A Group Founded in 1972 Opens Its First U.S. Site
Okan Group is building its first U.S. project at 555 North Miami Avenue. Bayview PACE describes the sponsor as a Turkish group of companies founded in 1972, with activity in healthcare, finance, food, textiles, tourism, energy, education and real estate. The groundbreaking release of 20 June 2022 calls Okan Tower the largest Turkish investment in the United States. Bekir Okan chairs the group. Kasim Badak is chief executive.
An Okan affiliate, