Harvey Hernandez’s Newgard Development Group could lose a downtown Fort Lauderdale site where the firm planned a 40-story mixed-use tower.
A court auction is scheduled for March 11 to sell the 1-acre property at 200 West Broward Boulevard to satisfy a $25.7 million foreclosure judgment issued Jan. 30 in favor of New York-based Kushner Companies, led by Laurent Morali and Nicole Kushner Meyer, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
Newgard is still working with Kushner on a resolution, Hernandez told The Real Deal. “We’re confident that we’ll get there,” he said. “ We love the property, we love the project, and it remains to be seen what happens in the next few weeks.”
Newgard planned to develop Natiivo Fort Lauderdale, a high-rise with 384 short-term rental condos, 50,000 square feet of offices, nearly 16,000 square feet of retail, and 390 parking spaces. Units had been priced from the $500,000s to $1.5 million.
Newgard bought the site for $31.2 million in December 2023 from Kushner and Aimco, with $21.2 million in seller financing.
Despite launching sales last year, Newgard hasn’t started construction.
In July, Kushner sued the Newgard affiliate that owns the site, alleging default on the loan when it matured the previous month. The complaint alleges Newgard failed to repay the mortgage, which had a balance of $22.8 million. The final judgment includes accrued interest and fees.
The loan came due during a “very tough environment for capital,” Hernandez said.
The developer is returning buyer deposits as it tries to work out the alleged default, he said.
“We want to make sure that all our buyers are protected and they get their money back,” Hernandez said. “That process is ongoing.”
Separately, Kushner has a lawsuit pending in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against Hernandez personally, seeking to enforce his guarantee on the Natiivo loan. Hernandez is seeking to transfer that case to Broward County, where the foreclosure suit was filed.
The Natiivo parcel is among 13 development sites that went into bankruptcy or foreclosure in South Florida last year, compared to five in 2024, according to a TRD analysis.
Two of the sites have been sold at auctions, including a 1-acre property at 340 Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami approved for an 82-story mixed-use tower. New York-based Cirrus Real Estate submitted the winning $95 million credit bid during an auction last month.
— Francisco Alvarado
