Tallest building in Miami, Florida, secures largest construction loan ever in the region

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami project has secured the largest construction loan in the history of Florida. The project is the tallest building in Miami and the tallest residential building in the US, south of New York City.

The US$ 668 million loan comes from the Bank OZK (OZK) and Related Fund Management. Formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, OZK is a regional bank offering retail, corporate banking and trust in addition to wealth management solutions. As the sole, senior secured lender, OZK provided US$ 425 million for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami project loan.

Related Fund Management, on the other hand, is a company that provides real estate asset investments and advisory services to private funds, institutional investors as well as high-net-worth clients. Reportedly, the company provided the remaining US$ 243 million.

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a commercial real estate and investment management company arranged the loan. The companys’ Christopher Peck, Chris Drew, Brian Gaswirth, Jimmy Calvo and Mateo Bolivar were the key players in the arrangement.

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel as well as Saul Ewing law firms represented the the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami project developers. The developers are Property Markets Group (PMG) in addition to Greybrook Realty Partners Inc., Mohari Hospitality, S2 Development, and Hilton Hotels.

About the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami is being built on the proposed site of the Empire World Towers. The latter was planned in the 2000s however it was ultimately scaled back and cancelled. The site, to be precise, is at Biscayne Boulevard, between NE 3rd and 4th Streets in the Central business district of Greater Downtown Miami, across from Bayfront Park.

According to property records, PMG purchased the 1-acre site for US$ 80 million in 2014. Construction began in late 2022 with John Moriarty and Associates as the main contractor. John Moriarty & Associates is a construction company based in Miami, Florida. It specializes in conservation services and general construction management.

Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami was the first supertall building, with more than 300 meters or 1,000 feet, to begin construction in Florida. Several other skyscrapers have been proposed in Miami in the 21st century.

Read more about the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami design and features in our previous post here. Florida: Construction Underway for Waldorf Astoria Residences in Miami, the City’s Tallest Building.

The current status of the project for construction of the tallest building in Miami, Florida

In mid-2024, when the loan in question was secured, workers had completed laying down the project’s foundation. Over 13,500 cubic yards of concrete was poured by about 1,400 trucks in continuous rotation. According to reports this took place in a span of 36 uninterrupted hours.

This milestone allows for the start of vertical construction which is expected to be completed by Q2 2028. Reaching this important milestone is a testament to the effort and dedication put forward by the development team. This is according to Peter Politis, the CEO of Greybrook.

“This achievement underscores our commitment to delivering this landmark project. As the project advances into the vertical construction phase, we look forward to bringing this impressive structure to life,” concluded Politis.