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The Miami Real Estate Rollercoaster: Uncovering the Ups & Downs of Metronomic’s GroveHaus
- James Ruff
- January 12, 2023
Table of Contents
In recent years, Metronomic’s financial troubles have been exacerbated by the foreclosure of its completed Coconut Grove housing complex.
According to court documents, Wilmington Trust, the largest creditor on GroveHaus, sold the 10-unit property at 3265 Bird Avenue for $8.1 million to Bolonki LLC, a business owned by Norberto Roman and Julia Roman. The sale occurred on November 1 and was disclosed in a late-December court filing.
The sale concludes a two-year-long saga about the building. It also signifies that Metronomic missed its final opportunity to retain the asset.
In 2020, Wilmington Trust filed suit against GroveHaus LLC, a subsidiary of Metronomic, to foreclose on a $5.8 million mortgage given the year prior. Ricky Trinidad is the leader of Metronomic, which is headquartered in Coral Gables, but Kelly Beam is the leader of GroveHaus LLC and also guaranteed the loan, according to court and state corporate documents.
By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring at the start of last year, Metronomic received a reprieve from Wilmington’s foreclosure lawsuit. It was a temporary reprieve for Metronomic, as the stay was lifted in April by a bankruptcy judge.
In June, Metronomic owed $8 million after a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge ordered the company to repay Wilmington’s loan plus interest, late fees, attorney fees, and other expenses.
This is when the last opportunity for Metronomic arose. According to court documents, the company and Wilmington reached a compromise in June, allowing Metronomic to pay $7.9 million by October 7 and avoid losing GroveHaus at auction. Nevertheless, Wilmington continued with the foreclosure sale that month and concluded the deal with Bolonki when Metronomic missed the payment deadline.
Metronomic’s attorneys, who petitioned to dismiss GroveHaus’s bankruptcy case, and Wilmington’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Four years ago, Metronomic also envisioned a nearly 300,000-square-foot mixed-use complex in Coconut Grove, complete with a helipad for passenger drones. Grand Plaza was envisioned as a $74 million development with 12 residential buildings, retail spaces, offices, a hotel, community parks and plazas, and a farmers market.
But the development failed to gain traction when the company became indebted. In recent years, several of its properties were lost to foreclosure.
Two years ago, Metronomic lost 17 buildings in Miami and two near Chicago after a bankruptcy judge authorized an arrangement between the company and its lender, Fuse Funding, allowing Fuse to auction the properties. In 2021, Fuse Funding, an unit of Eyal Peretz’s Fort Lauderdale-based Fuse Group, won a credit bid for all seventeen buildings, several of which were under development at the time.
James R. Ruff
Principal Broker
About the Author
James R. Ruff – With 30+ years in real estate construction, investing, and brokerage, having studied at Harvard Business School, James Ruff leads The James Ruff Group Real Estate Brokerage Firm as Principal Broker and Owner.
Operating from offices at Madison Park in Manhattan, New York, The South of Fifth in Miami, Florida, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, his team of expert advisors specializes in luxury residential and commercial properties throughout the USA.
James Ruff’s team is dedicated to helping you build wealth, security, and happiness through quality real estate guidance, one transaction at a time, for a lifetime.
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