Shoma Group has locked down a $172.5 million construction loan for its 333-unit Shoma Bay condo tower in North Bay Village, and the financing skips traditional bank debt entirely. The loan comes through Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, commonly known as C-PACE, making it the sole debt source in a capital stack otherwise built from pre-construction buyer deposits and developer equity.
The unusual structure was first detailed by Commercial Observer, which reported that Nuveen Green Capital provided the C-PACE debt with no traditional senior bank lender involved in the deal. According to The Real Deal, Newmark Capital Markets Strategies arranged the financing, and Nuveen said the Shoma Bay loan ranks among the five largest C-PACE-financed projects in Florida. Christopher Lawton, Ryan Doyle and Brendan Moore represented the lender, while Anthony Orso, Clifford Welden and Daniel Matz represented the developer in the transaction, per the same report.
The 24-story tower is planned for 1850 John F. Kennedy Causeway in North Bay Village, on a site Shoma Group paid about $16 million for in 2022. The village approved the project that same year, and the developer secured its master building permit last year, allowing the project to move into vertical construction with a targeted completion in 2027, according to Miami Condo Investments. Before landing the construction loan, Shoma Group had secured a $29.9 million predevelopment loan from Forman Capital in August of last year, backed by the Shoma Bay project itself, the report notes.
From Rentals to Condos on the Causeway
Shoma Group originally planned Shoma Bay as rental apartments before shifting the project to condominiums, the report notes. North Bay Village granted a short extension through an amendment to the development agreement as the plans evolved. Units will range from 344-square-foot studios to 2,700-square-foot three-bedroom condos, with asking prices that started in the $800,000s, the same account states.
The project includes 10 townhouses alongside the main tower, and Shoma Group's leaders, Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee, plan to live in one of the building's penthouses themselves. ISG World is handling sales for the project. Shoma Bay was designed by Kendall-based MSA Architects, with interior design by Adriana Hoyos Design Studio, according to Florida YIMBY.
Amenities and a Publix Anchor
Planned amenities include a rooftop pool deck with cabanas and an outdoor kitchen, a fitness center and spa, a golf simulator with virtual reality gaming, and a padel court. The building will also feature an owners' lounge with a business center and co-working spaces, per the developer's plans described in the report. A retail component anchored by a 36,000-square-foot Publix grocery store rounds out the project's ground floor.
Shoma Group was founded in 1988 by CEO Masoud Shojaee and has completed more than $5 billion in real estate transactions across South Florida, developing over 10,000 residential units and 1 million square feet of commercial space, according to Commercial Observer's earlier reporting. The firm has stayed active elsewhere in Miami-Dade County too — Shoma bought a Coral Gables site for $13 million in May to build Ponce 8, a 201-unit workforce housing project filed under Florida's Live Local Act.
A Financing Shift Rippling Across Florida
C-PACE debt, authorized under Florida Statute § 163.08 since 2010, allows commercial property owners to fund energy efficiency, renewable energy and wind-resistance upgrades through voluntary assessments repaid via local property tax bills, according to Columbia County Board of County Commissioners agenda records. The financing tool encourages the use of energy-efficient and sustainable materials and design, per the same statutory framework. Historically, C-PACE has been used to fund secondary energy retrofits or supplementary capital rather than serve as a project's primary debt source, but Commercial Observer's reporting notes that high interest rates on traditional bank loans are now pushing developers toward alternative vehicles like this one for ground-up construction.
North Bay Village's Building Boom
The 79th Street Causeway bisects North Bay Village, and it's increasingly lined with major redevelopment projects. Just south of Shoma Bay, Continuum Company plans to redevelop the property currently occupied by the Palm Tree Club — the interim hotel and restaurant that replaced the Kygo-backed Palm Tree Club opening at the former Shuckers Waterfront Grill site. That redevelopment is planned to include more than 500 condos, 200 hotel rooms and a marina.
Elsewhere on the causeway, Related Group and Harry Macklowe Properties plan a Ritz-Carlton-branded, two-tower luxury condo development at 8000 East Drive and 7946 East Drive, with two 498-foot, 43-story waterfront buildings. Developer Andy Ansin also has a phased project underway with land north and south of the causeway. North Bay Village updated its Unified Land Development Code in 2021 through the NBV100 Master Plan, establishing high-density transect zones and height bonuses that have helped clear the way for this wave of high-rises, according to village municipal ordinance records.
The village's broader redevelopment pipeline includes more than 3,000 new residential units and 1 million square feet of commercial space, illustrating the scale of the transformation underway along the causeway. Hoodline previously reported that the Harbor Island tower grew to 26 stories after the village's Planning & Zoning Board approved site-plan modifications for developer El-Ad National Properties. How the causeway's transportation infrastructure will absorb thousands of new residents, and whether presale velocity holds up across so many competing luxury towers, remain open questions as the projects move toward completion.
