An EB-5 joint venture secured $19.2 million in construction financing for a hotel project in Doral.
For the records, Fort Lauderdale-based OptimumBank provided a $12.1 million loan for the IHG-owned brand’s proposed 125-room Even Hotel at 2005 Northwest 110th Avenue. Robert Bhat arranged the financing with Marcus & Millichap, according to a press release.
The partners developing the hotel also secured a separate $7.1 million loan, the release said. Bhat declined to name the lender, nor did the mortgage appear on Miami-Dade County records.
The development entity is managed by Miami-based Asi Global, which specializes in raising capital from foreign investors seeking U.S. permanent residency for themselves and immediate family members by investing in job-creating U.S. projects.green card is passed US EB-5 Visa Program.
Asi Global is managed by Ruben Briceno and Luis Prado of Key Biscayne, Arturo Bohigo Hierro of Coral Gables and Sergio Diaz Gomez of Mexico.
In 2021, the partnership bought the vacant 1.1-acre development site for $2.4 million, records show.
Last year, after drafting congressional reforms to combat fraud and abuse of power, EB-5 project Get back on track. An industry group specializing in the EB-5 program has settled two lawsuits with USCIS accusing the federal government of wrongfully terminating 600 regional centers.
Regional centers act as intermediaries between investors and project developers. The solution restored 600 regional centers.
In South Florida, several EB-5 Funded Real Estate Development Projects Shocked by the scandal. Most recently, Judge Miami-Dade approved the sale of a former immigration building on Miami’s Upper East Side, with proceeds that could be used to repay more than 100 Chinese investors. Their funds were allegedly mismanaged by a pair of developers trying to redevelop the 7880 Biscayne Boulevard property.
In another recent class-action lawsuit involving the same property, an investor accused the developer of the Immigration Tower of embezzling more than $50 million.
