Current media coverage and upcoming developments hand-picked from the industry.

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Terranova scores $55M refi of Miracle Mile portfolio in Coral Gables

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THE REAL DEAL – November 29, 2021 BY KATHERINE KALLERGIS
Terranova Corp. secured a $55 million refinance of its Miracle Mile portfolio in downtown Coral Gables, as the firm continues to take advantage of low interest rates.

Miami Beach-based Terranova, led by Chairman Stephen Bittel, received the financing from City National Bank. The debt consolidates and replaces loans from three lenders on 14 properties, Bittel said.

The closing occurred about a month after Terranova refinanced its Marshalls/Lincoln Eatery building in Miami Beach with a $23 million loan, also from City National Bank.

The $55 million loan is backed by properties that include 220 Miracle Mile, 300 Miracle Mile and 253 Miracle Mile. The 220 Miracle Mile property could eventually be redeveloped into a hotel, but Bittel said those plans are on hold for now.

“The money will be used to repatriate some of our capital to accommodate tenant improvements and return some of our originally invested capital,” he said. His company has been taking advantage of “historically low interest rates,” he added.

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Stephen Bittel’s Terranova Prepares for a Post-Pandemic Miami

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MASS NEWS – OCTOBER 30, 2021 As we round third base and enter into the home stretch of 2021, the future in many ways feels just as uncertain as it did this time last year. After the turbulence caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, what was supposed to be a year of stability has in many ways only brought about more questions that are as of yet unanswered. 

In the United States, one of the biggest unknowns is the future of the workplace. COVID-19 dealt a huge blow to office markets across the country, and that has made many experts consider investment in commercial real estate to be particularly risky due to the uncertainty regarding the impact remote working will have on the future. While no metropolitan area is completely immune to that concern, the South Florida region has seen an influx of relocations by businesses and business people alike that may indicate the makings of a swift comeback. 

Industry insiders like Stephen Bittel, founder and chairman of the commercial real estate firm Terranova, are maintaining a sense of optimism about the region’s office market as companies and executives –– particularly in the technology and financial services sectors –– are making their way to South Florida in record numbers. Having worked to build Terranova for over four decades to become one of the top CRE firms in the area, Bittel’s knack for maintaining a finger on the pulse of the Miami-Dade area has given him the ability to be predictive and provide unique insights. Will these moves make up for the hits taken by the office market as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? Below we explore further what lies in store for offices.

The ramifications of COVID-19 

Like practically every other region in the United States, office occupancy declined in Miami-Dade county during 2020. The declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic saw companies downsize or outright close, causing leasing activities to stall for most of the year. Even by the beginning of the second quarter of 2021 office vacancy rates were significantly higher than they were the year before, jumping from 16 percent to 19.3 percent according to statistics provided by JLL. Although for many businesses goals to have their workers back in an office by Labor Day were stalled by the spike in cases as a result of the Delta variant, as the vaccination rate in the United States continues to rise it appears that it is finally becoming a viable option. The question remains though: will people choose it? 

Rethinking the office

Ask any given expert and you will get a different answer as to the future of offices in a post-pandemic world. A study conducted by the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute for Economics found that 21 percent of work post-pandemic will be conducted from home, compared to just 5 percent before COVID-19. Some employees have even gotten so used to the quick commute from bed to dining table that they have expressed a willingness to take a pay cut in order to continue working from home. 

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How Real Estate Mogul, Stephen Bittel, Forged His Path to Success

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ABC MONEY – OCTOBER 29, 2021 – BY RACHEL STERRY “Everyone says I need to smile more, and that I’m very focused” Stephen Bittel, chairman and founder of Terranova Corporation, describes as he reflects on the reasoning for his enormous success in South Florida commercial real estate. After all, Bittel founded this leading commercial real estate firm over 40 years ago as a young law school student without any capital. This is quite the feat for a corporation which today has a portfolio that includes almost a billion dollars in assets. And the journey from Terranova’s early days, with an acquisition of two strip shopping malls in 1981, to today’s diverse and comprehensive real estate services, is inspiring.

Stephen Bittel first became interested in working with capital as many young people become interested in most careers- listening to adults discussing matters at the dinner table. When he studied abroad in Europe during his undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College, he found himself most engaged with people who were in control of their own capital. “It made me think back to the many dinners back home in Florida, with my family and friends, and all of my parents’ friends talked with vigor and excitement about their real estate investments.” This vigor and excitement stayed with Bittel throughout his collegiate studies and law school, and ultimately led him to shift his focus from taking care of people’s capital as a lawyer, to directing their capital in real estate acquisition. He started Terranova Corporation in his second year at the University of Miami’s Law School, and graduated with a total of 7 employees and two strip mall center acquisitions, never practicing law at all

Simplest Secret to Success

As previously mentioned, the road to success was not an easy one, and required quite a bit of elbow grease to get Terranova Corp to the conglomerate it is today. At 24 years old, Stephen Bittel was able to attain regular cash flow through raising equity from larger investors and acquiring brokerage commissions, which ultimately led to retaining a portion of the equity and the management leasing fees. And because this process did not involve starting Terranova Corp with any capital, Bittel attributes the firm’s advancement to the basics of business: hard work and determination. “I persuaded people I was honest, and would work hard and make an investment myself. I would do everything I could to make it successful, and they believed” Bittel describes of Terranova’s beginnings. “The real secret is I have outworked everyone from my first day of college until today. I developed this unending work stamina which I think really has to do with my success more than anything else.” This undying determination has served Stephen Bittel in Terranova Corp’s development to this day. 100% of the debt on the firm’s current portfolio is non-recourse. “We’ve learned to operate with less leverage and more equity,” Bittel explains. This has enabled a very forgiving capital structure to best weather the potential downturns in the economy. Terranova Crop’s diversified set of revenue streams, along with its multiplicity of asset classes within the real estate industry, have solidified the corporation as one of southern Florida’s leading commercial real estate firms.

The Balance of Business: Giving

Stephen Bittel’s relentless work ethic in real estate can only be matched with his commitment to improving his lifelong community of Miami. An avid supporter of the Parkinson’s Foundation, Bittel has contributed to the funding of eight centers of excellence, and is currently working to establish a world class brain, fitness, and neuroscience center in Miami-Dade County. But Bittel is less vocal about his involvement in instituting this community resource, as he views reinvesting in one’s own community as a norm- not something that requires a lot of praise or attention. However, it is hard not to take notice of another one of Stephen Bittel’s community passion projects– the beautification of Miami’s public roads. He spearheaded and funded the Orchid Project on Lincoln Road- the planting of 1,000 orchid flowers along the pedestrian street in the city. This venture was an offshoot of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Million Orchid Project. Stephen Bittel resides as a board member of the community botanical garden, which serves as a nature reserve for community members to enjoy, as well as an education and research organization. Terranova’s chairman and founder has a commitment to community improvement that is unmatched, and ever-present in all aspects of his life. When he is able to find some balance amongst his sharp devotion to the real estate firm, Stephen Bittel enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, preferably in his backyard of orchid flowers, with wine and food in hand. “It’s a marvelous place to share food, company, and ideas.” As he continues to guide his own path in the business of real estate, Stephen Bittel also serves as an example to all entrepreneurs establishing their own balance of capital, market strategy, and community advocacy.

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