Raoul Thomas’ financially floundering CGI Merchant Group sold its Nexus co-working portfolio for $31 million.
Over the past two years, Miami-based CGI Merchant has faced debt woes on its properties and parted with most of its portfolio through either foreclosures or sales. Its troubles came amid elevated interest rates that have increased payments for floating-rate loans and made it difficult to refinance, plus skyrocketing insurance.
In the most recent deal, CGI Merchant sold five office properties, three of which had a loan in special servicing due to delinquent debt payments, Morningstar Credit data shows.
TMT Properties, a Coral Springs-based commercial real estate investment firm, bought the Nexus properties in Palm Beach and Martin counties from CGI Merchant, according to TMT Properties COO Joseph Maas. TMT Properties, led by Paul and Susan Burrell, has a licensing agreement to continue operating the buildings under the Nexus name.
Greg Miller and Miguel Alcivar of Cushman & Wakefield, and Christian Arrabal of Advisecre represented CGI Merchant in the sale.
CGI Merchant representatives, including Thomas, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
TMT Properties plans about $6 million in “extensive” capital improvements, including roofs, landscaping and air conditioning, over the next year to year and a half, Maas said. Tenants are renting directly from TMT Properties under short-term leases. Nexus has no lease on the buildings.
“These were distressed properties,” Mass said. “We know we can get them back up to a standard and continue operating them the way they should be operated by adding amenities, a fresher look.”
The portfolio consists of the pair of two-story buildings at 8401 and 8461 Lake Worth Road near Wellington, completed in 2006 and 2007 on a 12-acre site; the one-story building at 2101 Vista Parkway near West Palm Beach, completed in 1989 on a 5-acre site; the two-story building at 20283 South State Road 7 near Boca Raton, completed in 1999 on a 2.5-acre site; and the two-story building at 1375 Gateway Boulevard in Boynton Beach, completed in 1991 on a 2.3-acre site, according to property records and TMT Properties. The only property in Martin County is the two-story building at 850 Northwest Federal Highway in Stuart, completed in 2004 on a 4-acre site.
TMT Properties is a development and investment firm that also provides brokerage, property management and tenant build-out services, according to its website.
In past investments, TMT Properties paid $10.1 million for a pair of Delray Beach office buildings at 190 and 200 Congress Park Drive in 2019. The deal was part of a 1031 exchange. In 2018, the firm paid $18.5 million for the Shoppes At Loggers Run at 11411 West Palmetto Park Road near Boca Raton.
In January, CGI Merchant’s loan on the buildings near Wellington and West Palm, and on the Stuart building entered special servicing due to delinquent payments, Morningstar Credit shows. CGI Merchant’s affiliates took out a $15.7 million refinancing on the properties in 2018 from Starwood Mortgage Capital, an affiliate of billionaire Barry Sternlicht’s Miami Beach-based Starwood Capital Group. The loan has a balance of nearly $14 million, according to Morningstar Credit.
Records show this isn’t the only financial trouble for the portfolio, with liens from the state and contractors, alleging unpaid bills.
On the buildings near Wellington, the Florida Department of Revenue filed four tax liens this year, most recently last month for $25,400, according to records. Separately, the Law Offices of James G. Gravera, a former tenant at the property, sued CGI Merchant’s affiliate last year, alleging it didn’t return the law firm’s deposit for its lease after it left the building, according to the complaint. In January, a Palm Beach Circuit Court judge issued a default final judgment against CGI Merchant’s entity for $8,596, including for the principal, attorney fees and 18 percent interest. Also, Highlight Reel Landscaping filed a lien for $8,100 for allegedly unpaid services at the property.
At the property near West Palm Beach, the Florida Department of Revenue filed three tax liens this year, including for $24,550 and $16,700 last month, records show. Highlight Reel Landscaping also filed a lien alleging $6,900 for unpaid work. In August, a Palm Beach Circuit Court judge awarded ProWaste USA a final judgment for nearly $4,600, or the amount CGI Merchant owed to ProWaste after the two reached a settlement on allegedly unpaid bills for waste services, according to records.
The Nexus properties near Boca Raton and in Boynton Beach also have state tax liens, records show.
The portfolio previously was slated to be sold to Santa Monica, California-based GBT Technologies, according to news releases and media reports. It’s unclear why that deal was foiled. GBT didn’t respond to a request for comment.
CGI Merchant’s financial woes started early last year, when the firm defaulted on a $285 million loan on the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, which the firm had bought from the Trump Organization for $375 million in 2022. Thomas, who got a 45-day postponement on the auction, tried to recapitalize, but lender BDT & MSD Partners foreclosed last summer and took the property.
CGI Merchant lost its 129-key Gabriel Downtown Miami hotel at the luxury Marquis condo tower at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami last year in a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure auction. Lender Madison Realty Capital, which filed the UCC foreclosure over a $60.4 million loan, took over the property.
In July, Park Central Lender filed a foreclosure suit against CGI Merchant, alleging it defaulted on a $69 million loan on the 140-key Gabriel South Beach hotel at 620-650 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. Park Central bought the loan from Deutsche Bank, which had filed a UCC foreclosure on the debt in 2023, postponing the auction several times.
CGI Merchant lost its five-story headquarters building at 3480 Main Highway in Miami’s Coconut Grove in February. Torose Equities, a Coconut Grove-based firm led by Scott Sherman, was the winning bidder in a UCC auction for the property.
In May, CGI Merchant staved off foreclosure on 65 commercial condo units at the Ten Aragon Condominium at 55 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, selling the properties for $28.5 million to Miami Beach-based Elysee Investments, led by CEO Haim Yehezkel.
Through it all, Thomas has continued fighting to stop the bleeding, telling The Real Deal in past interviews he is working to recapitalize his properties and secure equity partners.
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