Camilo Miguel Jr. is
making another attempt at the buyout of an oceanfront condo
building in Miami Beach that’s tangled in litigation, more
than two and a half years after the developer first
approached unit owners.
An affiliate of Miguel’s firm, Coconut Grove-based Mast
Capital, sent offers to a group of 28 owners to sell their
units at Amethyst, an 11-story, 120-unit condominium at 5313
Collins Avenue.
Mast is offering $750,000 per unit, sources told The Real
Deal. The new contracts show Mast would close by
mid-December of this year. It’s unclear whether the sellers
will accept the terms of the contract or the price.
Mast terminated an earlier agreement with the 28 owners late
last year. The developer originally acquired the contracts
from Canero Group. Those contracts were contingent on each
other closing, meaning if Mast acquired one, it had to
acquire all. That provision remains in effect for two years
after the cancellation.
Without that group, Mast can’t control 80 percent of the
building, which is the minimum required for Mast to take
over the property and redevelop it.
Property records show the developer has closed on eight
units so far. The most recent closing was in late June.
Mast said in a statement that it is “working in good faith”
with Amethyst unit owners and it expects to close on the
remaining units by the end of the year. Unit owner Lucia
Delgado said in a statement sent by a spokesperson for the
developer that it is in the owners’ best interest to sell. A
large assessment is coming up, she said.
Some owners at Amethyst have grown frustrated by the delays
and lack of communication with Mast Capital, which was
originally expected to close on the units last year. In
July, a pair of sellers outside of the 28 sued the
developer, alleging breach of contract and seeking
declaratory relief over the enforceability of the contract
and the language Mast used. The couple, Clifford and Maria
Greenhouse, entered into a contract in April 2022 to sell
their unit on the second floor for $650,0000, and have yet
to close.
Days after the Greenhouses sued, the condo association filed
its own lawsuit against Mast over the deal. About the same
time, David Martin’s Terra sent offers to unit owners of the
building, saying the sales would close by the end of 2024.
Martin is still interested in the deal, according to the
company.
Mario Borda, the broker working with Mast Capital, said in a
statement that Terra’s offer “delayed our negotiations with
other owners and confused owners who are under contract with
Mast Capital.”
Mast has or had signed contracts with 85 sellers — not
including the 28 — according to a memo of understanding
attached to the condo association’s complaint. That would
give it just over 70 percent of the building. Mast’s offers
range from $350,000 to $850,000.
Mast’s partners on the deal to acquire and redevelop
Amethyst are unknown.
The firm is working with Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital
Group to develop The Perigon next door to Amethyst. The
property is home to the La Costa condominium, and Mast
acquired nearly 90 percent of the units at that building
starting in 2021. This year, Mast was the winning bidder in
the partition sale for the remaining ownership in the
building, court records show. La Costa, which the city of
Miami Beach declared unsafe following the deadly Surfside
condo collapse in 2021, is still standing.
Condo buyouts are notoriously difficult to complete, but
developers continue to make offers despite challenging
market conditions.
Two years ago, Related Group and 13th Floor Investments
bought out the Carlton Terrace property in Bal Harbour.
Other developers had attempted the same buyout before,
including Vlad Doronin, Bruce Eichner and One Thousand
Museum developer Louis Birdman. Related and 13th Floor are
now preselling Rivage Bal Harbour, a luxury condo building
planned for the oceanfront site.