Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group is tapping the EB-5 investor visa program to help fund its Ora by Casa Tua condo-hotel tower planned in Miami’s Brickell.
The developer filed an application for EB-5 designation with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to a press release. Foreign nationals and their family members who invest $1.05 million into Ora by Casa Tua will be eligible for a green card.
The project adds to Fortune’s other EB-5 development in South Florida.
Condo sales launched in 2023 for the 77-story, 533-unit project, planned for the 1-acre property at 1210 Brickell Avenue. Prices now start at $900,000.
The development will mark the first residential tower for the Casa Tua hospitality brand, owned by Micky and Leticia Grendene.
The condos, ranging from studios to four-bedroom units, will be delivered fully furnished with interiors designed by m2atelier, in-unit washers and dryers and smart home features. Owners will be able to rent their units out for a three-day minimum when they are not using them. A majority of buyers are foreign investors, Defortuna previously said.
Last year, Fortune closed on the site in a deal that valued the property at about $70 million. The developer also secured a $36 million pre-development loan from Amerant Bank. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the first quarter of next year, according to a spokesperson.
The tower will include four restaurants by Casa Tua: Terra, Uva, Fuocco and Vento; a three-story sky garden, co-working studios and wellness spaces.
Fortune recently attended the Real Estate Expo Argentina, a two-day fair in Buenos Aires, where the brokerage marketed eight projects to potential buyers and investors, including Ora by Casa Tua, Defortuna said. He’s seeing strong demand from international buyers hailing from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.
Fortune also tapped the EB-5 program to help fill the capital stack for Nexo Residences, a short-term rental-friendly condo project it’s co-developing with Jorge Savloff’s Blue Road at 13899 Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach. The developers secured a $73.3 million construction loan for the planned 16-story, 254-unit building last month from Bank Hapoalim.
The Trump administration has been working on its $5 million gold card visa program, another potential option for wealthy foreigners seeking U.S. citizenship. EB-5 has been in existence since 1990.
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