Terra Beachside Villas Closes on Land for Townhomes

MIAMI BEACH, FL-Terra Beachside Villas LLC has closed on its $9-million purchase of a 2.5-acre parcel of land here where it intends to develop 117 two-story urban townhomes. Meanwhile, the seller of the land, Royal World Metropolitan Inc., is pursuing legal action related to the downzoning of the property.BSG Development Corp. is developing the project, called Terra Beachside Villas, at 6000 Collins Ave. The townhomes will range in size from 1,050 sf for a one-bedroom/one-bath unit to 2,050 sf for a three-bedroom/three-bath unit plus a den. The homes in the estimated $50-million project are pre-construction priced between $350,000 and about $800,000.Union Planters Bank is providing Terra Beachside Villas nearly $24.7 million in construction financing for the project. Attorney Frank Menendez of Stearns Weaver represented Union Planters Bank, and attorney Dennis Eisinger of Phillips Eisinger & Brown PA represented Terra Beachside Villas LLC.The City of Miami Beach downzoned this property several years ago, says Martin Schwartz, a partner in the real estate department of the law firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, who represented Royal World Metropolitan in the land sale. Royal World Metropolitan, which owned the property before it was downzoned, had planned to develop a high rise there, Schwartz says. However, the action reduced the size of any project that could be developed on the land, he says.”The City of Miami Beach reduced the density,” Schwartz says. “There was a significant loss in density.” He adds, “The new owners are going to put a much less dense project,” consisting of clusters of three-story apartment buildings, on the site. Each building is planned for nine units, three on each floor.Royal World Metropolitan is claiming that a high-rise project with more units would have been worth more than a smaller project and thus is seeking an award for the downzoning, according to Schwartz. “They intend to pursue that,” he says. The action is currently was pending before the Florida Supreme Court. “If the Supreme Court rules in their favor, it will be sent to the trial court” to determine damages.Terra Beachside Villas will be located across the street from BSG Development’s under-construction, $27-million, 25-story, ultra-luxury condominium tower 6000 Indian Creek. Plans call for this project to have no more than 35 units.