Woodhill Pays $26M For Hialeah Industrial Assemblage

Woodhill Real Estate paid $26 million for a Hialeah industrial assemblage at the center of a not-so-neighborly dispute between the seller and a next-door developer.

An affiliate of New York-based Woodhill acquired six warehouses spanning nearly 159,000 square feet at 215-325 West 75th Place and at 7550-7620 West 2nd Court, records and Vizzda show. Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation provided Woodhill with a $15 million mortgage.

The deal breaks down to $164 per square foot. Led by principals Benjamin Singfer and Daniel Kuflik, Woodhill is an industrial-focused real estate investment firm that has closed more than $1 billion in deals across the U.S., the firm’s website states.

The seller is Seagall Hialeah Property, an entity managed by Nancy Feldman and Ronald and Alan Seagall in Pembroke Pines, records show. The previous sale price is not listed in the deeds for the 5.9-acre site.

The six buildings, completed between 1964 and 1971, are adjacent to Amelia District, a planned massive mixed-use project of apartments, retail and restaurant buildings being developed by Miami Lakes-based Prestige Companies. The district is named after Amelia Earhart, who made a pit stop in Hialeah during her fatal attempt in 1937 to become the first female pilot to fly around the globe. Her plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean.

In January, affiliates of Prestige sued Seagall in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Prestige alleges that the industrial properties are a nuisance that negatively impacts Prestige-owned lots in the Amelia District, the lawsuit states.

For instance, an auto storage facility and an auto mechanic shop within the industrial assemblage are allegedly operating without a permit that protects the public and the environment from improper storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials and waste, the complaint states.

In a motion filed last month to dismiss the lawsuit, Seagall alleges that Prestige’s claims have no merit. Seagall noted that Prestige principal Alexander Ruiz was previously in negotiations to purchase the six industrial buildings last year. Despite Ruiz signing a purchase agreement, the deal fell through, and Seagall began negotiating with other buyers, the motion states.

Prestige’s lawsuit is “simply the product of the disappointment of the plaintiffs failing to be the successful purchaser” of the industrial assemblage, the motion states.

Prestige is one of the most active builders in Hialeah. Among the firm’s other slate of projects is Flamingo Village, a planned 343-unit apartment complex with a Mater Academy charter school at the 200-acre Hialeah Park Racing & Casino. Last year, Prestige scored a $60.7 million construction loan to build Flamingo Village.

Source: The Real Deal