Canvas wins Fannie Mae approval, begins site preparation

Renderings of Canvas

Canvas, the condominium tower planned to rise in Miami's Arts & Entertainment District, has received conditional project approval from Fannie Mae, as site preparation begins.

Fannie Mae has agreed to purchase or securitize mortgages on individual units in the 513-unit property, NR Investments, the project's developers told The Real Deal.

The approval is often used by developers to lure domestic buyers. Last January, the developers of the Crimson in Miami's Edgewater neighborhood received Fannie Mae approval, in anticipation of a drop in foreign buyers looking to buy Miami condos.

Canvas, at 1630 Northeast First Avenue, is now 54 percent sold, with $120 million in sales, the developers said. Sales began in October 2014.

In mid-December, initial site work began in the lot, first with tree and shrub removal, and then test pilings.

In April, the developers secured $75 million in construction financing for the proposed 37-story building. It was then 39 percent reserved, Ron Gottesman, co-founder and principal of Canvas developer NR Investments had said.

The tower is aimed at the "affordable luxury," segment of the market, with prices ranging from mid-$300,000s to $600,000s, averaging $475 per square foot. Units will range from 610 square feet to 1,110 square feet, and average 850 square feet, NR Investments co-founder and principal Nir Shoshani had told TRD.

The building, which will include a restaurant by Kevin Aoki — son of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki — is targeting the 30-to-45 year-old sub-market, the developers said, Fortune International Realty is the exclusive sales and marketing firm for the project.

The tower was designed by CFE Architects. NR Investments paid $7.2 million for 1.1-acre site, which it acquired through an October 2013 bankruptcy auction. The company also paid $4.8 million in impact fees last year.

Canvas' amenities will include sunrise and sunset pools, a fitness center, glass-enclosed racquetball court, spa and sauna treatment rooms, business center, and children’s playroom and lab.

NR Investments last year filed an offering plan with the New York State Attorney General, so that condo units can be legally marketed and sold there. The total listed sell out price for the project is $221 million, according to the documents filed in New York.

Canvas is one of three properties NR Investments owns in Miami's Arts & Entertainment District, the former Omni area north of downtown. Shoshani and Gottesman developed the Filling Station Lofts, an 81-unit rental building at 657 North Miami Avenue. They also own a one-acre parcel between Northeast 14th and Northeast 15th Streets, on which they plan a mixed-use project including hotel, office and residential components.