SOUTH FLORIDA NEWS - September, 2026

The Plaza Hotel Brand Comes to Davie in a $1B Project

El-Ad, the owner of New York's Plaza Hotel, rebranded its five-tower Davie development and just topped out the first 22-story building. The 1,292 apartments are rentals, not condos, but the name signals a push toward luxury positioning.

Key Takeaways

• El-Ad National Properties rebranded its $1 billion Davie development to The Plaza Davie District, tying it to the company's ownership of New York's Plaza Hotel.
• The project spans five towers and about 1,292 rental apartments across three phases, and the 288-unit first tower has topped out, with completion set for early 2027.
• Every residence is a rental, not a condo, marketed as high-end apartment living near the airport, Nova Southeastern University, and the Seminole Hard Rock.

What…

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A Fort Lauderdale Hotel's Messy Path to a $47.1M Sale

This beachfront hotel went through foreclosure, investor lawsuits, bankruptcy, and years of unfinished construction. It still managed to sell, and here is how Hotel Maren finally traded hands.

• Rockpoint acquired Hotel Maren for $47.1 million after a bankruptcy process.
• Magna Hospitality had purchased the property for $39.1 million in 2018.
• The eight-year hold produced a nominal $8 million gain, but construction costs likely erased it.

Hotel Maren is a 121-room boutique hotel at 525 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, steps from the sand, and part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. On paper, it is exactly the kind of beachfront asset that should trade smoothly. In reality, the property's history tells a different story. According to…

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Portofino South: The $2.1M Per Unit Offer That Cannot Close

This West Palm Beach condo is facing what many aging buildings are: costly repairs and post-Surfside compliance. But unlike most, there is a $295 million buyout offer on the table. For some owners, that is not enough.

• BEKO Equities extended its $295 million buyout deadline at Portofino South amid ongoing disputes.
• The offer averages roughly $2.1 million per unit, but Florida law requires 95% owner approval to terminate.
• One unit is currently listed for around $740,000, nearly a third of what the buyout would pay.

Portofino South is a 140-unit waterfront condominium at 3800 Washington Road in West Palm Beach. Built in 1971, the building sits on the Intracoastal Waterway directly across from Mar-a-Lago, adjacent to the El Cid and SoSo…

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A Billionaires' Row Mansion Lists for a Record $195M

The nearly 20,000-square-foot Palm Beach estate offers rare ocean-to-lake frontage and an 18-car garage, about a mile from Mar-a-Lago. If it sells anywhere near the ask, it would become the priciest single-family home ever sold on the island.

Key Takeaways

• A nearly 20,000-square-foot mansion at 1616 South Ocean Boulevard on Palm Beach's Billionaires' Row is listed for $195 million.
• If it sells near the asking price, it would top the island's current single-family record: the $170 million sale at 589 North County Road in 2023.
• The land last sold for $22.4 million in 2018 and about $5.7 million in 1996.

Palm Beach's trophy-home market keeps climbing, and its latest listing sets a new high mark for ambition. According to The Real Deal, a…

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A Rig Collapse Hits Ken Griffin's $1B Citadel HQ Site

An 85-foot drill rig toppled at the Brickell construction site this week, injuring four people, who are all expected to recover. The cause is under investigation, and the accident lands at the center of one of Miami's biggest development bets.

Key Takeaways

• An 85-foot drill rig collapsed on September 14 at the site of Ken Griffin's planned Citadel headquarters at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive in Miami.
• Four people were injured, three workers and a driver, and all are expected to recover; the cause is under investigation by OSHA and Miami-Dade.
• The accident is the first major setback for Griffin's $1 billion Citadel tower, part of his growing Miami real estate footprint.

A dramatic scene unfolded in Miami's Brickell district on Monday…

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A Hotel Becomes 540 Apartments in Hallandale Beach

A decade ago, the plan was 320 units and a hotel. Now it is 540 apartments and no hotel at all. Nine Hundred is the latest sign of the new phase this South Florida city is entering.

• Northlink Capital filed revised plans for Nine Hundred, increasing the unit count from 320 to 540.
• The hotel component from the original 2016 approval has been eliminated.
• Combined with Oasis Hallandale, that is over 1,000 new units on the same Federal Highway corridor.

In 2016, Hallandale Beach approved a 23-story tower at 900 South Federal Highway with 320 residential units and a hotel. The project never broke ground. Now Northlink Capital has filed revised plans that show where the market has shifted. According to Florida YIMBY, the new filing increases…

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Kushner and Cain Bet Big on Fort Lauderdale's Rio Vista

The joint venture has a site under contract near the New River for two towers of 28 and 22 stories holding 440 luxury apartments. Every unit is market-rate, a straight luxury play in a corridor filling fast with new development.

Key Takeaways

• A Cain International and Kushner Companies joint venture has a site under contract at 633 S Federal Highway for the Rio Vista Residences, two towers holding 440 luxury apartments.
• The towers would rise 28 and 22 stories with about 69,000 square feet of health and fitness amenities, and every unit is market-rate.
• Oko Group has owned the land since 2020, and the project is in city planning review.

Another pair of towers is coming to Fort Lauderdale, and the names behind it are national…

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A $27.5M North Palm Beach Estate Sold Just to Be Torn Down

The late philanthropist Dana Hamel's oceanfront home in exclusive Lost Tree Village changed hands this week, and the new owner plans to build fresh. On South Florida's best waterfront, buyers are paying for the land and the address, not the house.

Key Takeaways

• The late Dana Hamel's oceanfront estate at 11800 Turtle Beach Road in North Palm Beach's Lost Tree Village sold for $27.5 million, and the buyer plans to tear it down.
• Hamel paid $2.5 million for the property in 1991, so the sale shows how much scarce waterfront land has appreciated.
• The deal was North Palm Beach's priciest recorded home sale that week, at over $4,000 per square foot for a house headed for demolition.

A $27.5 million home just sold so the new owner can knock it…

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How The Mastropieri Group Markets Luxury Listings in Homes & Land Magazine

A buyer with $5 million to spend is looking for the right house, and at that number they can afford to wait for it. That buyer is often three states away. Instead of refreshing a Delray Beach search portal at night, they are reading the Saturday paper or picking up a magazine at their club. The MLS will never reach them, which is why luxury real estate marketing in Palm Beach County has to go find the buyer first. Homes & Land of the Palm Beaches is one of the channels we use to do that. Below we break down the distribution behind a single issue, where a listing travels after print, and what the reach produced in Palm Trail.

Key Takeaways

• The Mastropieri Group placed client listings in an issue distributing 24,500 copies across Palm Beach County,…

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The Brightline Effect Just Got Another 310 Apartments in WPB

Brightline may be navigating $10 billion in debt, but developers are still betting on the stations. Soleste Palm Station Two is the latest proof that transit-oriented living is not slowing down.

• Estate Companies closed on a 1.2-acre site at 411 W Railroad Avenue for $13 million.
• Soleste Palm Station Two will rise 15 stories with 310 units, including micro units as small as 377 SF.
• Phase one (321 units) is under construction and targeting delivery in Summer 2026.

A few weeks ago, headlines asked whether Brightline, South Florida's intercity passenger rail, was in trouble. Developers answered by buying more land next to the station. Estate Companies just closed on a 1.2-acre site at 411 W Railroad Avenue for $13 million, where they plan to…

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