The developer of the Caribbean Miami Beach oceanfront condominium in South Beach is being foreclosed upon by the new owner of the construction loan that was originally funded by the failed Corus Bank, according to the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

The South Beach project's developer, Caribbean Group Owners, is named in a lis pendens filing - the first step in the foreclosure process - processed on Oct. 5 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The Caribbean Group Owners is a partnership between Christa Development and Bluerock Real Estate.

The foreclosure filing was initiated by the new owner of the construction loan - 3737 Caribbean Partners LLC - some six weeks after purchasing the remaining balance on the $128 million construction loan, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report. Leon and Alfonse Melohn of Melohn Properties in New York City and Michael Konig are members in the recently created Florida entity 3737 Caribbean Partners LLC.

"The lender is taking the necessary legal steps in hopes of repositioning this luxury South Beach project for a likely retail sellout," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures®. "It is a stretch but ideally the lender would like to have the issue resolved to take advantage of the strong appetite for discounted, quality condo units in South Florida, and especially South Beach. Once this project is brought to market, watch for the units to retrade at a strong clip if the pricing is appropriate. " 

In the Caribbean, the new lender is secured by a two-tower project located between South Beach’s Art Deco District and the newly upgraded Fontainebleau resort.

The Caribbean is a combination of a completely retrofitted six-story Art Deco building with 35 units and a new 19-story glass tower with 68 units. The neighboring properties are a combination of new towers and old residential buildings in serious need of renovations.

The 3737 Caribbean Partners entity was the winning bidder, purchasing the loan for a reported $50 to $55 million from Corus Bank, a leading condo construction lender nationwide,  just two weeks before the lender was shuttered by regulators. 

The new lender is seeking repayment on the outstanding loan balance. If the loan cannot be repaid, the new lender has requested title to 90-condo units with 155,000 square feet of saleable space situated in the two buildings on the oceanfront property, according to the filing. 

A spokesman for the developer of the Caribbean Miami Beach condominium project  recently told the South Florida Business Journal that the project had been returned to the bank although a deed transfer has not yet been recorded in Miami-Dade County, according to CondoVultures.com.

There have been 15th bulk condo transactions for new construction and/or entirely refurbished units in South Florida since July 2008. The Caribbean Miami Beach condo was the 13th transactions.

Bulk Buyers have acquired more than 900 units with more than 1 million square feet of saleable space for more than $200 million, or an average of about $200 per square foot, according to the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™.
  

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com. Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or view our Video Gallery. Looking for bulk projects direct from developers or lenders? Visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™ , Miami's Great Condo Crash: A Chronicle of the Boom and Bust™ , and the First-Time Home Buyers Guide To South Florida™ are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.

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