The Rise and Fall of Miami’s Paramount Bay Condo

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

The impressive 46-story high-rise that overlooks Biscayne Bay has not even reached completion yet and it’s already facing major challenges. The Paramount Bay Condominium, developed by Royal Palm Development is headed towards an online auction on May 10.

The luxurious development was initially scheduled for opening in 2008, but major construction delays were brought on by an unfortunate crane collapse that killed two Paramount construction workers and injured five. Three years later, the Paramount on the Bay is nearly completed with 346 one- , two- and three-bedroom condominiums as well as penthouses. However, no units have been sold, and the few buyers that were about to purchase eventually backed out of their contracts.

Located at 2066 N. Bayshore Drive—just minutes from downtown Miami—the Paramount was designed by Arquitectonica with many luxury and state-of-the-art features. The three-story grand lobby with 24-hour security and concierge, outdoor living rooms featuring outdoor beds, cabanas and chaise lounges—not to mention special sunrise and sunset swimming pool levels—really make the property stand out. The Paramount Bay also boasts high-speed elevators and private elevator lobbies for each residence, and of course, amazing unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay.

But despite these appealing attributes, the Paramount’s financial struggle began soon after its starting date; in 2006, Royal Palm Development secured a mortgage from co-lenders Corus Bank and iStar, added to a mezzanine loan of $30 million from Babcock and Brown. iStar took full control of the loan after Corus Bank’s 2009 failure, and it has recently won a judgment against Royal Palm Miami Holdings, based on a $220.9 million mortgage, to which interest and fees are to be added. Royal Palm Miami Holdings is an affiliate of RPC Holdings, whose manager—Daniel Kodsi—was not named in the judgment, as he made no attempts to challenge the foreclosure.

Some insights into the future of the Paramount Bay may be revealed after May 10, but one thing is certain. This $262.1 million foreclosure judgment is unquestionably one of the largest in South Florida’s recent history.