By Mary Hladky
Penn-Florida Companies’ 101 Via Mizner luxury apartment building in downtown Boca Raton has been sold for $235 million and could be converted into condos.
Penn-Florida faced losing the 366-unit building at 101 E. Camino Real when an affiliate of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, which provided a $195 million senior loan to the Boca Raton-based company, filed a notice in December that it had initiated a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure on the building for failing to pay off the loan. An auction was to be held on Jan. 15.
At the time, Penn-Florida said the loan was in good standing and was in the process of being repaid. Shortly thereafter, Penn-Florida affiliate Via Mizner Owner 1 LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to head off the auction and give it more time to complete refinancing.
But in April, Via Mizner Owner 1 sought to auction the property. That auction was set for June 16 and then pushed to July 8.
The auction went by the wayside when Cardone Real Estate Acquisitions — led by real estate investor, author and social media celebrity Grant Cardone — submitted a $230 million “stalking horse” bid for the apartment building.
In the latest twist to this saga, Cardone and Penn-Florida formed a joint venture to buy the property. Penn-Florida was to pay $15 million of the purchase price and Cardone would provide the rest to pay off creditors, including Blackstone, The Real Deal reported.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Peter Russin approved the sale on July 11.
Pleadings in the bankruptcy case allow for the possibility that the apartments could be converted into condos. Cardone told The Real Deal that is the plan.
“Penn-Florida is thrilled to enter into this partnership with Cardone Capital,” the company said in a statement. “Grant Carone shares our vision to preserve 101 Via Mizner as Boca Raton’s premier downtown address.”
The apartment building, completed in 2017, is part of a three-phase project that would also include a 164-room Mandarin Oriental hotel and 85 branded residences. The apartment building sale does not affect the hotel and residences.
Construction of the hotel and residences has dragged along at a snail’s pace for years and is well beyond the original 2017 completion date. Many Boca Raton residents consider the project an eyesore.
Within the past few months, the construction pace has picked up a bit, with balconies now installed and paint on some of the walls. But it seems highly unlikely work will be done by the end of this year, the latest announced completion date.
A number of prospective condo owners who had placed large deposits have tired of waiting for work to be completed and have filed lawsuits seeking return of their money. Some have reached settlement agreements with Penn-Florida, but other cases are pending.
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