MIAMI—Akerman arranged a $300 million construction loan for Faena Group for the Saxony Hotel and Faena House in Miami Beach. The deal is the largest single project financing in South Florida since the recession.

The Saxony property and Faena House are two strategic pieces in the development of Faena District, an enclave of high design, culture, and hospitality in the heart of Miami Beach. Faena was founded by Argentinian real estate visionary Alan Faena, and Access Industries, led by investor Len Blavatnik. HSBC offered the loan. Akerman served as lead Florida counsel on the transaction, working alongside Willkie Farr in New York.

Akerman encountered a unique set of challenges and circumstances throughout the course of the deal. For example, the transaction closed while the project was in mid-construction, which added complexity as the Akerman lawyers had to oversee, inter alia, a stoppage of the construction work in order to ensure mortgage lien priority, the payment in full of all contractors and sub-contractors, and the restructuring of existing construction contracts to conform to the terms of the new loan.

"This was a complex deal with a lot of moving parts," Daniel Faust, a commercial real estate attorney and partner at Akerman. "It required constant collaboration across multiple practice groups to meet all of our clients' needs. Our transactional team worked closely with our construction team to ensure compliance with applicable Florida construction lien priority law and to coordinate payment to and release from all contractors and subcontractors."

Faust explains the transaction required ongoing collaboration with First American Title to insure HSBC mortgage. He says the deal is a continuation of the redevelopment we are seeing on Miami Beach between 22nd and 43rd Streets.

"Soho House perhaps started the trend, which has been bolstered by the development of the Ian Schrager Edition Project, and now the Faena District has officially put the area on the map," Faust says. "As the biggest construction loan Miami Beach history, the size is indicative of the most ambitious, most luxurious mixed-use project, which includes hotel, condo, retail, and nightlife event space. This deal also speaks to the uptick of foreign investment we've seen in Miami since the recession."

Akerman has been at the center of an extensive redevelopment taking place in the Faena District, a mixed-use project in the heart of Miami Beach some expect to set the new luxury standard in South Florida for architecture, design, culture, and hospitality. The Faena District is a similar undertaking to what Faena created in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where the company converted a rundown urban neighborhood into an impressive cultural center, anchored by some of the city's most lavish hotels and apartments.

Akerman previously represented the Faena/Access venture in connection with their $100 million purchase from the Chetrit Group of the Versailles, a former Miami Beach Art Deco hotel-condo and an important oceanfront piece of the Faena District. The closing of the Versailles acquisition involved an accelerated closing schedule and extensive transactional work to structure the termination of the prior condominium ownership structure in a manner that would ensure the client acquired clean title.

Akerman also previously represented Faena and Access Industries in the redevelopment of the historic Saxony Hotel in Miami Beach, the 2011 acquisition and redevelopment of the historic Atlantic Beach Hotel, and the $14 million 2013 acquisition of The Claridge, each Art Deco hotels located on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The project was a collaboration between Akerman's land use team, led by Neisen Kasdin, managing shareholder of Akerman's Miami office, and associate Steve Wernick. The transactional team was led by partners Faust and Russell Hale, and associate Adam Zwecker. The construction team was led by partners Stacy Bercun Bohm and Leslie Miller Tomczak.

Akerman has been at the center of an extensive redevelopment taking place in the Faena District, a mixed-use project in the heart of Miami Beach some expect to set the new luxury standard in South Florida for architecture, design, culture, and hospitality. The Faena District is a similar undertaking to what Faena created in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where the company converted a rundown urban neighborhood into an impressive cultural center, anchored by some of the city's most lavish hotels and apartments.

Akerman previously represented the Faena/Access venture in connection with their $100 million purchase from the Chetrit Group of the Versailles, a former Miami Beach Art Deco hotel-condo and an important oceanfront piece of the Faena District. The closing of the Versailles acquisition involved an accelerated closing schedule and extensive transactional work to structure the termination of the prior condominium ownership structure in a manner that would ensure the client acquired clean title.

Akerman also previously represented Faena and Access Industries in the redevelopment of the historic Saxony Hotel in Miami Beach, the 2011 acquisition and redevelopment of the historic Atlantic Beach Hotel, and the $14 million 2013 acquisition of The Claridge, each Art Deco hotels located on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The project was a collaboration between Akerman's land use team, led by Neisen Kasdin, managing shareholder of Akerman's Miami office, and associate Steve Wernick. The transactional team was led by partners Faust and Russell Hale, and associate Adam Zwecker. The construction team was led by partners Stacy Bercun Bohm and Leslie Miller Tomczak.