Naftali Group’s Miki Naftali and 501 Northeast Second Street in Fort Lauderdale (Naftali Group, Google Maps)
Thou shall not near actual estate bargains involving church property in mystery — or thou shall come to feel thy flock’s wrath.
Dissident members of the Very first Baptist Church Fort Lauderdale are accusing the congregation’s management of surreptitiously selling a practically .2-acre whole lot with a two-tale building at 501 Northeast Second Road to New York-primarily based developer Naftali Group, in accordance to Florida Bulldog.
The church transferred the assets to a Delaware entity managed by Naftali on Aug. 1, according to the deed, which does not list the actual income price tag. A First Baptist resolution attached to the deed states that the church’s associates authorized the deal on July 31, soon after reviewing a suggestion by the board of trustees and the congregation’s deacons. On the other hand, the resolution did not checklist the name of the customer or the sale rate.
Naftali, led by Chairman and CEO Miki Naftali, declined remark. In May possibly, the condominium and multifamily developer compensated $21 million for a Tires As well as store on a almost 1-acre home at 201 North Federal Freeway in the vicinity of the church residence Naftali obtained. Naftali designs to redevelop the Tires Additionally web page into an apartment challenge, but the organization has not disclosed details. The former church assets could be portion of an assemblage, if Naftali were being to acquire two other tons on the exact block that are not owned by the church.
A Very first Baptist spokesperson explained to The Serious Deal that the buyer requested that its identification and the sale selling price be held confidential, but that church trustees, deacons and a finances and audit crew labored collectively to “maximize the price for the bigger great of the church.”
A quorum of a lot more than 100 congregants unanimously voted to approve the sale, the spokesperson reported. Thanks to Fort Lauderdale’s true estate increase, Very first Baptist acquired various unsolicited delivers for the house and the consumer paid out “considerably higher than the appraised value,” the spokesperson additional.
1st Baptist is embroiled in a bitter battle between church leaders and an approximated 200 users who were being expelled in April of final year, one particular of whom sued the church and gained a Broward County Circuit Courtroom ruling forcing arbitration with the Institute for Christian Conciliation, Florida Bulldog documented.
The church spokesperson denied the users were being expelled. Some users parted strategies with Initially Baptist just after the church accepted new bylaws in 2018, the spokesperson reported.
In March, Naftali jumped into the South Florida sector with its $40.5 million order of a 44,500-sq.-foot growth site within Miami Worldcenter, the $4 billion mega-blended-use development in Miami’s Park West community. Naftali and its associate, Cara True Estate Administration, approach to create two “supertall” household towers, but the joint venture has not disclosed regardless of whether the buildings will be rentals or condos.
– Francisco Alvarado
