Kushner Companies has filed a lawsuit against Harvey Hernandez, founder of Newgard Development Group, over an alleged default on a $22.9 million loan connected to a Fort Lauderdale development site. The suit was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, with Kushner seeking to hold Hernandez personally liable as guarantor for the debt.
The dispute centers on a 1-acre property at 200 West Broward Boulevard near the Brightline station in Fort Lauderdale. The site is owned by an affiliate of Newgard and is planned for Natiivo Fort Lauderdale, a proposed 40-story condominium with 384 units designed for short-term rentals.
According to court filings, Newgard acquired the property from Kushner and Aimco in 2023 for $31.2 million. That same year, Kushner issued a $21.2 million mortgage to Newgard, which the developer allegedly failed to repay by its June 15 maturity date. The amount now owed totals $22.9 million including fees and interest.
To secure the mortgage, Newgard pledged its entire equity interest in the development entity as collateral. In addition to foreclosure proceedings already underway in Broward County Circuit Court against Newgard’s affiliate, Kushner’s Miami-Dade complaint states that Hernandez “absolutely and irrevocably guaranteed and promised to pay the lender, among other things, for any losses, costs, judgments, awards, court costs and legal or other expenses.”
Kushner is also requesting that the court order Newgard’s affiliate to turn over $23,471 per month in rent collected from using the site as a parking lot while development remains stalled.
Neither Hernandez nor representatives for Kushner provided comments regarding the ongoing litigation.
Sales efforts for Natiivo Fort Lauderdale began last year with Cervera Real Estate initially handling marketing before One Sotheby’s International Realty took over in December. Construction has not yet started on the project.
Newgard continues to work on other major developments through partnerships with Two Roads Development in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood along the Miami River. In September of this year, their joint venture secured $513 million in construction financing for two condominium towers: Lofty Brickell and Standard Residences.
