The Miami Beach Club, a 107-unit
condominium fronting the ocean, was built in 1951 as part of
a larger complex that included the former Seashore Club
condo building next door. Related, the Miami-based firm
owned by the Pérez family, teamed up with Gil Dezer’s Dezer
Development to build the Residences by Armani/Casa on the
Seashore Club site.
All the while, the two were planning to also acquire Miami
Beach Club. Executives from both firms bought five units at
Miami Beach Club in 2014. That’s one way developers approach
buyouts, by purchasing individual units one by one.
Depending on your perspective, it can be harder to put a
deal together this way, especially if other unit owners
catch on.
That appears to be what happened here, though Related
declined to comment. The developer is in contract to pay
$145 million for the majority of units, according to a
source. Related plans a luxury condo tower on the 2-acre
site.
Richard Meruelo, who we have covered in the past, sold the
five units to the current and former Related executives.
Investors like Meruelo typically identify waterfront
buildings where a buyout and subsequent termination are
likely so they can cash in later when a developer comes
along.
A lawsuit that the Miami Beach Club condo association filed
against the Related/Dezer entity in 2018 alleged that the
Related/Dezer entity “engaged in a series of tactics… to
reduce the marketability of the Miami Beach Club” to outside
buyers, by acquiring individual units and engaging in
expensive litigation. That suit was dismissed in 2022.
The upside, if successful, is huge for developers. The
Armani/Casa tower next door sold out for nearly $1 billion
in 2021, two years after it was completed.
One other interesting side note: Andrew Chesnick, formerly
COO at Dezer, owns two of the Miami Beach Club units
mentioned above.
Chesnick alleged in a scathing lawsuit filed years ago that
a toxic work environment forced him to resign from his role
at Dezer. Gil Dezer referred to Chesnick as a “douchebag”
and a “fucking moron” in emails, and admitted in a
deposition that he may have threatened to kill Chesnick,
calling it a “good motivator,” Bisnow reported in 2020.
Chesnick alleged Dezer owed him more than $10 million in
profits from projects that included the Residences by
Armani/Casa.