Cirrus Real Estate Partners has emerged as the winner in a second bankruptcy auction for a downtown Miami development site, agreeing to pay $95 million—an $18 million increase from its previous winning bid. The nearly one-acre property at 340 Biscayne Boulevard was subject to a do-over auction after a legal challenge by Brazilian developer Gilberto Bomeny led to the initial results being voided.
The New York-based firm, which is also the lender on the property, made an opening credit bid of $77 million and faced competition from an undisclosed bidder, with increments of $5 million. The sale must still be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurel Isicoff in Miami, with a hearing scheduled for February 11.
The property includes a 10-story Holiday Inn with approvals for redevelopment into an 82-story tower designed by Arquitectonica. Plans call for 374 condominiums, 120 hotel rooms, office space, retail areas, and 500 parking spaces. Bomeny purchased the site and existing hotel in 2015 for $65 million.
Cirrus initiated foreclosure proceedings under the Uniform Commercial Code in 2024, claiming Bomeny’s entity defaulted on a $70 million loan. Following this move, Bomeny’s affiliate filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, leading to the first auction last month where Cirrus won with a $77 million credit bid.
Bomeny’s ownership group successfully argued that irregularities in the auction process prevented higher bids and persuaded the judge to order another auction. In court filings, Cirrus disputed these claims and stated that other potential bidders had not registered or submitted required deposits.
Concierge Auctions managed both auctions for the site. Gabriel Flores of One Commercial listed the property.
Bomeny has previously been involved as a development partner in projects such as One Thousand Museum and Regalia Residences.
The foreclosure and subsequent auctions come amid broader challenges facing commercial property owners in South Florida. Rising interest rates since 2022 have increased debt costs for owners with floating-rate loans lacking interest rate caps. While the Federal Reserve reduced benchmark rates several times in 2024 and earlier years, it kept rates unchanged this month. Additionally, local owners have faced higher insurance premiums and increased expenses due to labor and material cost inflation.
Some developers who initially aimed to capitalize on South Florida’s rental market growth have instead put their sites up for sale or abandoned projects altogether; others have lost properties through foreclosure actions.
In another recent example nearby, CGI Merchant lost control of its Gabriel Downtown Miami hotel at Marquis condo tower through UCC foreclosure after defaulting on a $60.4 million loan held by Madison Realty Capital.
Representatives for Cirrus and attorneys for Bomeny did not respond immediately to requests for comment regarding the latest auction outcome.
