Michael Shvo has sold the former Epicure development site in Miami Beach to Infinity Collective. The transaction involves properties at 1656, 1664, 1676 and 1680 Alton Road, as well as 1677 West Avenue, which was previously home to Epicure Gourmet Market & Café. The sale was brokered by Adam Spies and Marcella Fasulo of Newmark.
Infinity Collective, based in New York and led by Steve Kassin and David Berg, confirmed the acquisition. In a statement to The Real Deal, Berg said the company will consider “alternative mixed-use development options” for the site.
Shvo had previously planned a luxury office and apartment project called The Alton for this assemblage. He received approval from the Miami Beach Design Review Board in 2023 for a six-story building featuring about 17,000 square feet of office space and five apartments on the northwest corner of Alton and Lincoln roads. Foster + Partners and Kobi Karp were attached as designers.
However, Shvo stated that market conditions have changed: “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.” He also noted that office development was “no longer the highest and best use for this site.”
The sale occurs while Shvo is dealing with efforts to retain control over his nearby Raleigh condo and hotel project on Collins Avenue amid disputes with Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany’s largest public pension fund. BVK invested in some of Shvo’s U.S. projects but not in the Alton Road property.
Shvo purchased the Alton Road site for $39.3 million in 2022 during a period when South Florida’s office market saw rapid growth due to an influx of companies from other states. Office rents exceeded $100 per square foot across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties for the first time during that period (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/05/12/south-florida-office-rents-surpass-100-per-square-foot-for-first-time-ever/). City officials in Miami Beach promoted more office development as part of efforts to change South Beach’s reputation.
As interest rates rose, however, demand slowed across new-to-market firms looking for offices in South Florida (https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/office/south-florida-office-boom-fizzles-as-brokerages-close-and-new-to-market-deals-slow-123586). Questions emerged regarding whether planned projects like The Alton would proceed as intended.
In March this year, Shvo told The Real Deal that both The Alton and another planned office project—One Soundscape Park—were moving ahead with construction expected to start by early next year. Despite these comments, sources indicate that Shvo began quietly marketing The Alton site earlier this year without specifying an asking price; it was rumored within industry circles that any sale would need to cover existing loan amounts on the property.
Records show Shvo borrowed $28.3 million from Maxim Capital Group when acquiring the property in 2022.
There were also questions regarding who held authority to sell: Deutsche Finance America co-purchased the property with Shvo but did not respond to requests for comment.
Infinity Collective already owns several assets in Miami Beach including Esme Hotel on Española Way, Variety Hotel at 1700 Alton Road, and properties along Ocean Drive.
Meanwhile, Shvo continues work on his flagship asset—the assemblage including Raleigh Hotel—though challenges remain around presales for condos there. Earlier this year Nahla Capital won a bid to take over that development; sources say Shvo retains right of first refusal on matching their offer.
