment communities, senior housing projects and land.



Terra to create new multifamily apartment community on 70-acre site in northwest Miami-Dade County

Terra finalized plans to build more than 1,369 new multifamily apartments in proximity to some of the region’s largest employment centers.


As demand for market rate housing in South Florida grows and savvy developers look to shift density to high-lying ground with an eye toward climate resilience, Terra has finalized plans to build more than 1,369 new multifamily apartments in proximity to some of the region’s largest employment centers. News of Terra’s plans follows the firm’s $52 million purchase of a 70-acre development site in Northwest Miami-Dade County, located along NW 170th Street between I-75 and Florida’s Turnpike.

Terra acquired the property from Prologis in a deal that closed on December 9, 2019. The firm’s purchase of the site was made possible with a $43 million loan from Synovus. The site is fully entitled for residential development, and a permit for initial site work has been issued. Construction is expected to begin in early 2020.

Adding nearly 1,400 new units near the border between Miami-Dade and Broward Counties will address pent-up demand for rental housing in South Florida. Approximately 1.2 million Miami-Dade residents currently live in 500,000 apartment homes, according to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association. Meeting rising market demand would require the development of an additional 13,000 new units annually.

“Solving South Florida’s market rate housing crunch means identifying opportunities for urban infill development as well as land in suburban areas that can be rezoned to accommodate new inventory,” explains Terra President David Martin. “In this case, we are going to convert a vacant site initially earmarked for industrial development into a residential community that will create much-needed apartment housing minutes away from some of South Florida’s largest employers. And we’re doing it in a sustainable, resilient way by building within the Urban Development Boundary and on high-lying ground.”

The development will include a series of garden-style apartment buildings within three master-planned subdivisions. Each subdivision will be centered around a communal clubhouse with pools, resident amenities and fitness centers, while a network of greenspaces will create outdoor recreation areas. Terra has enlisted Pascual, Perez, Kiliddjian Architecture (PPK) to create the development’s master plan and design its buildings.

Brian Smith, Managing Director for JLL in South Florida, represented Prologis in the transaction. Jason Shapiro and Sean Harrington, Managing Directors of Aztec Group, arranged the financing on behalf of Terra.

“As one of the year’s most significant real estate transactions, this deal represents the high demand for remaining developable land in South Florida,” Smith said. “Given the population growth underway in Northwest Miami-Dade, this parcel’s highest and best use became residential development, which led to the site’s eventual rezoning from industrial to multifamily. Terra is one of a handful of development firms in South Florida that understands both the residential and industrial sectors, putting the firm in position to acquire the site and deliver a project that will meet the need for market rate housing.”

Terra’s development site is located just south of the planned American Dream retail and entertainment complex, and a short drive from several large employers, including Boeing, Royal Caribbean International, Preferred Freezer Services, and The Home Depot.



Aztec Group arranges $142 million in debt financing for Melo Group’s 667-unit Art Plaza

Aztec Group, Inc., Florida’s leading real estate investment and merchant banking firm for the past 38 years, announces that Peter Mekras, President of Aztec Group, has arranged $142 million in debt financing for Art Plaza in Miami, Florida, consisting of 667 rental apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space.

Art Plaza was developed by Miami-based Melo Group, a family-owned and operated real estate development firm based in Miami, Florida and specializing in the construction, design and delivery of high-quality residential buildings. Art Plaza opened June 2019, and achieved rapid leasing velocity with 95 percent occupancy in less than six months. Art Plaza is located at the corner of NE 1st Avenue and NE 14th Street in the heart of Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District, just one block from the Metromover’s School Board station.

Aztec Group was engaged on an exclusive basis by the Owner to conduct a broad investment banking process. The firm obtained quotes from banks, agencies, pension fund advisors, private equity, financial and life insurance companies. After assisting the borrower to analyze numerous quotes and structures, the $142 million loan was awarded to Freddie Mac via Berkadia’s Miami Office as its seller servicer. The 10-year loan features full-term interest-only and a fixed rate under 3.50 percent.

