Related, Merrimac plan Waldorf Astoria condos in Pompano Beach

Related Group and Merrimac Ventures plan to launch a Waldorf Astoria-branded condo development in Pompano Beach, The Real Deal has learned. 

Miami-based Related, led by Jorge Pérez and his sons, Jon Paul and Nick, is partnering with Dev and Nitin Motwani’s Merrimac on the project at 1350 South Ocean Boulevard, according to plans submitted to the city this summer. Sources told TRD that it will be a Waldorf Astoria. 

The Motwanis planned to develop condos on the site dating back to 2017. An affiliate of the firm paid $11.5 million for the 1.8-acre oceanfront site in 2011, which also included the 4-acre property at 1333 South Ocean Boulevard that has since been developed into luxury rentals. 

The new project could mark the second Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts-branded condominium in South Florida and the second major hotel-branded development in Pompano Beach. PMG and Greybrook are working on the Waldorf supertall planned in downtown Miami. In Pompano Beach, Fortune International Group and Oak Capital’s Ritz-Carlton Residences is under construction near Related and Merrimac’s property. 

Related and Merrimac’s Waldorf building is being designed by Nicholas Architects with landscaping by Enzo Enea, according to the plans. The 28-story, 92-unit tower would have condos ranging from two to five bedrooms; two restaurants; and a pool deck topping the three-story parking podium. The project will also include about two dozen boat slips that Motwani deeded back over to the condo site years ago with the plan to sell them with the units. 

Motwani and a spokesperson for Related did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

In 2019, the luxury condo building Sabbia Beach, at 730 North Ocean Boulevard, marked the first new condo project to be completed in Pompano in more than a decade. Since then, Related has launched and presold two condo developments in Pompano Beach, called Solemar and Casamar, driving prices up for new development in the beachfront Broward County city. 

In September, Related Group secured a $158.9 million construction loan from the U.S. arm of the Canadian bank CIBC for Casamar Residences at 900 North Ocean Boulevard. It was nearly sold out at the time it closed on construction financing, the developer said. 

Related recently acquired another site in Pompano. The developer and its partner, BH Group, purchased the 3.7-acre waterfront property at 20 North Ocean Boulevard from Chetrit Group for $47.5 million this summer. It was previously approved for a mixed-use project. 

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The trend of developers partnering with luxury brands has boomed in South Florida, in part because it allows developers to charge a premium on a per-square-foot basis. Brands such as Porsche Design, Armani/Casa, Aston Martin, Missoni, Ritz-Carlton and others have towers in Miami-Dade County. 

Developers typically pay branding fees, which can range from 3 percent to 8 percent of sales, experts previously told TRD. Most branding agreements are for 10 years, with extension options and the expectation that the brand will be in place for much longer. Some are permanent. Once the building is completed, owners pay brand management fees as part of their HOA dues.