Kushner Companies is looking to put the squeeze on Harvey Hernandez over alleged nonpayment of a $22.9 million loan tied to a Fort Lauderdale development site.
New York-based Kushner, led by Laurent Morali and Nicole Kushner Meyer, on Thursday sued Hernandez in Miami-Dade Circuit Court as the personal guarantor of the allegedly defaulted loan.
Kushner has a pending foreclosure complaint in Broward County Circuit Court against an affiliate of Hernandez’s Miami-based Newgard Development Group that owns the 1-acre site at 200 West Broward Boulevard near Fort Lauderdale’s Brightline station. Newgard is planning Natiivo Fort Lauderdale, a 40-story short-term rental-friendly condominium with 384 units.
Hernandez did not respond to requests for comment, while Kushner’s attorney declined to comment.
Newgard acquired the site from Kushner and Aimco for $31.2 million in 2023. The same year, Kushner provided Newgard with a $21.2 million mortgage that the developer failed to repay in full by a June 15 maturity date, the Fort Lauderdale lawsuit alleges. The $22.9 million allegedly owed includes fees and interest.
To secure the mortgage, Newgard pledged 100 percent of its equity interest in the development entity as collateral, the foreclosure complaint states.
According to the Miami-Dade complaint, Kushner alleges Hernandez “absolutely and irrevocably guaranteed and promised to pay the lender, among other things, for any losses, costs, judgments, awards, court costs and legal or other expenses.”
Kushner is also seeking a court order to force Newgard’s affiliate to fork over $23,471 in monthly rent the developer is collecting from using the development site as a parking lot, the lawsuit states.
Last year, Newgard launched sales for Natiivo Fort Lauderdale, initially enlisting Cervera Real Estate to handle sales. In December, One Sotheby’s International Realty took over marketing for the project, which has not yet broken ground. Newgard’s other major developments are in partnership with Miami-based Two Roads Development. The joint venture is developing Lofty Brickell and Standard Residences, a pair of condominium projects in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood along the Miami River. In September, the partnership secured $513 million in construction financing for the two towers.
