Astor Companies has landed a US$32.4 million construction loan for its mixed-income, multifamily project in the Miami Flagler Street area. The 10-story, 199-unit building on 61 Northwest 37th Avenue has been funded by Ocean Bank who issues the loan to Coral Gables-based Astor, led by founder Henry Torres. Astor plans to start construction this spring on the property, which spans a 1.1-acre full city block between Flagler and Northwest First streets along Northwest 37th Avenue. Astor, through an affiliate, bought the six-lot property where the Douglas Enclave will be, in July 2017 for US$5.1 million.
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Astor Companies was founded in 2002, and since then, the company has constructed more than 1,100 condominium units and nearly 500 multifamily units in Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana. In Miami-Dade County, it focuses on Brickell, Coral Gables, Little Havana, The Roads, and South Miami. Among its earlier projects are the Brickell Vista condo tower and the Valencia condo development in South Miami. Most recently, Astor Companies constructed the 227-unit Merrick Manor condo project in Coral Gables, which is steps from the Shops at Merrick Park, after securing a US$59 million construction loan in 2017 from Florida Community Bank.
This construction project loan is the latest in a series of construction loans for South Florida multifamily projects. Terra just scored a US$64.8 million loan for the 460-unit Natura Gardens near Miami Lakes, and Eden Multifamily and Cypress Equity Investments nabbed a US$23.7 million loan and aN US$8.6 million preferred equity investment for the planned 212-unit Eden West development in Tamarac. The company was, however, recently sued by a former employee who claimed she was owed US$1.1 million in commissions for her work as an in-house sales director and co-owner of Astor Real Estate Group, a brokerage division that sold units at various projects, including Merrick Manor.
