Mark Gensheimer, CEO, Penn-Florida Companies; Via Mizner at 337-339 Worth Avenue in Boca Raton, FL (Penn-Florida Companies, iStock, Wikipedia / Ebyabe)
Penn-Florida Companies has received $ 335 million in new financing for the luxurious Via Mizner mixed-use area in Boca Raton.
New York-based Blackstone Mortgage Trust provided a $ 195 million senior loan backed by 101 Via Mizner, a 14-story, 336-unit residential building on 101 East Camino Real. In a separate $ 140 million mortgage deal, Toronto-based Romspen Investment Corporation refinanced The Residences at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at 10 East Boca Raton Road and Via Mizner Golf & Country Club at 6200 Boca Del Mar Drive. The loans were first reported by Commercial Observer.
The fully rented 101 Via Mizner was completed in 2018, while the two 12-story Mandarin Oriental buildings and the golf club are due to be completed next year.
David K. Warne, COO of Penn-Florida, said in a statement that the two loans allow the developer to significantly reduce the cost of capital for the three-phase mixed-use project.
Penn-Florida has pre-sold half of the 86 condos at Mandarin Oriental, which will also have 164 hotel rooms, according to the press release. The buildings are connected by a skybridge and feature a Downtown Athletic Club, The Spa at Mandarin Oriental and two rooftop pools.
The three buildings are located above The Shoppes on Via Mizner, a 60,000 square meter luxury retail center. Penn-Florida, led by CEO Mark Gensheimer, began construction on the first phase of the 2 million square foot project in 2015.
The golf and country club component will include a golf course designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus, a golf village, golf training facilities and programs, resort-style pools, Har-Tru tennis courts, and fitness and spa facilities.
Penn-Florida previously took out a $ 225 million construction loan from Madison Realty Capital for the Mandarin Oriental in 2019. Two years earlier, the developer received $ 400 million in funding from Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies and the US Immigration Fund, an EB-5 lender.
Penn-Florida, based in Boca Raton, has a 6 million square foot real estate portfolio in its hometown of Port St. Lucie and Orlando, according to the company’s website. The developer bought the 1.2 hectare Via Mizner site for $ 19 million in 2014.
In 2019, 101 Via Mizner general contractor, Moss Construction, sued Penn Florida subsidiary Camino Investments Holdings Limited Partnership for failing to pay $ 2 million on a $ 75 million construction contract, the Palm Beach Circuit Court records A year later, Camino Investments sued Moss, claiming that the construction company failed to complete the contractually required work and that the project was delayed due to, among other things, breaches of contract.
The cases were dismissed this week after Moss and Camino Investments reached an undisclosed settlement, court records show.
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