In the latest sign that downtown Miami is set to continue its ongoing transformation, the long-neglected Omni center has come under control of the developer behind the neighborhood’s last condo boom.
A group led by the Related Group purchased the Omni Center’s note for $100 million this week.
“We acquired the debt,” said Jimmy Tate of Tate Capital, which partnered with Related Group on the purchase. “We’re the lenders.”
The note has a principal balance of $161 million, and represents approximately 78 percent of the total senior mortgage balance of $206 million for the property, first opened in 1977.
Tate and Related Group’s CEO Jorge Perez declined to comment on plans for the complex, which includes 1.5 million square feet of office and retail space, as well as a 525-room Hilton hotel.
The complex sits on the east side of Biscayne Boulevard between N.E. 15th and 17th streets, just north of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the MacArthur and Venetian causeways.
The property has languished for years since its 1980s heyday as a popular shopping mall, with plans for condos, offices, restaurants and a telecom hub all failing to materialize over the past decade.
Currently, it houses the Miami International University of Art & Design, the federal government’s General Services Administration Passport Control and Diplomatic Security Service offices , and thousands of square feet of empty retail and office space. The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce is a long-term tenant there.
Perez appears to be making large bets on the return of the South Florida real estate market, which earned him a spot on Forbes’ list of richest Americans before handing him $1 billion in losses during the most recent downturn.
Related has plans to break ground on new condo buildings in Brickell and Hollywood, and is pursuing other deals throughout the region.
A deep dredging project will allow for larger cargo ships at the port of Miami and a new tunnel at the port is expected to accommodate additional shipping trucks by 2014. The Florida Marlins’ new $500 million baseball stadium will be operational next year, and the new Museum Park complex is expected to be completed by 2014. A Publix at Biscayne Blvd. and 18th Street is scheduled to open next year, and plans for a downtown Whole Foods grocery store have been announced as well.
A $700 million mixed-used development called Brickell Citicentre is set to break ground this year, and the Design District is poised for a multimillion-dollar makeover led by developer Craig Robins, who wants to model the area after New York’s Soho neighborhood.
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