South Florida - The Real Deal

Billionaire Palantir CEO Alex Karp bought waterfront house next door for $29M

TRD Staff — Fri, 01 May 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Billionaire Palantir CEO Alex Karp also quietly purchased the waterfront home next door to his for $28.5 million, making his total investment on his Venetian Islands street nearly $75 million. Karp, who moved the headquarters for his controversial AI-software firm to South Florida from Denver earlier this year, plans to develop a compound on the properties at 29 and 55 East San Marino Drive, Page Six first reported. Karp paid $46 million in June of last year for the 9,700-square-foot mansion at 55 East San Marino Drive. The Real Deal first reported his identity as the buyer earlier this year. […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

Cost overruns, delays: Atlantic Pacific seeks affordable housing loan from Miami-Dade

Lidia Dinkova — Fri, 01 May 2026 21:00:17 +0000

Facing construction delays and higher costs on some of its projects, Atlantic Pacific Companies is turning to Miami-Dade County. Miami-based Atlantic Pacific, one of South Florida’s most prolific developers of affordable and workforce housing, is asking the county for a $3.8 million loan to help cover unexpected construction cost overages for three projects with 470 units, combined. The financing proceeds will come from funds Atlantic Pacific previously repaid to the county in connection to an already completed project. Miami-Dade commissioners will vote Tuesday on whether to redeploy Atlantic Pacific’s repayment of the $3.8 million surtax in the form of a […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

Inside the Meruelo family schism

Katherine Kallergis — Fri, 01 May 2026 17:49:09 +0000

Developer David Martin is at the center of a rupture within the Meruelo family over control of the former Deauville Beach Resort, an oceanfront property he and the Meruelos’ are expected to co-develop into a luxury condo and hotel. The lawsuit, filed in April, accuses Martin and Richard Meruelo of orchestrating a scheme to manipulate and trick family matriarch Belinda Meruelo into signing away a 25 percent stake in the property for just $12.5 million, when the entire 3.8-acre site was worth at least $500 million. The 110-page complaint was filed by the Meruelos’ Deauville Associates, but even that is […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

PMG, Lndmrk score $126M construction loan for Wynwood condos

Kate Hinsche — Fri, 01 May 2026 16:27:44 +0000

PMG and Lndmrk Development landed $126 million in construction financing to build their short-term rental-friendly condo project in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Madison Realty Capital and Siguler Guff provided the financing for the planned eight-story, 233-unit Twenty Sixth & 2nd Wynwood Residences at 2600 Northwest Second Avenue, according to a news release. Twenty Sixth & 2nd Wynwood Residences will have fully furnished studio and one-bedroom units that will also come with deeded office space in the building, the release shows. The developers tapped Boston-based architecture firm Cube 3 to design the project. Amenities in the building will include a rooftop pool, […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

“Diabolical scheme”: Inside the guilty pleas in Hammocks fraud that topped $11M

Lidia Dinkova — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:45:00 +0000

More than $11 million were diverted from the Hammocks homeowners associations, more than five times the amount prosecutors originally tracked as misappropriated funds when they filed charges almost four years ago, authorities revealed. The money was taken from about 18,000 residents who live in the Hammocks and pay assessments to the HOA, which is South Florida’s largest association and the second biggest in the state. The newly revealed depth of the theft was announced on Thursday shortly after the ringleader of the scheme, former board President Marglli Gallego, and her husband, Jose Antonio Gonzalez, pleaded guilty to charges for their […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

📊 South Florida’s top deals: Fort Partners sells two Sea Club units worth $104M

Mary Diduch — Fri, 01 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

🏆 Residential: Surfside once again had the most expensive home sale to hit records. Fort Partners parted with a $64.5 million penthouse at the Seaway at Surf Club North at 9165 Collins Avenue. The buyer was Marinus Limited. Fort Partners, led by Nadim Ashi, has seen a string of eye-popping sales lately at the ultra-luxury development, which sits on the waterfront and has 34 units. ODP Architecture designed the Seaway North, construction on the project commenced in 2024. 📊 Residential: The second-priciest home sale was also at Fort Partners’ Seaway at Surf Club North at 9165 Collins Avenue, where Fana […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

Judge denies bond release for disgraced developer Rishi Kapoor

Francisco Alvarado — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:30:00 +0000

Disgraced developer Rishi Kapoor will stay behind bars in downtown Miami’s federal detention facility after a judge denied his request to be released on bond. At a Thursday afternoon hearing, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore declined to hear arguments from Kapoor’s legal team to reconsider a ruling last month by a magistrate judge to keep their client locked up following his March 6 arrest on 37 felony counts including wire and bank fraud, money laundering, failure to account for and remit payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and tax evasion. Kapoor appeared in court in khaki prison scrubs […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

South Florida by the numbers: MLS mega-merger metrics

Master Brokers Forum — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 19:38:39 +0000

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogues the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. Local real estate just got a whole lot bigger, and more unified. In a blockbuster move, Miami Realtors and Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors (RWorld) are joining forces to create the largest local Realtor association in the world, along with one of the country’s most formidable Multiple Listing Services. Starting next month, the newly branded Miami and South Florida Realtors will bring the region’s professionals together under one roof (no pun intended!), reflecting what many already know: This […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

Marglli Gallego, Jose Gonzalez plead guilty in massive Hammocks HOA fraud

Lidia Dinkova — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:59:55 +0000

Marglli Gallego, the ringleader of the massive Hammocks fraud case, pleaded guilty Thursday for her role in the scheme, after maintaining her innocence for nearly four years. Her husband, Jose Gonzalez, also pleaded guilty. Their pleas mark the end of the yearslong Hammocks saga, where state prosecutors alleged former board members misappropriated millions of dollars from the Hammocks, South Florida’s biggest homeowners association. Residents also levied claims of election interference, mismanagement and bullying of any homeowner who dared to speak out. On Thursday, Gallego pleaded guilty to one count each of racketeering and grand theft, and Gonzalez pleaded guilty to […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.

Unilog taps Re/Max Advance to lead Hollywood condo sales with focus on EB-5 buyers

Kate Hinsche — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Miami developer Unilog has tapped Re/Max Advance Realty to lead sales for the Hollywood condo project it launched last year. Re/Max, led by CEO Melanie De Armas, is marketing the six-story, 48-unit project slated for 901 South Ocean Drive, according to a news release. Unilog launched sales for the project in May of last year, according to published reports. The firm is led in part by COO Patrick Giannini. Business records link Azerbaijani oil executive Ikhtiyar Akhundov to control of the firm as well. The planned condominium is set to include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with prices starting at […]

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.