South Beach Drag

Hotels are affected just as much by their neighbors as other commercial real estate forms. The latest example would be Miami’s Tides South Beach, which seems to be having a little trouble with a “drag” show going on next door.

As detailed in the Inside Track blog by our ALM kindred publication Daily Business Review, the Tides is upset with the shows going on at The Palace and have called code enforcement several times. The Palace’s manager stopped short of calling the complaints “gay harassment” but wonders aloud what is up with all the calls.

CocoWalk Foreclosure Was Inevitable

CocoWalk, an open-air shopping center in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, has been hit with a $97.6-million foreclosure lawsuit by Bank of America, a trustee to a group of CMBS investors. The owner of the 200,000-square-foot complex paid $87 million in 2006, at the height of the commercial real estate market.

Charlotte-based Bank of America sued PMAT CocoWalk in late December to recover principal, interest and fees, according to the suit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The suit states that New Orleans-based PMAT obtained a $79.4-million loan from Greenwich Capital Financial Products in August 2006, but stopped paying its mortgage in September 2009.

Rothstein May Face Eviction

The former law firm of embattled attorney Scott Rothstein firm didn’t pay rent on its Miami office in November, and the landlord either wants the money or the space, Terry Sheridan writes in the Daily Business Review, an ALM publication.

Blue Capital US East Coast Properties asked for almost $23,000 on 7,300 square feet leased by Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler at Bank of America Tower at International Place. It seeks a decision on whether the firm’s bankruptcy trustee will keep or abandon the space.

Can Celebs Help Sell Miami Condos?

Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are creating a buzz yet again, buying a condominium at Related Group’s Icon Brickell project. This report from the Daily Business Review, a fellow ALM publication, has all the details.

The singing/acting couple signed a contract on a unit this week, but an actual sale has yet to be recorded in Miami-Dade County records. Anthony, who took a tour of Icon Brickell with Related Group chief Jorge Perez, tells People magazine: “When we are through decorating the condo, it will be one of the sexiest places in town.”

How’s This for Tenant Leverage

Sunrise-based Pet Supermarket Inc. believes it has the upper hand, or paw, lately when it comes to negotiating with retail landlords. At a recent networking event held by the International Council of Shopping Centers in Hollywood, one executive with the 115-store chain admitted that the downturn has been good for tenant leverage.

“We make offers for reduced rent and if the landlord doesn’t accept, we close stores,” Becky Smith, Pet’s real estate director, said in remarks covered by Daily Business Review, our Incisive Media kindred paper. She noted that she has never seen the tide turn so quickly in tenants’ favor in her three decades in the business.

Collecting on Busted Condo Deals

On top of the prospects of more units selling in Florida, albeit at discounted prices, multifamily condominium brokers here got another bit of good news this week: An appellate court in Miami says they can collect commissions from condo deals that failed to close.

According to our sister publication Daily Business Review, the 3rd District Court of Appeal gave Lonestar Alternative Solutions the green light to go after Leviev-Boymelgreen Soleil Developers to collect commissions owed to Lonestar since 2005. The amount of the commissions is not known.