ReportWire

Tag: Weekly Dirt

  • Weekly Dirt: Changes to Florida’s Affordable Housing Law Clear Hurdle

    Weekly Dirt: Changes to Florida’s Affordable Housing Law Clear Hurdle

    [ad_1]

    The Florida Senate passed amendments to the Live Local Act, which are expected to be approved by the House next. Let’s break them down. 

    Live Local, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, created major zoning incentives for developers that set aside housing for people making up to 120 percent of the area median income, and allocated hundreds of millions of dollars for affordable housing. 

    Senate Bill 328 and the matching House Bill 1239 clarify the state’s preemption of local zoning laws, maximum building heights and tax exemptions. If and when the bills become law, attorneys expect that more developers will file applications for affordable, workforce and mixed-income housing projects. 

    The legislation creates height protections for single-family neighborhoods, and eliminates parking requirements for some transit-oriented projects filed under Live Local, according to attorney Anthony De Yurre’s analysis. 

    De Yurre, a partner at Bilzin Sumberg, tells me that the parking requirements are “the biggest challenge to workforce housing.” Requirements would be reduced by 20 percent if a Live Local project is within half a mile of a major transportation hub and parking exists within 600 feet. If the project is within a transit-oriented development area, the requirements would be eliminated. 

    The latest versions of the bills clarify that properties zoned for industrial projects qualify for Live Local incentives. When proposed in January, the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Alexis Calatayud and Rep. Vicki Lopez, sought to exclude industrial sites. The original amendments also sought to cap heights of Live Local projects up to the height of existing buildings within a quarter mile, but that was nixed. The distance used can be up to 1 mile, with the exception of sites abutting single-family zoning.

    The bills require local municipalities to maintain guidelines for administrative approval on their websites. Some municipalities have sought ways around the legislation because it supersedes local zoning and height restrictions. 

    In terms of clarifying, the bills add a preemption that floor area ratio, also known as the size of a project in relation to the site, can be up to 150 percent of the floor area ratio in that city and county. Municipalities would also be blocked from restricting unit density to the maximum of what is currently allowed in that city and county. 

    De Yurre, who is working with clients on Live Local projects ranging from 80 units to 2,000 units,  said the House could vote on the bill within a couple of weeks. Then it would head to the governor for his signature. 

    What we’re thinking about: The Justice Department is reportedly investigating New York and South Florida broker Brandon Charnas as part of a larger insider trading probe that could include Fontainebleau Development President Brett Mufson. Do you have any knowledge of the investigation? Send me a note at kk@therealdeal.com. 

    CLOSING TIME 

    Residential: Oleg Movchan, CEO of an investment management software company, and Beata Vaynberg sold their waterfront Boca Raton estate at 5001 Egret Point Circle for a record $29 million. The couple sold the nearly 14,900-square-foot mansion, with nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms and two half-bathrooms, to a hidden buyer. 

    Commercial: Joined Development Partners paid $21.9 million for the Section 8 multifamily complex at 2050 Northwest 64th Street in Miami’s Liberty City. Southport Financial Services sold the 8-acre, 214-unit community. 

    — Research by Adam Farence

    NEW TO THE MARKET 

    Dawn McKenna Group/Coldwell Banker Realty

    The family of late financier John Donahue listed his Naples compound for $295 million, marking the most expensive residential listing in the U.S. The 9-acre estate, known as Gordon Pointe, is on the market with Dawn McKenna of Coldwell Banker in partnership with Leighton Candler of the Corcoran Group and Savills’ Rory McMullen. The property includes three houses, 1,650 feet of waterfront and a 231-foot private yacht basin. 

    The existing record for residential sales in the country is held by billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin’s $238 million purchase of a Manhattan penthouse in 2019. 

    A thing we’ve learned 

    Nickelodeon will broadcast its own version of the Super Bowl. Special guests on the kid-friendly broadcast will include characters from shows such as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Dora the Explorer,” according to CBS Sports. 

    Elsewhere in Florida 

    • The chief justice of Florida’s Supreme Court said he believes Florida voters “aren’t stupid” and would be able to understand a ballot initiative that looks to enshrine abortion protections in the state, Politico reports. Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody asked the state to block the proposed amendment. The coalition backing the amendment collected nearly 1 million state-certified signatures, surpassing the requirement to make it on the 2024 ballot. 
    • An energy bill moving through the Florida Legislature would delete most references to climate change in state law, repealing entire sections of existing legislation and reducing regulations on natural gas pipelines, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 
    • A small airplane crashed into a vehicle, killing at least two people. The fiery crash shut down I-75 near Naples on Friday afternoon. The plane was traveling from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio to Naples, USA Today reports. 

