Witkoff and Monroe Capital have secured a $302.6 million loan construction loan to build a multifamily tower in Downtown Miami, property records show.

The high-rise will include about 890 units and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space at 700 North Miami Avenue, between the MiamiCentral station and the 27-acre Miami Worldcenter master development, per a source familiar with the plans.

Apollo Global Management’s Athene Annuity and Life Company and J.P. Morgan Chase took a loan with $57.3 million in outstanding debt and increased it by $245.3 million, the source told Commercial Observer. Lotus Capital Partners brokered the transaction.

The construction represents the first phase of a larger mixed-use project. In 2022, Witkoff and Monroe Capital filed plans to build 2,195 residential units, 540,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail space across three towers.

The prior year, the joint venture had purchased the 4.7-acre, vacant site for $94 million. The site had housed the Miami Arena, where Miami’s NBA team, the Heat, played before it was demolished in 2008.

The development marks the second project between New York-based developer Witkoff and Chicago-based Monroe Capital. Across Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach, the pair are building the oceanfront Shore Club luxury condo development, where a penthouse remains under contract for $120 million. 

Alex Witkoff, son of founder Steve Witkoff, runs the firm after the patriarch became President Donald Trump’s special diplomatic envoy in 2025. 

Update: The article was updated to include the involvement of Lotus Capital Partners. 

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.