St. Regis Sunny Isles Developers Boost Construction Loan

Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group and Manuel Grosskopf’s Château Group have secured additional funding for their ongoing St. Regis Residences project in Sunny Isles Beach.

Bank OZK, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, has increased its loan to the developers by more than $200 million, bringing the total construction financing to $418.3 million, according to property records and a company statement. The bank initially provided a $119 million loan to the joint venture in 2020 and added another $100 million last year.

The development consists of two towers with a combined total of 320 units, rising on a 4.7-acre site at 18801 Collins Avenue. The property features 435 feet of direct ocean frontage.

Sales for the south tower began in 2022. That 62-story building will house 170 units and is currently 90 percent presold. Completion of the south tower is anticipated by the end of 2028, according to the developers.

Sales for the north tower, which is also 62 stories and now includes 150 units, launched last year. Construction on this second tower may begin as soon as next year.

The projected sellout value for the full development exceeds $3 billion, with remaining units starting at $5 million.

Coastal Construction serves as the general contractor for the project, while Arquitectonica, based in Coconut Grove, is leading the architectural design.

Several other South Florida developers have also recently secured significant construction financing for their projects.

Last month, Naftali Group closed a $465 million financing package for its JEM Private Residences tower at Miami Worldcenter. The funding consists of $235 million in C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing from Nuveen Green Capital and $230 million in traditional construction loans from BHI, the U.S. affiliate of Bank Hapoalim.

This week, Allen Morris Company received a $138.5 million construction loan for its mixed-use Ziggurat development in Coconut Grove, with BDT & MSD Partners and BHI as the lenders.

Meanwhile, the largest recent deal—and one of the largest condo construction loans ever in South Florida—was Dezer Development’s $630 million financing for the oceanfront Bentley Residences condominium in Sunny Isles, secured in early November from New York-based Madison Realty Capital.