Proposed Downtown Miami Project Goes Into Foreclosure

The proposed seven-story Biscayne Lofts project located just north of Downtown Miami is being foreclosed.

TotalBank, a Miami-based bank with assets of $2.1 billion, filed the initial foreclosure paperwork, known as Lis Pendens, against the project's owner Biscayne Lofts Ltd. on March 2 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

Biscayne Lofts was proposed to be a new 15-unit project with 16,212 square feet built just east of Biscayne Boulevard at 333 NE 33 St. in Miami's artsy Biscayne Boulevard Corridor.

"Biscayne Lofts is one of the nearly 50 projects proposed for Greater Downtown Miami that was never built during the boom years of 2003 to 2010, when the last unit is scheduled to be completed," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "Overall, developers will have constructed 22,737 new units in a 60-block stretch of Greater Downtown Miami that is comprised of Biscayne Boulevard Corridor, Downtown, and the Brickell Avenue Area. In the 40 years before the boom, developer constructed about 11,500 units."

Biscayne Lofts Ltd. was to be built by Aventura-based Palen Development LLC, with members Jorge Sumbre, Susana B De Sumbre, Horacio D. Najlis, and Nora S Wolaj, according to the Florida Department of State.

Construction costs for the mid-rise condominium was projected to be $2 million, or $124 per square foot, to construct the 74-foot tall structure, according to the City of Miami.

The development group purchased the 7,820-square-foot lot for the project in June 2004 for $625,000, or $80 per square foot. The owners immediately obtained an 18-month predevelopment loan, with a six-month extension option, for $312,500 from the former Beach Bank in June 2004.

In December 2005 when the loan was scheduled to mature, the development group exercised its extension option through June 2006.

In March 2007, Biscayne Lofts refinanced the original mortgage and extended the debt amount to $370,000 with a loan from TotalBank.

At the time of refinance in 2007, Miami-Dade County assessed the property's value at $782,000, or $100 per square foot. In 2008, the county assesses the value of the undeveloped land at $625,600, or $80.

Peter Zalewski is a principal with the consulting company Condo Vultures® LLC and a licensed real estate broker with Condo Vultures® Realty LLC. Peter can be reached at 305-865-5629 or by email at peter@condovultures.com. Be sure to check out Peter’s blog at CondoDump.com. Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database™ .

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