Groupe City is retreating from Florida, after offloading a development site in Miami’s Edgewater for $19.2 million. The French firm previously planned to build its first project in the U.S. on the 0.8-acre assemblage.
PR Group Florida, Groupe City’s Miami-based subsidiary, sold the three lots at 423 Northeast 27th Street, 426 Northeast 28th Street and 434 Northeast 28th Street to William Ticona, a Lima, Peru-based developer, records and Vizzda show. New Wave Loans Residential provided Ticona with a $12.1 million mortgage.
The sale equates to $601 per square foot.
Jim Agard with Vendome Capital, and George Vail with Avison Young, represented the seller. Francesco Canestri with Cervera Real Estate represented Ticona, who already has his first U.S. project underway at 1825 Northeast Fourth Avenue in Edgewater.
In 2022, Groupe City’s subsidiary paid $14.8 million and $2.4 million for the assemblage, which includes a low-rise apartment complex, a duplex and three houses, records show. Paris-based Groupe City, led by Christophe Petit and Julien Ridon, had planned to develop a residential tower with a “French touch,” Agard said.
At the time of its purchase, PR Group opened its U.S. headquarters in an office at 1111 Lincoln Road. But more than a year later, Groupe City changed its strategy and will focus on its projects in France, Agard said.
“It was only on the market for a couple of months and we received multiple offers,” Agard said. “We got a good buyer at the right price.”
Last month, PR Group submitted a site application with the city of Miami for a 55-story condominium with 128 units on the development site it just sold, Agard said.
However, Ticona is planning a different condominium project, Canestri said. “We have engaged two architects to come up with two options,” he said. “And we will pick the best one.”
In Lima, Peru, Ticona leads Group T&C, a development firm that has been in business for more than 20 years and has 20 projects in the pipeline in its home country, Canestri said. In February, Grupo T&C plans to begin construction of a planned 40-story high-rise with about 500 units at 1825 and 1837 Northeast Fourth Avenue in Miami, Canestri said.
“[Ticona] likes Edgewater, and he is very excited about what is happening there,” Canestri said. “The latest acquisition was a great opportunity to start developing a pipeline of projects here.”
The development site Ticona purchased from PR Group is near several planned projects, including a 38-story multifamily building by Oak Row Equities and Alex Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development. The joint venture is planning a 324-unit tower on a 1.5-acre site on the northeast corner of Northeast 29th Street and Northeast Fourth Avenue.
Last summer, New York-based firms SB Development and Hazelton Capital Group launched sales for Cove Miami, a planned 40-story condominium at 456, 480 and 496 Northeast 29th Street. That project is adjacent to the planned Villa Miami condominium. Terra, One Thousand Group and Major Food Group are co-developing the 40-story Villa Miami high-rise with 116 units.
