Integra Real Estate offered $20.5 million for a sprawling Pembroke Pines condo complex in receivership, setting the floor price for an upcoming auction of the distressed property.
Miami-based Integra — led by Nelson Stabile, Paulo Tavares de Melo, Victor Ballestas and Cory Yeffet — was selected as the stalking horse bidder for Heron Pond, the 25-acre complex at 8400 Southwest First Street, according to a purchase and sale agreement included in court filings.
The stalking horse bid breaks down to $820,000 per acre.
The property consists of 19 two-story lakefront buildings with 304 condo units. Embattled Heron Pond, which had been the subject of multiple unsafe structure city notices and allegations of mismanagement against former board members, was put under the receivership of Daniel Stermer last year. Shortly after that, the entire complex was evacuated due to structural safety concerns.
Integra was one of five bids that resulted from Avison Young and Fisher Auction’s marketing, and offered the highest and best offer, Stermer said in a statement.
Current zoning allows for a 321-unit project with one or multiple buildings up to eight stories or 100 feet tall, whichever is less, according to an analysis of the land completed by Greenspoon Marder attorney Dennis Mele. A developer would have to secure site plan approval and a plat note amendment.
“The marketing and sale team will now return to the marketplace with this stalking horse bid in an effort to entice other parties to become qualified bidders so that we have a vibrant auction,” Stermer, a consultant and former mayor of Weston, said in his statement.
The auction is scheduled for Sept. 25.
In 2023, the city determined that six buildings and 26 units in seven other buildings were unsafe and ordered them evacuated. After Stermer took over as receiver last year, he found that prior evaluations of damage and repair costs were underestimated, according to his court filings. Last summer, all residents remaining at Heron Pond were evacuated following ACG Engineering Services’ determination that the buildings have hidden deficiencies due to inadequate design and construction.
Stermer decided to proceed with the termination of the condo association and sale of the property last year. In a court filing, he cited the high cost of repairs and “substantial damage and destruction” that can’t be repaired “within a reasonable period of time.”
Heron Pond was developed in 1988 as an apartment complex and converted into condos in 2006.
In past lawsuits, Heron Pond unit owners alleged some board members purposefully mismanaged the complex to allow it to fall into disrepair, with the goal of purchasing more units at a discount.
In his statement, Stermer said the five bids came from “independent third parties that have no prior relationship with Heron Pond.”
Last week, Broward Circuit Court Judge David Haimes ordered the termination of the condo governing structure of Heron Pond, allowing the sale process to proceed.
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