Immigration Attorneys in Coral Gables, FL

The FBI conducted raids of developer Sergio Pino’s waterfront Cocoplum estate and his Coral Gables office, as his two-year-old divorce case takes a dark turn.

Federal agents in tactical gear descended on Pino’s home at 142 Isla Dorada Boulevard and his Century Homebuilders Group headquarters at 1805 Ponce de Leon on Monday night, the Miami Herald reported. Both searches are linked to an FBI probe into death threats against Pino’s estranged wife, Tatiana Pino.

The couple has been locked in a contentious divorce since 2022 when Tatiana Pino filed for a dissolution of marriage, court records show. The case is scheduled for trial in July.

An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Real Deal about what federal crimes were being investigated and what special agents were searching for. Sam Rabin, a defense attorney representing Pino, told the Miami Herald that his client is cooperating with the investigation.

One of Pino’s neighbors told the Miami Herald that federal law enforcement vehicles swarmed the neighborhood on Monday evening for at least three hours.

Pino is among South Florida’s most prolific homebuilders. In January, Century teamed up with Miami-based Treo Group to acquire an 11.6-acre development site in Homestead for $10.5 million. The joint venture has not yet unveiled plans for a project on the property.

In 2022, Century purchased 10.5 acres in Florida City from Treo Group where the two firms are partnering to build 131 townhomes. Century paid $6.3 million. The property is part of a 16-acre mixed-use project where Treo is also planning more than 1,000 units, a charter school, offices and other commercial space.

Recently, Century completed Midtown Doral, a four-building complex with 537 condos and two garages in Doral. In the same city, Century, Mattoni Group and Colombian construction giant Conconcreto developed a complex of two six-story apartment buildings with 326 units. The joint venture is also planning a second phase with 349 apartments.

— Francisco Alvarado

The $71.6 million loan on the Columbus Center office complex in Coral Gables entered special servicing, according to data from Morningstar Credit.

The troubled loan is the latest sign that South Florida real estate is feeling the sting from elevated interest rates and other economic headwinds. Although the industry has cited the tri-county regional office market’s resilience due to an influx of out-of-state companies over the past four years, holes have appeared in this narrative showing the leasing flurry has slowed and landlords aren’t immune to debt woes.

Columbus Center’s loan was moved to special servicing in March after the landlord failed to renew an interest rate cap for the floating-rate debt, resulting in a default under the loan agreement, according to Morningstar Credit. A cap is a hedge against rate increases.

The 262,000-square-foot Columbus Center, majority owned by San Antonio, Texas-based Affinius Capital, consists of the 14-story East Tower and the eight-story West Tower at 1 Alhambra Plaza, records show.

Columbus Center’s default accelerated the loan, according to Morningstar Credit, meaning Affinius is on the hook for the entire remaining principal. Columbus Center also has struggled with vacancies and cash flow, with the complex’s occupancy hitting 62 percent at the end of last year and the loan’s debt service coverage ratio at 0.55. (A debt service coverage ratio, or DSCR, of 1 is the breakeven threshold for cash flow to cover loan payments.)

Tenants include IBM, First Horizon, Charles Schwab, Stiberman Law, jewelry buyer Diamond Banc and Bay 13 Brewery and Kitchen in the retail space.

Columbus Center’s net operating income at the end of last year was $3.8 million, Morningstar Credit shows.

Affinius and Houston-based Patrinely, which manages the property, didn’t return a request for comment.

Affinius’ inability to renew the interest rate cap comes as the price for this type of hedge has skyrocketed. Landlords usually purchase a cap when they first borrow a loan due to lenders’ preference to have an assurance that the debt won’t default if interest rates soar. The cap ensures the borrower doesn’t pay interest over a certain threshold, even if rates rise.

The Federal Reserve increased interest rates 11 times in 2022 and last year, resulting in the highest rates in more than two decades. The price of caps also increases as rates rise because their cost is tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate.

In 2020, a cap on a $125 million loan cost about $50,000, and it now could reach $3 million, an expert has previously told The Real Deal.

USAA Real Estate, the real estate arm of United Services Automobile Association, completed Columbus Center in 1990, according to records. USAA Real Estate had paid $10.7 million for the 2.5-acre site in 1989. Patrinely is listed as a co-developer in Morningstar’s data.

Affinius is the brand name USAA Real Estate adopted last year after its acquisition of Square Mile Capital. Len O’Donnell is CEO of Affinius.

USAA Real Estate refinanced several times the original loan on Columbus Center, including once with the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and then with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, records show. In 2020, USAA refinanced a $57 million Metropolitan Life loan with Minneapolis-based global alternative investment management firm Värde Partners, which boosted the debt to $71.6 million, according to records.

