Flood-proof Miami Beach condo tower secures financing

JDS Development has acquired $62.5 million in construction financing for its ambitious Monad Terrace, a luxury condo tower on West Avenue between 13th and 14th streets on Miami Beach.

The financing includes a $20 million loan from the Bank of Ozarks and $42.5 million in mezzanine financing from the Vanbarton Group.

Michael Stern, founder of JDS Development, said the company had already invested “well in excess of” $40 million in equity in order to secure the new funds.

The 59-unit luxury project will be comprised of two towers, of 14 and 7 stories, joined by a man-made lagoon surrounded by lush vegetation.

Monad Terrace is the first building in Miami-Dade designed by the French star architect firm of Atelier Jean Nouvel, in collaboration with Kobi Karp Architecture and Design.

The project will also be the first new tower on West Avenue to meet Miami Beach’s stricter elevation requirements, in order to combat the city’s increasing flooding and sea-level rise problems. Stern said the building’s bottom floor will be 11 and a half feet above the ground, and the parking garage will use a “waterproof bathtub” design that will make it flood-proof.

Units at Monad Terrace will range from two to five bedrooms and prices start at $1.7 million. Stern declined to specify how many units have been sold, but said several of the condos were under “hard contract.” One penthouse, measuring 2,800 square feet, has reportedly already sold for $7.6 million, or $2,708 per square foot. The median sales price of luxury condos in Miami Beach is $1,328 per square foot, according the Elliman Report.

Construction on Monad Terrace began earlier this year and is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2019.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Flood-proof Miami Beach condo tower secures financing."