Henry Pino’s Alta lands $68M construction loan for short-term rental condo near Miami River

Alta Development scored a $68 million construction loan for a 283-unit short-term rental-friendly condo near the Miami River. 

The Kendall-based firm plans the 16-story River District 14 on the 1.3-acre site at 1451 Northwest 14th Street in Miami, according to Alta principal Henry Pino. Boynton Beach-based Forman Capital is the lender. 

River District 14 is more than 70 percent presold or reserved, with reservations currently being converted to contracts, according to the project’s broker, Fredrik Eklund. Pino said prices range from $490,000 to $780,000. 

Designed by Behar Font & Partners, River District 14 will consist of a pair of buildings rising from a parking podium with two indoor pickleball courts. It will have studios, as well as one-bedroom and two-bedroom condos. 

Construction is expected to start in August or September, and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2026, Pino said. 

Alta bought the development site in 2022 for $14.6 million, originally planning an apartment project. 

At the time, South Florida’s multifamily market was booming due to an influx of out-of-state residents and record rent hikes, prompting developers like Alta to jump on apartment projects. Now, the market has turned. The construction spree has tempered demand, and elevated interest rates have made financing more expensive. 

Early last year, Pino read the signs and opted to build a condo instead of apartments. 

“Interest rates obviously are very high and do not allow the development of a multifamily project to make sense,” he said. “And [Alta] having done so many condos in the past, I said, ‘We are in the urban core, and these things are flying off the shelf.’”

The city’s short-term rental friendly condo projects are largely in downtown Miami. At the Miami Worldcenter complex, the Pérez family’s Related Companies and the Motwani family’s Merrimac Ventures are developing the 33-story The Crosby with 450 units at 601 North Miami Avenue. Also, Merrimac and Aria Development plan the 32-story 600 Miami Worldcenter with 606 fully furnished condos at 600 Northeast First Avenue in downtown Miami. 

River District 14 is the latest project on tap near the Miami River. An analysis by The Real Deal showed that as of November developers had dozens of projects on tap that would add 10,500 condo and apartment units near the river. 

Newgard Development Group, led by Harvey Hernandez, is working on the three-building One Brickell Riverfront project, with the 44-story Lofty Brickell condo tower and a 43-story residential tower under construction. 

After completing the 2.2 million-square-foot River Landing Shops & Residences in 2020, which largely jumpstarted Miami River development, Urban-X Group now plans to add the 28-story, 475-unit MidRiverVu apartment building to the complex.  

Also, Gencom and Hyatt plan to redevelop the James L. Knight Center and adjacent hotel with  a pair of 61-story towers with 682 apartments, a 615-key Hyatt Regency and 264 service branded apartments, as well as a supertall with 860 apartments. The site is at 400 Southeast Second Avenue.