Nahla Capital plans to start selling condos at the Raleigh hotel site on Collins Avenue early next year, the firm's co-founder said at a real estate forum on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Genghis Hadi, Nahla's co-founder and managing principal, said the company plans to seek a construction loan by the end of the first quarter, as first reported by The Real Deal. The project has an official completion timeline of late 2031, but Hadi said he expects it will be finished by 2030.

Hadi spoke with TRD Editor in Chief Stuart Elliott at the forum, held at Mana Wynwood. The panel covered the developer's plans for the 3-acre oceanfront assemblage at 1775, 1757 and 1751 Collins Ave.

The project is planned for 60 hotel keys and fewer than 40 condos, Hadi said, according to TRD. Those numbers are smaller than the roughly 80 hotel rooms and 52-unit condo tower the Miami Herald reported in July. Whether Hadi's figures reflect a formal redesign is unclear.

Pricing and market position

Asked about pricing, Hadi declined to set a number. He said putting a cap on pricing would be tough and that the market should dictate, TRD reported.

Hadi framed the boutique scale and South Beach location as a hedge against the wave of luxury condo development across South Florida. He said Miami Beach accounts for less than 1 percent of the condo supply pipeline in Miami-Dade County and that limited land on barrier islands constrains new building.

Nahla has not disclosed whether the project will carry a hotel brand. The branded residential pipeline across South Florida is especially crowded, with nearly 15,000 units planned, under construction or recently completed, according to TRD.

Approvals still pending

Miami Beach commissioners gave the project preliminary approval in October with a 5-1 vote on comprehensive plan and code amendments to add more than 66,000 square feet of floor area. Commissioners had voted against the project hours earlier before reversing course, TRD reported.

The items still need a final commission vote and approval from the Historic Preservation Board. That board will decide whether the condo tower can rise to 200 feet. If it rejects the additional height, the developer would likely have to redesign around the previously approved 175-foot tower, the Herald reported in July.

Site history

New York-based Nahla bought the oceanfront assemblage from developer Michael Shvo's group last year. The price is in dispute. TRD reported $270 million; the Herald reported $275 million. The site includes the Art Deco Raleigh Hotel and the adjacent Richmond and South Seas hotels.

Shvo and his partners, Deutsche Finance America and a consortium of German pension funds, bought the site in 2019 and won approvals for a Rosewood-branded project but never advanced construction. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger owned the Raleigh before that and also never moved forward with redevelopment, the Herald reported.

Hadi co-founded Nahla in 2014 after seven years at the Carlyle Group, where he worked in private equity with his focus largely in the development unit, he said at the panel. The firm's other projects include Rosewood Residences Beverly Hills and the Austin Proper Hotel and Residences in downtown Austin.

The final commission vote is expected in the coming months, according to TRD.