    [ad_2]

    Katherine Kallergis

    Source link

  • Weekly Dirt: Conflict Between HOA Lawyers, Property Managers

    Weekly Dirt: Conflict Between HOA Lawyers, Property Managers

    [ad_1]

    An “inherent conflict” exists for attorneys and property managers representing residential associations. 

    The boards at homeowners and condo associations across the state hire professional services firms to represent entire communities. But some owners and residents feel that the lawyers and property management firms cross the line and instead serve individual board members’ interests, Lidia Dinkova reports in The Real Deal’s latest issue. 

    Because many of those contracts provide for a flat fee with extra charges depending on the services, attorneys and property managers benefit from being asked to send threatening letters or by filing lawsuits against unit and homeowners. “The more services rendered, the more fees involved,” attorney William Sklar said. 

    I think anyone living in South Florida has heard of situations or lived in communities where this happens — whether it is based on warranted behavior (breaking association rules) or not. Think about that HOA board member who’s obsessed with tracking visitor parking, illegally towing cars or issuing fines for allegedly leaving your trash can out too long, failing to mow the lawn on time, etc. Beyond those smaller issues, though, are situations like one where an association’s attorney filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former board member against a resident who raised the alarm about potential board misspending. 

    Lawsuits over the massive fraud at the Hammocks, one of the largest associations in the state, also took aim at ex-HOA attorneys.  

    “The management company and the attorneys are afraid that they are going to get fired should they not completely have the backs of the board members, even if they are engaging in wrongdoing,” said attorney Eric Glazer. 

    A lack of state oversight has contributed to the problem. 

    “The statute itself creates a lot of incentives for attorneys and associations to work together against residents,” attorney James Bishop said. 

    What we’re thinking about: Will Malaysian firm Pacific & Orient sell its partially completed condo tower in North Bay Village to another developer active in the area, like Andy Ansin, Harry Macklowe or Jorge Pérez? Send me a note at kk@therealdeal.com. 

    CLOSING TIME 

    Residential: Alex Pirez’s Mocca Acquisitions LLC sold the 13,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom mansion at 4940 Hammock Lake Drive in Coral Gables for a non-waterfront area record of $21 million. The buyer is a land trust. 

    Commercial: New York University paid $33 million for a medical office development site in downtown West Palm Beach, where it plans to move its Langone Health to the property at 324 Datura Street. Morning Calm Management sold the 0.6-acre site. 

    — Research by Adam Farence

    NEW TO THE MARKET 

    1040 South Ocean Boulevard (Studio 910)

    An ocean-to-Intracoastal compound in Manalapan hit the market for $79 million, about four years after it was asking less than half that amount ($35 million). The 2-acre estate, at 1040 South Ocean Boulevard, includes 200 feet of oceanfront, and a dock and boat lift on the Intracoastal Waterway. Maura Ann Christu with Island Realty PB has the listing. 

    A thing we’ve learned 

    Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin opposes casinos. In a letter to the editor published in the Miami Herald last week, Griffin wrote that “measurable research proves” that casinos lead to gambling addiction, higher crime rates and drops in property values. Developer Jeffrey Soffer has long pursued legislation that would allow him to run a casino at the Fontainebleau resort in Miami Beach, including a push this legislative session. 

    Elsewhere in Florida 

    • The Florida House passed a bill that will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work longer and later hours (more than 30 hours a week when they are in school, and more than eight-hour shifts). Opponents say it would open the door for the exploitation of child labor and make it more difficult for those teenagers to do well in school, AP reports. 
    • Orlando Sentinel journalists, designers and production workers staged a walkout, joining union members across seven newsrooms in a strike against the paper’s owner, Alden Global Capital, Orlando Weekly reports. Former TRD Miami reporter Amanda Rabines, now a breaking news reporter for the Sentinel, was part of the strike and said having a robust newsroom is “an essential part of democracy.” The employees protested Alden’s refusal to pay fair wages, threat to rescind its 401(k) match, and failure to confront pay disparities. 
    • A judge on a federal appeals court in Atlanta said Florida’s law restricting Chinese investment in real estate “blatantly violates” protections against discrimination. The panel of judges granted an injunction for two of the plaintiffs suing over the law, according to Politico. 

    [ad_2]

    Katherine Kallergis

    Source link