JLL arranges $49.5 million sale and financing of creative office building in Miami Beach, FL

Melissa Rose

 

MIAMI, FL – JLL Capital Markets has closed the $49.5 million sale and financing of 1688 Meridian, a boutique Class A office building along with two parking lots in Miami Beach, Florida. 

1688 Meridian Avenue, Miami Beach, FL

 

JLL represented the seller, Ivy Realty, in the sale of the property to 1688 Property Owner, LLC. Additionally, JLL worked on behalf of the buyer to secure a loan with Värde Partners for the acquisition.

 Ike Ojala

Renovated in 2019, 1688 Meridian is a 10-story, 88,419-square-foot office tower with ground floor retail space fronting Meridian Ave. and 17^th St.

 

In addition to the office tower, the sale included two land parcels at 1699 and 1709 Jefferson Ave., which are currently used as parking lots.

 

The property is 81.4% leased, offering significant leasing and development upside.

 

1688 Meridian is positioned on a high-profile corner location at the intersection of 17^th St and Meridian Ave. just steps away from Lincoln Road, Miami Beach’s most iconic open-air pedestrian promenade.

Hermen Rodriguez

The property is surrounded by numerous amenities, including the Lincoln Eatery, Miami Beach Convention Center, Sunset Harbour, New World Symphony, The Filmore and countless restaurants, major retailers and luxury hotels.

 Miami continues to attract new capital, companies and residents due to the low tax-rate environment, pro-business culture, fast growing economy, development of a tech hub and superb quality of life.

 

According to JLL’s Second Quarter Office Outlook, Miami has achieved new all-time highs for rents within the Miami CBD posting 5.6% year-over-year growth.

Matthew McCormack 

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Managing Director Ike Ojala, Senior Managing Director Hermen Rodriguez, Director Matthew McCormack with support from Associate Max La Cava.

 

JLL Managing Director Melissa Rose led the Capital Markets team representing the borrower with support from Analyst Max Lescano and Associate Jimmy Calvo.

 

“1688 Meridian is a fully renovated building in the heart of world-renowned South Beach and is experiencing record tenant demand, which generated very strong interest from the investment community,” Ojala said.

Max La Cava

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers.

 

The firm’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization.

 

The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

 

For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit our newsroom.

 

Max Lescano

About Ivy Realty

Founded in 1996, Ivy Realty is a Greenwich, CT-based real estate investment, development and management company and has acquired more than $2.4 billion in assets and currently has a portfolio exceeding six million square feet of office, industrial, residential and retail properties.

Ivy invests on behalf of institutional, discretionary funds in value-added investments in the Northeast U.S., Southeast Florida and Colorado. 

About Värde Partners

Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $80 billion since inception and manages $15 billion on behalf of a global investor base.

James (Jimmy) Calvo

 The firm’s investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending.

 Värde employs approximately 300 professionals worldwide with offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. 

 

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management.

 JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. 

CONTACT:

 

Kristen Murphy

JLL Senior Manager

Public Relations

Phone: +1 617 848 1572

Email:  Kristen.Murphy@am.jll.com

ivy-realty.com. 

jll.com.

varde.com.

Metrospaces Names Steven Plumb as CFO

Steven M. Plumb

 NEW YORK, NY -- Metrospaces, Inc. (OTC: MSPC), a PropTech company powered by Shokworks, has named Steven M. Plumb, CPA, as its new CFO and WWC as its public auditor.     

 Plumb most recently served as CFO at Artella Solutions, Inc., a private medical device company, and has served in a similar role at DirectView Holdings, Inc. (DIRV.PK), ProBility Media Corp. (PBYA.PK) and Bering Exploration, Inc. (BERX) and others.

 Additionally, Plumb is a former auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.  He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

 Oscar Brito

Metrospaces CEO Oscar Brito is enthusiastic about what Plumb brings to the executive team.

 “Steven has an amazing reputation as a financial leader and brings so much relevant experience to Metrospaces as we grow,” explained Brito.

 “His work as CFO with tech-forward companies coupled with his big four experience make him a great partner for our current and planned financial goals.”

Additionally, Brito has selected California-based WWC as its auditor. The forty-year-old firm was selected because of their impressive track record in PCAOB and Sarbanes-Oxley audit environments.

 CONTACT:

Kelly Hunter

khunter@sunwestpr.com

 (972) 489-4361

NCLA Files for Summary Judgment in Class-Action Lawsuit Against CDC’s Eviction Moratorium

John J. Vecchione

 

Washington, DC – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, has moved for summary judgment in Mossman v. CDC, the class-action lawsuit challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium order.

 

 The case, currently pending review in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, disputes the authority of CDC to impose the “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent Further Spread of COVID-19.”

 

NCLA represents blameless housing providers left powerless by CDC’s lawless order.

 

On August 26, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court removed a stay on an injunction that had been entered in a D.C. District Court.

 

In doing so on facts nearly identical to those in Mossman, the Court stated, “careful review of that record makes clear that the applicants are virtually certain to succeed on the merits of their argument that the CDC has exceeded its authority.”

 

 That opinion further suggested, “The applicants not only have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits—it is difficult to imagine them losing.”

Jared McClain

President Biden admitted the lack of lawful authority for the order back on August 3, saying, “The bulk of the constitutional scholarship says that [a new order is] not likely to pass constitutional muster.”

 

 The Supreme Court’s ruling and the Biden administration’s concession make clear—at last—that CDC lacked any authority to issue the unlawful order.

 

Plaintiffs have been irreparably harmed by CDC’s ill-conceived foray into national housing policy. 

CDC’s eviction moratorium prevented thousands of members of the National Apartment Association and National Association of Residential Property Managers from using lawful eviction procedures for over a year, which will cost the members millions of dollars in unrecoverable losses.

 

 NCLA’s clients will be unlikely to obtain any economic relief or damages from their tenants, because, by definition, any tenant presenting an appropriate attestation will be insolvent.

 

Many Plaintiffs will never recover from the economic stress caused by the eviction moratorium.

                     President Joe Biden

The CDC order is without a statutory or regulatory basis. Before the Supreme Court invalidated the moratorium, several courts had already determined that the CDC order was unlawful for a host of reasons.

 

The issue is so clear, the injury to the Plaintiffs so egregious, and the binding precedent so great, that the Court should promptly grant summary judgment on the merits and declare the eviction moratorium unlawful.

 

NCLA released the following statements:

 

“Our clients have been denied access to their property, refused any remedy for non-payment of rent, and have been frozen out of court so their legitimate claims could not even be heard.

 

This lawless act was done without Congressional authorization by a bureaucrat who pays no price for issuing this order. 

Judy Pino

 

"Enough is enough. It has to stop now with a judicial order that prevents CDC and the other defendants from ever pulling this stunt again.”

— John Vecchione, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA

 

“The case against CDC was clear from the day the agency issued its moratorium just ahead of last Labor Day. Now, almost a year later to the date, we ask the district court to follow the Supreme Court’s lead, declare the order unlawful, and enjoin its enforcement nationwide.”

— Jared McClain, Litigation Counsel, NCLA

 

For more information, please visit the case page here.

 

 

CONTACT:

Judy Pino

 202-869-5218