Fort Lauderdale developer Dev Motwani bought two properties for $ 14 million in the rapidly developing Flagler Village neighborhood of downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Motwani subsidiary 616 SE 4th Avenue LLC purchased 1.75 acre development property from J&C Fox Family LLC and Joel Fox Inc., subsidiaries of the Fox family who operated the Duron paint business leased to Sherwin-Williams. The transaction closed on September 29th.
The composition on the North Federal Highway from Northeast Third Street to Fourth Street includes a Greyhound bus stop on 515 NE Third St., the Sherwin Williams store on 317 N. Federal Highway and two lots of parking lots east of the bus station.
The sellers provided $ 9.55 million to fund the acquisition on a 1031 exchange, which allows a taxpayer to defer capital gains on real estate transactions.
Motwani, President and CEO of Merrimac Ventures, plans to build on the assembly but has not yet decided on a project. Housing, retail and a hotel are possible, according to a press release.
The Motwani family began investing in Fort Lauderdale in the 1980s with the purchase of the Merrimac Hotel. Matriarch Ramola Motwani moved to South Florida with her husband, the late Bob Motwani, and sons Dev and Nitin Motwani.
The family's Merrimac Ventures is now playing a huge role in reinventing Fort Lauderdale beachfront properties with glittering luxury towers.
The company is working on the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences with 130 keys and 90 apartments and the Gale Boutique Hotel and Residences with 129 condominiums and 96 hotel rooms. Merrimac has completed the 18-story beachfront Paramount Fort Lauderdale Beach with 95 units.
The family business has also grown beyond Fort Lauderdale. Nitin Motwani is a partner in the mixed-use downtown Miami Worldcenter with 10 blocks.
Once a neglected neighborhood dominated by rundown warehouses, Flagler Village is quickly being redeveloped with high-rise apartment buildings and renovations to old buildings where edgy retailers opened.
Flagler Village is roughly from Federal Highway West to the Florida East Coast Railway and from Broward Boulevard to Sunrise Boulevard.
The property was launched in February, according to Ross Manella, a Hinshaw & Culbertson partner who represented the seller along with partner Ofonedu-Ime Goodwyn.
Peter Desiderio, shareholder of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, represented Motwani.
Commercial real estate agent Tiktin, President and Broker of Real Estate Investment Services, Adam Tiktin, and investment partner Alejandro Snyder represented both the seller and the buyer.
Continue reading:
New apartments in trendy Fort Lauderdale Arts District for $ 93 million
Fort Lauderdale's EON in Flagler Village receives $ 128 million loan
Fort Lauderdale FATVillage Lofts Secures $ 9 Million Home Financing
Interest in apartment buildings in South Florida increases as 3 properties are traded
