Spanish Developer To Buy Big Into South Florida Real Estate

By Samantha Joseph
A Spanish developer is teaming with a Miami company to invest $50 million in South Florida real estate in the next two years.

Lanzamar, a Spanish firm, plans to build about 1,000 condominiums, most of which the company sees for Coral Gables, North Bay Village and Miami’s Edgewater.

The relationship marks Lanzamar’s entry into the US market – a move that analyst Michael Cannon says points to the attractiveness of Miami-Dade’s real estate and financial services markets.

"Miami is evolving into an international city, and this investment is just another complement to that," he said.

Alliance President Robert CambÛ said Lanzamar hopes to use its South Florida operations as a springboard for Latin American investments.

"When they decided to expand into the US, being a Spanish-speaking company, Miami was a logical choice for them," he said.

Alliance will represent Lanzamar in Florida, overseeing permits, construction and sales.

The partnership’s first project is La Torre del Valle, a $4 million, five-story building at 40 Calabria Ave. in Coral Gables, where it will raze an existing eight-unit apartment building. La Torre del Valle is scheduled to be ready for occupancy by mid-2005.

"We like the South Florida market and are going to look for opportunities throughout (the state)," Mr. CambÛ said. "We’re pursuing at least five other properties as we speak."

The two companies are negotiating contracts for land purchases and are looking at tracts of an acre or smaller. "We can’t say much more than that right now; there’s too much competition for these sites," Mr. CambÛ said. "It’s fierce."

Mr. CambÛ was one of the developers on the Doral E-Commerce Park, a 36-acre project at 6000 NW 97th Ave. that caters to telecommunications tenants.

Lanzamar, which has $55 million in annual sales, said in a press release that it has 14 multifamily ventures, including apartments, condominiums and golf-course residences, under development in Europe.