Urbin Miami Beach

What Actually Happened at Urbin Miami Beach

Location Ventures held a groundbreaking ceremony for Urbin Miami Beach at 1260 Washington Avenue on 15 November 2022. The developer’s release, published by Florida YIMBY on 24 November 2022, described a 7-storey mixed-use building of residences for short- or long-term rental with co-working space, wellness amenities and retail, designed by Touzet Studio, and said all 69 units were sold. The Real Deal later described the plan as a six-storey building with 69 co-living condos (25 July 2023) and, in November 2024, as 65 co-living condo units. The receiver’s court filing of 19 May 2026 records more than 40 pre-construction purchase agreements, with purchasers generally paying total deposits of about 50% or more of the price. I have not found a source that reconciles these figures.

Construction never finished. The Real Deal reported that Miami Beach building officials issued a stop-work order in June 2023 because permits to begin construction had not been obtained. On 21 July 2023 an affiliate of Spectrum Mortgage Group sued a Location Ventures entity that owned 1234 and 1260 Washington Avenue, alleging nonpayment of a $14.8 million mortgage. The company’s founder had stepped down as chief executive the week before, and a new manager said the company was preparing a plan to sell its assets and pay creditors without bankruptcy (The Real Deal, 25 July 2023).

The rest of the public record is court and press coverage of a federal receivership, a criminal case and a court-supervised sale of the site, summarised below.

What the Land Record Shows

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser carries 1260 Washington Avenue under folio 02-4203-009-0040, classified vacant land — commercial (23,250 square feet, lots 1 to 3 of Block 22) and assessed at $9,300,000 in each of 2024, 2025 and 2026. The adjoining 1234 Washington Avenue is folio 02-4203-009-0050, an office building built in 1961 on 10,275 square feet, assessed at about $5.78 million in each of those years. Both folios list the same two sales: a qualified multi-parcel sale on 4 May 2021 for $20,000,000, which The Real Deal reported as the price Location Ventures paid for the two parcels, and a sale dated 3 January 2025 for $17,500,000, which the county codes “trustees in bankruptcy, executors or guardians.” That is the county’s own classification. The $17.5 million price matches the court order of 7 November 2024 approving the receiver’s sale of both parcels to Pakman Miami Beach LLC, and the county lists Pakman Miami Beach LLC as owner of both folios (retrieved 24 September 2026). The receiver’s notice of closing says the sale closed on 7 January 2025, four days after the date the county lists, and I have not found a source that explains the difference. The Real Deal’s 20 November 2024 headline gave the price as $18 million while its article text said $17.5 million.

The Federal Court Cases

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint on 27 December 2023 against Location Ventures’ founder and a group of related companies — Case No. 23-24903-CIV-JB, Southern District of Florida — alleging that he used the companies to run a real-estate investment scheme in violation of the federal anti-fraud securities laws and raised about $93 million from more than 50 investors between January 2018 and March 2023 (receiver’s court filing, 19 May 2026). On 12 January 2024 the court appointed a receiver over the companies. The receiver’s case page lists 22 receivership entities, including URBIN Miami Beach Partners, LLC and URBIN Miami Beach II Phase 1, LLC, alongside entities named for the Coconut Grove and Coral Gables URBIN projects. According to the receiver’s filings, URBIN Miami Beach Partners owned the parcels through two subsidiaries, Urbin Miami Beach Mezzanine, LLC and Urbin Miami Beach Owner, LLC. On 20 November 2024 the court entered a judgment of permanent injunction against the founder on the SEC’s unopposed motion for a consent judgment; The Real Deal reported that he settled without admitting or denying the SEC’s accusations.

A criminal case followed. The Real Deal reported that a federal grand jury indicted the founder on 37 counts and that he was arrested on 6 March 2026. At a hearing on 15 May 2026 he pleaded guilty to two charges, money laundering and a payroll-tax conspiracy, and admitted misappropriating $85 million from investors and unlawfully using $10.6 million in deposits from buyers of 20 preconstruction units across the Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Miami Beach projects (The Real Deal, 15 May 2026). Bisnow reported that a federal judge sentenced him on 27 August 2026 to 11 years and four months in prison, with a restitution hearing scheduled for November (31 August 2026). I have not found a source that says how much of the $10.6 million relates to Urbin Miami Beach.

What Happened to Buyer Deposits

The receiver’s motion of 19 May 2026 says Urbin Miami Beach Partners or its subsidiary signed more than 40 pre-construction purchase agreements and that purchasers generally paid total deposits of about 50% or more of the price. A surety bond of $1,750,000, issued on 9 February 2023, stood behind the initial 10% deposit. The court set 18 December 2025 as the deadline for purchasers’ bond claims; 41 claims totalling more than $2.9 million were filed, and several were amended down to the initial 10% deposit. The surety tendered the $1,750,000 to the receiver in February 2026, and on 19 June 2026 the court approved distributions to purchasers with allowed claims for their initial 10% deposit; the receiver’s schedule lists 39 allowed claims totalling $1,711,500. Three other purchasers had escrowed deposits released under termination agreements. The Real Deal, reporting on 20 July 2026, counted 38 buyers paid from the bond plus three more refunded from escrow.

In other words, the payment is the return of the initial 10% deposit, not of the larger deposits many buyers had paid. The Real Deal reported in November 2024 that buyers under contract stood to lose more than $10 million in deposits in all, and the court’s 7 November 2024 order recites the receiver’s statement that depositor claims likely exceed $10,000,000. I have not found a source that reports any payment of deposit amounts above the initial 10%.

What This Means If You Are Researching This Building

If a listing, a database page or a search result still describes Urbin Miami Beach as an active pre-construction opportunity with units for sale, that description does not match the record above. The county lists Pakman Miami Beach LLC, not Location Ventures, as owner of both parcels (retrieved 24 September 2026), the court order describes the sale contract as the result of arm’s-length negotiation, and I have not found a sales office, a new development plan, a construction restart or any unit sales for this address since. The Location Ventures website (read 24 September 2026) still lists the project as “In Development” on an undated page. The receiver’s public case page (kttlaw.com/lv) lists the court filings and carries a contact form for investors and other claimants.

Questions about Urbin Miami Beach?

Ask Josh Stein about the building’s history, the land record, or the receivership.

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