By Oscar Pedro Musibay, South Florida Business Journal
The three prime acres on Brickell Avenue that Leviev Boymelgreen paid $70 million in 2005 now appear to be in the grips of Miami real estate developer Tibor Hollo.
Hollo has a contract to buy 1101 Brickell Ave., according to three sources familiar with the property.
The now-defunct Leviev Boymelgreen had planned to redevelop the site, which houses a pair of a modest office building, into a massive office and residential complex.
The city of Miami approved a permit to build a 74-story, mixed-use project with 270,000 square feet of office, 30,000 square feet of retail and 650 residences.
But, the partnership dissolved in acrimony, with Leviev Boymelgreen principal Lev Leviev eventually taking control of a portfolio of Miami properties, including 1101 Brickell.
It is unclear how much Hollo will pay for the site.
Angel Balikos, a spokeswoman for Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty, said Hollo declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement.
Leviev’s company could not be reached for comment.
The 1101 Brickell property currently houses a 35-year-old, 11-story office tower, renovated in the 1990s, and a 19-story office tower built in 1985. Banco de Desarollo Economico y Social de Venezuela sold the property to Leviev Boymelgreen in 2005.
Jeremy Larkin, president of NAI Miami Commercial Real Estate Services Worldwide, said his company was hired about three weeks ago to lease the office space. The buildings together are about 42 percent occupied.
“We were getting ready to kick into an aggressive leasing campaign, but were advised to essentially hold,” Larkin said.
The short-term plan was to reduce rates to get some new leases signed, he said.
Larkin said he didn’t know anything about a contract on the property.
Brokerage Transwestern Commercial Services previously handled leasing at the building.
Pete Harrison, Transwestern senior VP, declined to comment.
But, real estate experts say Hollo is likely to hold the 1101 Brickell site until the market rebounds and existing projects already out of the ground are absorbed.
There are currently three office buildings under construction in the downtown Miami area, two of which have yet to sign any tenants. And no one is building new condos with so many unsold ones still on the market.
