$160M Buy Spurs Condo Conversion

HOLLYWOOD BEACH, FL-MCZ/Centrum Florida, a partnership between Chicago-based developers Centrum Properties and MCZ Development Corp., has paid $160 million for Oceancrest Beach, a rental project here that it plans to convert to condominiums.The three 16-story oceanfront towers are located at 3801, 3901 and 4001 S. Ocean Dr. in Broward County. Colorado-based Archstone-Smith Trust was the seller. Jay Massirman, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis, brokered the deal.MCZ/Centrum Florida is planning to spend $20 million on renovating and converting the property into a condominium community, which will have 943 one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 812 sf to 1,355 sf. Prices start in the low $200,000s. Sales of the condos are expected to begin in December, and all residences are slated to be available for occupancy by the spring.Centrum Properties and MCZ Development, under the name 2501 Ocean LP, also recently renovated the Wave on Hollywood Beach, a 551-unit, 15-story oceanfront condominium tower, at 2501 S. Ocean Dr., at a cost of $30 million.”With the success of the Wave, our first condo conversion in Florida, located two blocks north of this property, we are staking our claim here and ultimately carving our name into the sands of Hollywood Beach,” Michael Lerner, president of MCZ Development Corp., says in a statement.The new purchase is being named Tides on Hollywood Beach. Amenities include swimming pools, landscaped sundecks and a theater room. The Tides will have much of the same popular amenities as the Wave and Cite, another of the developer’s condo conversion projects in Miami’s Arts District. Units will have ocean and Intercoastal views and oversized balconies.”The property value in Hollywood Beach is remarkably attractive at the moment,” according to Lerner. “We have caught this area on the upswing–cultural and economic growth are at their greatest. Now is an ideal time to be active in the Florida market.”