Forest Development, Royal Palm nab $269M condo construction loan

Two-tower, 330-unit project is 60% presold

rendering of the Nautilus 220 condo project with Developers Daniel Kodsi of Royal Palm Companies and Peter Baytarian, managing partner at Forest Development (LinkedIn, Forest Development, VS Studios)
rendering of the Nautilus 220 condo project with Developers Daniel Kodsi of Royal Palm Companies and Peter Baytarian, managing partner at Forest Development (LinkedIn, Forest Development, VS Studios)

A joint venture between Forest Development and Dan Kodsi’s Royal Palm Companies scored a $269 million construction loan for a waterfront condo project in Palm Beach County’s Lake Park.

Boca Raton-based Forest Development recently partnered with Miami-based Royal Palm on the two 24-story tower Nautilus 220 development along the Intracoastal Waterway at 220 Lake Shore Drive, according to a Forest news release.

Lake Park is north of Riviera Beach and south of North Palm Beach, in eastern Palm Beach County.

The developers secured the financing from New York-based Fortress Investment Group. Justin Morrow and Kevin O’Grady of Concord Summit Capital arranged the financing on behalf of the developers.

The 330 units will range from one- to three-bedroom condos and from 1,100 square feet to 3,400 square feet. The project launched sales last year and is now 60 percent presold. Prices range from $1 million to more than $4 million, according to the release.

Chef David Burke will open a restaurant in one of the retail spaces. The development, designed by R+N Architecture, is rising along the 100-slip Lake Park Harbor marina, which can accommodate up to 100-foot boats.

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Boca Raton-based Forest, led by Peter Baytarian, assembled the 2.8-acre site between 2018 and 2020 for a combined $9.5 million, according to a company spokesperson. Construction started in February and is expected to be completed in summer 2024.

Kodsi’s Miami-based Royal Palm is an active South Florida developer, with its recent plans including a mixed-use Aventura project with high street retail that would be an alternative to Aventura Mall.

In February, Kodsi and developer Rafael Pecchio paid $8.9 million for an Arts & Entertainment District site at 1317 and 1345 North Miami Avenue, where they plan a 200-unit apartment tower.

Royal Palm also is developing the condo-hotel Legacy Hotel & Residences at Miami Worldcenter in downtown.

The South Florida condo market, much like the single-family home market, has prospered, although it’s showing signs of a slowdown. Palm Beach County condo resales dropped in May to 1,429, a 24.3 percent decrease year over year, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Still, price growth did not stop, as the median price increased by 23 percent to $307,500.

In a bet on the market, Two Roads Development and Alpha Blue Ventures plan the 24-story waterfront Forté condo at 1309 South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach with 41 large units.