Swerdlow and partners secure $ 25 million loan for downtown Miami project

Michael Swerdlow and Target-anchored mixed-use development of his partners in Overtown is moving forward, despite ongoing litigation.

The developers, including Swerdlow Group, SJM and Alben Duffie, have closed the land for mixed-use development at 249 Northwest Sixth Street in Miami and have marked $ 25 million to fund the purchase, according to a statement.

Records show that the owner of Block 55, a subsidiary of Swerdlow, purchased the land from the Southeast Overtown / Park West community redevelopment agency for $ 10 million.

Charles Penan and Joel Zusman from Aztec Group have secured the loan from Sawyer’s Lender LLC. The LLC is managed by Ezra Katz, CEO of Aztec Group, and a related company to Fuse Funding, based in Fort Lauderdale.

The 3.44-acre project will now include 578 housing units and 251,000 square feet of retail space. About 85 percent of the housing will be for people aged 62 and over. The project, baptized Sawyer’s Landing and sometimes called Block 55, was previously planned to include a mix of market-priced and affordable housing.

The group plans to innovate in the first quarter of next year, the statement said. Target and the Aldi supermarket chain have signed leases.

In March, three entities linked to developer Don Peebles sued Swerdlow, his company Downtown Retail Associates and business partner Duffie for allegedly sabotaging a previous deal to redevelop the site where the mixed-use development will be built. The case is still listed as open.

Meanwhile, its partner’s Swerdlow and Overtown Gateway Partners are seeking $ 175 million in damages, including $ 160 million in alleged lost profits and $ 15 million from the previously proposed deal between Swerdlow and the Peebles partnership. which collapsed. The case is still on the Miami-Dade circuit court as open.

Earlier this year, Swerdlow Group, led by Michael swerdlow, would have Lost terra as a project partner.

Other recent Miami downtown the offers include the $ 24 million sale of a 1.15 acre parcel of land on the Miami Worldcenter development site, and $ 11 million for two units in Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum luxury condo development.