Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman partner Eduardo Soto and associate Alejandro Uribe.
A downtown Miami parking lot owner was rewarded with a windfall on an ultra-long-term, selling for $6.9 million to the acquisitive Moishe Mana.
Kalback Holdings LLC, managed by Richard Kalback and Donald Martin, bought the lot for $80,000 in 1974, and sold it Feb. 5 with help from Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman partner Eduardo Soto and associate Alejandro Uribe in Coral Gables.
The 15,478-square-foot rectangular lot is at 201 SW First St. within a block of Interstate 95
Mana has amassed more downtown properties than anyone else and envisions a campus-like hub for global technology companies that he calls the "Silicon Valley of Latin America." He doesn't plan to demolish downtown buildings but rather would renovate them and breathe life into them as offices for startups, incubators and the like. His holdings on and near Flagler Street are an eclectic collection of 20th-century architecture.
Mana still might build some high-rises for micro-unit residences. The zoning on the lot he just bought allows 500 multifamily units per acre and a building up to 60 stories tall, although that's only if Mana obtains development bonuses from the city and approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Current zoning also allows for retail, restaurant and office uses.
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Mana had the lot under contract for about 2.5 years with the Weiss Serota attorneys pushing through the deal, Uribe said.
"This property is one of the many downtown Miami properties that Moishe Mana has been seeking to purchase in furtherance of his vision for the downtown Flagler Street corridor," he added. "The property's significant development potential and highly visible location makes it an exciting part of the downtown area and Mana's plans."
The lot offers easy highway access and is across the street from some of Mana's other holdings, including the two-story Dade County Federal Credit Union building at 172 W. Flagler St.
Mana has amassed over 50 downtown properties. Late last year, he bought City National Bank's old headquarters east of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse for $25 million.
Before embarking on his downtown buying spree, Mana was best known in Miami for helping jump-start the Wynwood Arts District. He obtained city approval about five years ago for a Wynwood special area plan, a city zoning regulation that allows owners of at least 9 acres to develop more than the rules allow in exchange for public benefits such as public parks and affordable housing. Mana has yet to move on his Wynwood plan.
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Lidia Dinkova
Lidia Dinkova covers South Florida real estate for the Daily Business Review. Contact her at [email protected] or 305-347-6665. On Twitter @LidiaDinkova.
