Business Monday

REAL ESTATE

Château Group is upbeat on South Florida

 

Manuel Grosskopf and his father Sergio have quietly invested in Miami real estate for more than a decade. Now the Argentines are going solo to develop luxury oceanfront condominiums.

Château Group

•  Leadership: Manuel

Grosskopf, head of U.S. operations, based in Hallandale; Sergio Grosskopf, founder

•  Headquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina

•  Business: Real estate

investment and development

•  U.S. operations: began buying land in 1998

•  Current U.S. projects: Château Beach in Sunny Isles and Château Ocean in Surfside

•  Holdings: FPL building and Freedom Square in Miami; sites at 600 and 700 Biscayne Blvd.; 8 acres near Gulfstream Park in Hallandale


mbrannigan@MiamiHerald.com

For years, Manuel Grosskopf and his father Sergio Grosskopf have quietly been helping finance major real estate developments in Miami.

The Argentine real estate investors — whose Château Group is an established developer of malls and condominiums in Buenos Aires — helped bankroll two big Miami condominium towers: 900 Biscayne and Quantum on the Bay, developed by Miami-based Terra Group.

They own South Florida property, too. Among other holdings, the Grosskopfs have the Freedom Square site next to the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami and the FPL headquarters at 9250 W. Flagler St., a 26-acre site they bought in 2011 and lease to the electric utility and other tenants.

Yet outside of developer circles, the Grosskopfs have been little known around Miami.

“We’re a very low-profile family,’’ Manuel Grosskopf, head of U.S. operations for Château Group, said in a recent interview in his Hallandale offices — located in a building that Château owns at 1000 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.

“Coming from Argentina, you have to be very low profile,’’ he added, citing security concerns common to wealthy Latin Americans.

Recently, however, the Grosskopfs began ratcheting up their Miami profile as they step out on their own.

In December, the Grosskopf launched construction as sole developers on their first major U.S. project, Château Beach Residences, an oceanfront luxury condominium at 17475 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles.

On hand for the groundbreaking ceremony was Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

The Grosskopfs drew attention last year when they plunked down $50 million to buy the Best Western hotel near 94th and Collins Ave., in Surfside, an expansive oceanfront site. They expect later this year to begin building another high-end condominium there called Château Ocean. “The $50 million we did was a vote of confidence,’’ Manuel Grosskopf said.

In keeping with Surfside’s height restrictions, that project is slated to rise 12 stories with a maximum of 85 units. (It likely will have about 60 units, the younger Grosskopf said.)

In Sunny Isles, the 33-story Château Beach project that is now under way will feature 84 units with floor-to-ceiling glass to take advantage of the ocean views.

The units are expected to range from $1.5 million to more than $15 million for a two-story penthouse, Manuel Grosskopf said, though prices haven’t been finalized. The project will include an oceanfront infinity-edge pool, a swank spa and fitness center, and something less common: a cigar bar and a wine lounge.

Manuel Grosskopf said the project is drawing interest from foreign buyers from spots like Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Russia. So far, 60 percent of the units are under contract “with large, hard deposits,’’ he said.

Château is financing the project with large deposits from the unit buyers — a model that is being used by nearly all South Florida condominium developers in the current cycle, in which traditional bank financing is still unavailable.

A stream of money continues flowing into South Florida from foreign investors looking to develop projects or to own commercial property. Amid the global upheaval, Miami is viewed as an attractive safehaven for investment.

Among them is Consultatio, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based real estate development and investment firm, headed by Eduardo F. Costantini, which is building Oceana Key Biscayne, a luxury condominium at the former Sonesta Beach Resort. Consultatio plans another high-rise on the site of the Bal Harbour Club at 10201 Collins Ave., which sold last year for $220 million.

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