The debt is securitized as part of Värde’s $927.9 million VMC Finance 2021-FL4 collateralized loan obligation, or CLO, deal, Morningstar shows. Värde did not respond to an email requesting comment.

USAA Real Estate and Patrinely pumped $10 million in renovations to Columbus Center in the decade between 2012 and 2022, according to Morningstar. A news release issued last year announcing the completion of capital improvements, including to the first-floor lobby, sixth-floor terrace and exterior façade also said up to 60,000 square feet is up for grabs at the West Tower.

In other South Florida office distress, the loan on the 28-story One Financial Plaza tower at 100 Southeast Third Avenue in Fort Lauderdale went into special servicing in February due to a default on its maturity date, Commercial Observer reported. The landlord, Alliance HP, had a one-year extension option, but lenders sometimes want owners to pay down a portion of a loan’s balance before they allow an extension. The floating-rate One Financial Plaza loan also is part of Värde’s $927.9 million VMC Finance 2021-FL4 CLO deal.

A Sears store in Miami, the last of the former retail powerhouse’s locations in South Florida, could be redeveloped into multifamily through the state’s Live Local Act.

The city’s Urban Development Review Board will consider plans for the 8.1-acre site at 3655 S.W. 22nd Street/Coral Way on June 20. Owned by Sunny Isles Beach-based RK Associates, led by retail investor and Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz, the property currently has a 192,493-square-foot retail building that was completed in 1954.

Trending: Waldorf Astoria tower in Miami nabs record $668M construction loan

It currently houses a Sears store. After the Illinois-based retail closed its Palm Beach Gardens store in May, that is its last location in the tri-county area.

Approved by the state legislature in 2023 and modified with a “glitch bill” this year, the Live Local Act allows developers to bypass city approvals to boost residential density on commercial or industrial sites to the maximum density allowed in the city and to boost height to the tallest building within a one-mile radius in most cases, as long as 40% of the residential units are workforce housing. That means the units must be priced for people making up to 120% of area median income.

On this Coral Way site, the zoning of T5-O currently allows 65 units per acre, or 527 units. RK Associates noted the greatest density in all of Miami is 1,000 units per acre. It also wants to build eight stories, which is permitted by the zoning of the property across the street.

RK Associates has proposed 1,050 multifamily units in three buildings of eight stories each, 43,986 square feet of ground-floor retail and 1,924 parking spaces. The project would total just over 2 million square feet. The developer said it would adhere to the 140% workforce housing requirement of the Live Local Act.

The project would have two pools at the ground level plus a fourth-floor amenity deck with another two pools and indoor amenities.

There would be 134 studio apartments, 481 one-bedroom units, 372 two-bedroom units, and eight three-bedroom units.

Local attorney Mario Garcia-Serra, who represents the developer in the application, couldn’t be reached for comment. He’s not seeking any waivers from the city.

“This area of the city, abutting Coral Gables, and one of the gateways into the city of Miami by Coral Way and 37th Avenue has been in a state of transition for some time,” Garcia-Serra stated in the application. “The construction of a new mixed-use building with much needed workforce housing at this particular intersection will be a great addition that will create a smooth and logical transition between the city and neighboring Coral Gables Central Business District and will make this area of the city a great place to live, work, and play.”

Coral Gables-based Behar Font & Partners designed the project.

Sign up here for the Business Journal’s free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting South Florida. Download the free Business Journal app for breaking news alerts on your phone.

Architecture Firms in South Florida

2023 gross billings

View this list

Published: June 7, 2024 at 11:34 PM

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Coral Gables restaurant Canton Chinese has been a fixture in the Miami-Dade city for 28 years.

They are located at 2614 Ponce De Leon Boulevard.

Earlier this week, an alert Dirty Dining viewer became concerned when he saw a sign in the window that they were temporarily closed, with no explanation.

That viewer reached out to Local 10 News’ Jeff Weinsier, and sure enough, it turns out the closure was not voluntary.

Weinsier spoke to a man named Steve, who said he was the manager of Canton.

“There were rodent droppings, roaches, cleanliness issues, the inspection was based on a complaint, and there were 26 violations found?” Weinsier asked him. “Is that acceptable?”

“No, it’s not,” Steve replied. “We called in professional cleaners, professional pest control, that we always use. We took care of the problem, so everything is solved.”

An inspector was there Monday based on a complaint.

Among the 26 violations, rodent droppings were found droppings by prep sink on the second floor, live and dead roaches were found by the sushi station and the dessert unit in the dining room.

