Clara Homes Lands $102M Refi in Bay Harbor Islands

Miami developer Clara Homes has landed a $101.5 million refinancing from Hudson Bay Capital on the first two phases of Clara Bay Harbour, its luxury rental project in Bay Harbor Islands. Adam Schwartz of Walker & Dunlop brokered the debt, and the loan replaces the construction financing that carried the completed first building and the near-complete second one.

Why it matters

Clara Homes is not a household name outside South Florida, which is exactly why this deal is useful. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser records show the phase-one parcel at 10281 West Bay Harbor Drive is held by CLARA BH LLC, a single-project entity, not a national platform with a balance sheet to lean on. A mid-size sponsor pulling more than $100 million from an East Coast alternative lender to retire construction debt on two buildings is a live data point on what a well-executed, fully-leased small-footprint deal can carry in today’s market. For other SoFla developers sizing their own refinancing, the read is that lenders are still paying up for finished product with real leasing traction, even for a builder without a marquee balance sheet.

The numbers

The refinancing totals $101.5 million, covering a 92,000-square-foot first building with 28 units that is complete and 75 percent leased, and a 140,000-square-foot second building with 45 units set to begin leasing in November. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser records confirm the first building’s folio, 13-2227-001-1160, was built in 2025 with 28 living units on a 22,500-square-foot lot. Those two phases will eventually join a third, a planned 248,000-square-foot, 77-unit building at 10200-10290 East Bay Harbor Drive, bringing the full project to 321,000 square feet and 150 units. Clara secured an $80 million construction loan from Madison Realty Capital in February for that third phase, which is separate from this refinancing.

What’s next

Leasing on the second building starts in November, and Clara still has to deliver the 77-unit third phase, targeted for early 2028, on top of the $80 million Madison Realty Capital construction loan already in place for it. Clara Homes founder and CEO James Curnin has said demand is driven largely by out-of-staters and Bay Harbor Islands residents fleeing recertification-driven renovation work at older condo buildings nearby, a trend that will keep testing whether rents in the $7,600 to $22,000 range hold as the second and third phases lease up.