Michael Shvo has sold his former Epicure development site on Alton Road in Miami Beach to Infinity Collective. The transaction involves a group of properties at 1656, 1664, 1676 and 1680 Alton Road, as well as 1677 West Avenue, previously home to the Epicure Gourmet Market & Café. Newmark’s Adam Spies and Marcella Fasulo brokered the deal.
Infinity Collective, based in New York and led by Steve Kassin and David Berg, confirmed the purchase. In a statement provided to The Real Deal, Shvo said that developing offices was “no longer the highest and best use for this site.” The statement continued: “Shvo’s singular focus remains super-prime real estate, and we are pleased that Infinity Collective will move forward with much-needed housing at this location.”
Berg stated that Infinity would consider “alternative mixed-use development options” for the site.
Shvo had previously secured approval from the Miami Beach Design Review board in 2023 for a six-story building called The Alton. This project was planned to include about 17,000 square feet of office space and five apartments at the northwest corner of Alton and Lincoln roads. Foster + Partners and Kobi Karp were named as designers.
Shvo purchased the Alton Road assemblage for $39.3 million in 2022 as part of an expansion into South Beach real estate development. That year also saw him buy a portion of another South Beach development site—One Soundscape Park—for $4.5 million at 1665 and 1667 Washington Avenue.
The South Florida office market experienced rapid growth around that time due to new financial, tech, and other companies relocating from out-of-state; rents surpassed $100 per square foot in some areas (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/06/21/south-florida-office-rents-surpass-100-per-square-foot-for-first-time-ever/). City officials promoted office projects to shift away from South Beach’s party reputation (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article257994153.html).
However, rising interest rates slowed demand from new firms entering the region (https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/office/south-florida-office-market-boom-fades-leasing-drops-122209), leading developers—including Shvo—to reconsider or delay some projects.
Despite stating earlier this year that construction on both The Alton and One Soundscape Park would begin soon, sources say Shvo began marketing The Alton quietly during the first quarter without specifying an asking price. Marketing materials were distributed selectively after requiring non-disclosure agreements from potential buyers.
Records show Shvo borrowed $28.3 million from Maxim Capital Group when he acquired the property in 2022.
Questions about ownership authority arose because Deutsche Finance America co-purchased the property with Shvo in 2022; it is unclear whether Shvo or Deutsche Finance America had final say over selling rights during negotiations.
Elsewhere in Miami Beach, Shvo continues work on a larger assemblage including three historic hotels—the Raleigh, South Seas, and Richmond—at Collins Avenue addresses. Rosewood Hotels was announced last year as branding partner for this luxury condo-hotel project designed by Peter Marino alongside Kobi Karp; plans call for restoration plus a new oceanfront tower. However, slow presales have challenged progress: Nahla Capital recently won a bid to take over development for $275 million while giving Shvo right of first refusal.
Infinity’s Miami Beach holdings already include Esme hotel on Española Way, Variety Hotel at 1700 Alton Road, and other Ocean Drive properties.