Inside a reach in cooler at a sushi station there was roach excrement by a sink, flies coming out around a drain, and a stop sale was issued on chicken being held at an unsafe temperature.

Sauce containers and the microwave were soiled.

There was slime in the ice machine, and an employee was, “manipulating coleslaw without gloves.”

“But what happened?” asked Weinsier. “How did it get that way?”

“Nothing to really say,” said Steve. “It’s just…we took care of the problem.”

“Nothing to say, but your open to customers. Your serving food,” said Weinsier.

“It’s completely clean,” Steve replied.

“Today? But yesterday it wasn’t?” Weinsier said.

“We cleaned up everything, everything was good,” said Steve. “It wasn’t like that, but whatever.”

“Wasn’t like that? Is this not true?” Weinsier asked, referencing the safety inspection.

“Nothing to say, we took care of the problem,” said Steve. “Give us your trust, we are doing it right. We have been doing it for many years.”

Well that’s not exactly the case.

Local 10 News searched state records that date back to 2012.

Follow up inspections were required at Cancon 11 times.

They were fined in 2016 and in 2014, one inspection had 56 violations. In 2015, another inspection had 54 violations.

According to records, they have been warned over and over about violations.

“Is the place clean today?” Weinsier asked.

“Of course,” replied Steve.

“Can we go back and take a look?” asked Weinsier.

“Umm, we don’t allow you in there, I’m sorry,” said Steve.

Canton was allowed to re-open following an ordered clean up and then a re-inspection.

Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

Dan Finora, 90, credits his time in the military for giving him the discipline to wake up every morning at 5:30 am for the past sixty-five years to get ready for work at Coral Gables High School.

After a decades-long career, Finora, beloved school counselor and former business manager of Coral Gables High School will pack up his well-loved office.

Finora has counseled students behind the red door of his office for years – providing them with resources, encouragement, and more often than not, tough love.

But on Tuesday, it was his turn to receive encouragement during a surprise celebration for his retirement. Former coworkers, former students, and administrators gathered during the celebration – sharing memories and praise.

There were balloon decorations, baked goods, hugs, and smiles.

“You are an institution, you are Gables,” one teacher said on a video presented during the celebration.

Finora sat in the front row as the video played, and even in the darkness of the library you could tell he was beaming with contentment. “You are a legend and you will be missed,” another colleague said.

Finora had no idea the celebration was planned.

“Well, it was, ya know, something I didn’t expect. It was awesome,” said Finora.

Finora has been at Coral Gables High “since they laid the first brick,” he said.

He was known for arriving early and staying late to keep his coworkers company as they finished work, or to cheer on the school’s football team. He would often show up to the high school on Saturdays to give tours to Coral Gables High School alumni, so they could see how the campus has transformed over time.

Ada Trujillo, a former transcript coordinator at the school said “He’s the heart and soul of Coral Gables.”

He also lives in Coral Gables – and jokes that he does not leave his zip code.

At Tuesday’s celebration, Finora was presented with gifts including a letterman jacket with “The Real Mr. Coral Gables,” embroidered on the front.

Finora has a bachelor’s in business education from the University of Miami and was stationed in the military for two years in Alabama and Georgia before committing his life to working in schools. He began his career at Coral Gables High School in 1958. Throughout the years, he held many positions including typing teacher, athletic department business manager, school business manager and school counselor.

He says one of the highlights of his career was when Coral Gables High School won the state championships for football in 1963.

The celebration was not only a time to honor Dan Finora’s years working at Coral Gables High School, but also a time to poke fun at his strict behavior. Although some say he mellowed out over the years, he was known as a rule follower who taught his students how to be disciplined.

“He was mean,” joked his former student Patricia Alvear who was in his typing class back in 1963 where she says he had a leather whip that he would hit against the desk.

“Kids feared him but also respected him,” said Fran Cosgrove, a graduation coach and member of the counseling staff.

Coral Gables High School principal Tony Ullivarri was at the surprise celebration and said that one of Finora’s greatest values was his institutional knowledge and awareness of all of the generations.

“It’s going to be a big loss for our school,” said Ullivarri. Finora lived through many events including the 1968 teachers’ strike in Miami, where teachers walked out demanding higher pay.

He was kind of like an old record book,” said Silvia Yanes, a special needs teacher, Coral Gables High School graduate, and daughter of former Coral Gables High School registrar.

“He was always around and always helping with everything,” said Yanes.

The celebration ended with a group photo and more gifts. But one gift he will not take home is a plaque which will be mounted on the wall outside his office in memory of his legacy.