Kolter and BH Group Add to North Beach Oceanfront Holdings for Planned Condo Project

Miami Beach’s older oceanfront buildings continue to draw redevelopment interest, particularly in North Beach, where assembling multiple parcels can determine whether a new condo project moves from concept to reality. This latest round of acquisitions shows Kolter Group and BH Group pressing further into that strategy on Collins Avenue.

According to Commercial Observer, the joint venture has expanded its assemblage on the block between 69th and 71st streets, where it plans a 17-story luxury condominium development.

In one purchase, Kolter Group acquired 10 condominium units at Port Royale Condo, 6969 Collins Avenue, for about $3.8 million, according to property records cited by the publication. The 14-story building was completed in 1971 and has been under scrutiny over structural integrity concerns. Residents of the 172-unit property were evacuated in 2022.

Kolter also paid $14.4 million for the 7,600-square-foot commercial condominium portion of the Crystal Beach Suites Hotel at 6981 Collins Avenue. The sellers were Elysee Investment Company, which held a 70 percent interest, and Joseph Cohen, who owned the remaining share.

That deal appears to give the developers full control of the roughly 1-acre Crystal Beach Suites property. In 2023, the Delray Beach-based developer bought the hotel component of the site, an 84-room asset, for $18 million.

The latest transactions build on another major purchase earlier this year. In January, Kolter bought a four-story property on 0.3 acres located between Port Royale and Crystal Beach Suites for $26 million. Wells Fargo provided a $41 million mortgage for that acquisition.

Taken together, the purchases leave the developers with ownership stakes in about half of the oceanfront properties along that stretch of Collins Avenue, the report said.

At least part of the assemblage is slated for redevelopment into a 37-unit condominium project designed by Kobi Karp. Plans call for 947 square feet of ground-floor retail and 86 parking spaces.

The dealmaking also leaves a few obvious questions. The reporting indicates the project will rise on at least a portion of the block, but not whether the developers intend to fold more of the frontage into the final plan. It is also not clear how the joint venture’s prior marketing effort fits into the broader strategy: last year, the partners offered a 1-acre section of the site for $110 million. For now, the pattern is clear even if the full blueprint is not — Kolter and BH Group are still adding pieces to a North Beach oceanfront play that is not yet fully defined in public.

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