BridgeInvest Lends Robert Rivani $114 Million on South Beach Office

Robert Rivani’s office tower at 1691 Michigan Avenue in Miami Beach has landed a $114.3 million refinance from BridgeInvest Credit Fund V, retiring the debt behind his gut renovation of the seven-story building and freeing capital for leasing as Playboy prepares to move its global headquarters into 20,000 square feet there next year. Berkadia arranged the loan, with brokers Brad Williamson, Scott Wadler, Mitch Sinberg and Matthew Robbins running the process. Williamson said Rivani “took a well-located but conventional office asset and created something that simply didn’t exist in this market.”

Why it matters

Office lending has been the hardest asset class to finance this cycle, and a $114 million loan against a South Florida office building says the debt is there when the operating story backs it up: 165,170 square feet at 83 percent leased, anchored by a tenant most owners could not land. Rivani bought the building for $62.5 million in 2024, put another $38 million into a renovation he rebranded Class X, and turned it into a mixed office-retail asset now drawing Apple, Morgan Stanley, Wix and The Jills Zeder Group alongside Playboy. For developers sitting on distressed South Florida office assets, this is a data point that the exit is repositioning and re-leasing, not waiting out the market.

The numbers

The new loan is $114.3 million, replacing the $38 million in renovation debt and leaving the balance for leasing costs and reserves. That is against a building bought for $62.5 million less than two years ago, so the refinance alone runs about 1.8 times the original purchase price. The property carries 119,000 square feet of office space and more than 43,000 square feet of retail across seven stories, currently 83 percent leased.

What’s next

Rivani has proposed adding roughly 47,000 square feet above the building’s parking garage, a plan that needs Miami Beach voter approval and would cut parking from 712 spots to 387. Watch the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s recording index for the mortgage instrument to confirm BridgeInvest’s lien position and closing date, and watch the city’s ballot calendar for the expansion vote. For more financing and deal coverage in the market, see the South Florida market hub.