Miami land tracts being sold

Miami, FL – Developer Leviev Boymelgreen, one of the biggest private landowners in Miami, is shedding what amounts to almost half of its South Florida landholdings.

The proposed sale of about 7 acres of downtown Miami land for $89 million was announced by Africa Israel, a publicly traded Tel Aviv conglomerate that owns a majority stake in Leviev Boymelgreen. The release did not name the buyer, but said the transaction should close within the next three months.

The deal raises new questions about the plans of a company that made a splashy entrance into Miami and Miami Beach two years ago, but has struggled to get its projects off the ground since. The company has been beset by construction delays, management turnover and a constant reshuffling of brokerage companies that sell its condo units.

The deal is also a sign of a large landowner cutting down on risk at a time when the market appears to be softening.

Real estate analyst David Dabby said the move makes sense for Leviev Boymelgreen, but expressed mild surprise at the price tag.

”At $89 million it does not sound like the buyers are parking funds, it sounds like they want to do something,” Dabby said. “But it may be difficult to proceed with a development program because the market is turning and all the development that is already going on.”

Andrew B. Hellinger, who became Leviev Boymelgreen’s director of Florida operations in March, declined comment.

When the company unloaded 1.8 acres nearby in March, Hellinger said the property “did not fit into our portfolio.”

SMALL STAKE

Real estate investor Hank Sopher, who has partnered with and sold land to Leviev Boymelgreen, said he has a small stake in the investor group buying the property. But he refused to say who the primary buyer is or what is planned for the property, located on blocks east of the Miami Arena in downtown Miami’s Park West neighborhood.

Real estate broker Edie Laquer acknowledged she is brokering the deal but declined further comment.

During the recent real estate boom, developers have aggressively purchased land in Park West, a largely blighted area pinched between Miami’s central business district and the Performing Arts Center, blocks from Biscayne Bay and Bayfront Park.

Investors in the area have included developer Daniel Kodsi, home builder Arthur Falcone and real estate investor Marc Roberts. Roberts purchased the 1.8 acres in Park West that Leviev Boymelgreen sold in March.

Leviev Boymelgreen has projects in Miami, New York, Toronto and Las Vegas. The company is a joint venture between Brooklyn developer Shaya Boymelgreen and Africa Israel, which has business interests ranging from real estate and diamonds to energy and communications. Billionaire Lev Leviev heads Africa Israel, which said it will make $19 million from the deal.

HEAT OF THE BOOM

Since arriving in the heat of the real estate boom in July 2004, Leviev Boymelgreen has spent millions on Miami land, including $70 million for a Brickell Avenue office building. It has a condo called Marquis on Biscayne Boulevard under construction, has announced plans for two other condos and has gotten approvals for a third condo and a mixed-use tower on Brickell Avenue. It is also designing a retail, office and residential project west of the Performing Arts Center.

But Leviev Boymelgreen has hired four different brokerage companies in less than two years. Only one of its announced condo projects is actually under construction, and a general contractor has not been picked to build the two others.

The company also raised eyebrows in March when it hired Hellinger as director of Florida operations. A bankruptcy attorney, Hellinger had no experience running a real estate development company.

Since then, Hellinger has announced a range of new hires, including a new head of construction. He contends the company is on the right track and committed to long-term development in Miami.