Riviera Point Development Group has completed the first multi-tenant office building in Broward County fully funded by job-creating international EB-5 investment.
At the recent opening ceremony for the Professional Center at Riviera Point’s first 32,000-square-foot lakefront building, Rivera Point Development Group CEO Rodrigo Azpurua, CCIM, said that designing the space to meet small-space users’ needs has already drawn a diverse tenant roster. Built “green oriented” to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards from the U.S. Green Building Council, the four-story structure has leasing commitments from more than 20 professional and entrepreneurial firms, he said.
Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief helped with ribbon-cutting honors at the opening event.
“While many have talked about the potential for EB-5 foreign investment to create commercial spaces that attract new jobs in our communities, the Riviera Point team’s expertise and determination made that vision a reality,” she noted. “We applaud their progress and the fresh momentum this center’s tenants will add to the local economy.”
“Bringing the Miramar market its first new Class A office development since 2009 has proved a powerful draw,” Azpurua said, noting that a total of $17 million in EB-5 funding is in place for the two-building Professional Center at Riviera Point office complex.
The newly completed, four-story building offers a total of 46 suites of 850 to 1600 square feet.
“Start-ups and growing firms in insurance, accounting law, marketing and advertising are responding to the upscale work environment, easy access to area expressways — and to having their choice of suites sized to their needs,” said Noel Epelboim, Riviera Point Development Group COO.
To successfully bring the area’s first EB-5 funded office building to market just as the economy is on the upswing, Azpurua’s team had to purchase and develop the four-acre property in the heart of the recession. They have delivered the building on budget and on schedule, working with Corrales Group Architects and general contractor Itasca Construction Associates.
Under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) program, the EB-5 program allows a foreign national interested in obtaining permanent U.S. residency to do so by investing in a commercial enterprise that generates at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers for two years. The EB-5 Visa then becomes permanent. The qualifying investment for a project such as Riviera Point’s Miramar office center, located within a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), is $500,000.
Riviera Point Development Group has purchased properties for additional planned EB-5-funded developments within Targeted Employment Areas in Miramar and Doral, Azpurua said. A prominent EB-5 expert, he is a frequent presenter at EB-5 conferences in the U.S. and abroad. His development background includes over 1 million square feet of office space in Florida projects, and he authored a book, EB-5 Visas & Real Estate Development, to guide developers through the complex EB-5 process. Epelboim’s development track record is also well established. He was a founding member of Constructora Arquinpro C.A. (Caracas, Venezuela) with 50 completed projects to his credit in Venezuela, including over 2 million square feet of high-end condominiums, plus commercial and office buildings. His South Florida portfolio includes a 65,000-square-foot commercial center in Parkland, a 40-unit condominium in Hallandale and a 25-unit condominium in Bay Harbor Islands, among others.
