Fortune International Group and KAR Properties secured an $817 million construction loan from Tyko Capital to build the Faena-branded condominium development in Miami, according to Commercial Observer. The financing is the largest construction loan in Florida history, surpassing a $772 million loan previously provided for two Class A office buildings in West Palm Beach.
Michael Stepniewski, Keith Kurland, Aaron Appel, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Dustin Stolly, Sean Reimer, and Sean Bastian of Walker & Dunlop arranged the financing. Tyko Capital, which receives backing from Elliott Management, funded the transaction.
What happened
The planned development occupies a 1.8-acre site at 24 Southwest Fourth Street, facing the Miami River across from Brickell City Centre. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the two towers will each rise 68 stories and hold 217 units, with completion targeted for 2030. Project sponsors reported more than $500 million in sales to date, which includes a penthouse that traded for $30 million.
Edgardo Defortuna bought the Downtown Miami property for $58.8 million in 2022 alongside KAR Properties, which had owned the site since 2013. KAR Properties launched sales in 2015, but construction did not start, and the parcel inside a gated community bordered by three condo buildings remained vacant. Bank OZK provided a $38 million loan in 2023 to finance site work and marketing costs for the project. Commercial Observer noted that the brand, founded by Alan Faena and Len Blavatnik in 2000, operates hotels in New York, Buenos Aires, and Miami Beach.
What it changes for a closing
For closing teams handling large condominium financings, the transaction highlights the documentation required when underwriting mammoth construction loans amid interest rate hikes. Lenders continue to release substantial debt packages for South Florida luxury towers once sponsors show substantial presales volume, such as the $500 million in advance sales reported here.
Closings of this scale involve extensive title work, coordination between joint-venture sponsors, and structural oversight for long-horizon timelines extending to 2030. Counsel and settlement agents must review prior financing, including the earlier $38 million site-work loan from Bank OZK, while structuring draw schedules and compliance benchmarks across two separate 68-story towers.