This is the 10th loan Mekras has placed for Melo Group. Mekras most recently placed $142 and $108 million loans for Melo’s 710-unit Square Station and 497-unit Melody Tower respectively.

“Our process mitigated Art Plaza’s limited stabilized operating history and Miami’s perceived housing supply concerns.” said Peter Mekras, President of Aztec Group. “We are pleased to be a part of Melo Group’s unparalleled effort to deliver more than 2,000 units of needed rental housing in the heart of the Arts & Entertainment District.”

Art Plaza marks the third multifamily development that Melo Group has delivered in the Arts & Entertainment District since 2016, and is part of the firm’s larger plan to bring over 2,300 transit-oriented rental units to the growing neighborhood. The firm’s previously completed developments, including the 497-unit Melody apartment tower and 710-unit Square Station towers, all cater to young professionals wanting to live close to their jobs in and around Downtown Miami and Brickell. The firm’s next rental development in the area, the 437-unit Miami Plaza tower, is now under construction adjacent to Square Station on the north side of the Metromover and is slated for completion in mid-2020.

Mekras and Aztec’s team remains active in the Florida multifamily market, with more than $250 million in recently completed sales, joint venture equity and debt financing transactions for rental apartment communities, senior housing projects and land.

Terra to create new multifamily apartment community on 70-acre site in northwest Miami-Dade County

Terra finalized plans to build more than 1,369 new multifamily apartments in proximity to some of the region’s largest employment centers.

As demand for market rate housing in South Florida grows and savvy developers look to shift density to high-lying ground with an eye toward climate resilience, Terra has finalized plans to build more than 1,369 new multifamily apartments in proximity to some of the region’s largest employment centers. News of Terra’s plans follows the firm’s $52 million purchase of a 70-acre development site in Northwest Miami-Dade County, located along NW 170th Street between I-75 and Florida’s Turnpike.

Terra acquired the property from Prologis in a deal that closed on December 9, 2019. The firm’s purchase of the site was made possible with a $43 million loan from Synovus. The site is fully entitled for residential development, and a permit for initial site work has been issued. Construction is expected to begin in early 2020.

Adding nearly 1,400 new units near the border between Miami-Dade and Broward Counties will address pent-up demand for rental housing in South Florida. Approximately 1.2 million Miami-Dade residents currently live in 500,000 apartment homes, according to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association. Meeting rising market demand would require the development of an additional 13,000 new units annually.

“Solving South Florida’s market rate housing crunch means identifying opportunities for urban infill development as well as land in suburban areas that can be rezoned to accommodate new inventory,” explains Terra President David Martin. “In this case, we are going to convert a vacant site initially earmarked for industrial development into a residential community that will create much-needed apartment housing minutes away from some of South Florida’s largest employers. And we’re doing it in a sustainable, resilient way by building within the Urban Development Boundary and on high-lying ground.”

The development will include a series of garden-style apartment buildings within three master-planned subdivisions. Each subdivision will be centered around a communal clubhouse with pools, resident amenities and fitness centers, while a network of greenspaces will create outdoor recreation areas. Terra has enlisted Pascual, Perez, Kiliddjian Architecture (PPK) to create the development’s master plan and design its buildings.

Brian Smith, Managing Director for JLL in South Florida, represented Prologis in the transaction. Jason Shapiro and Sean Harrington, Managing Directors of Aztec Group, arranged the financing on behalf of Terra.

“As one of the year’s most significant real estate transactions, this deal represents the high demand for remaining developable land in South Florida,” Smith said. “Given the population growth underway in Northwest Miami-Dade, this parcel’s highest and best use became residential development, which led to the site’s eventual rezoning from industrial to multifamily. Terra is one of a handful of development firms in South Florida that understands both the residential and industrial sectors, putting the firm in position to acquire the site and deliver a project that will meet the need for market rate housing.”

Terra’s development site is located just south of the planned American Dream retail and entertainment complex, and a short drive from several large employers, including Boeing, Royal Caribbean International, Preferred Freezer Services, and The Home Depot.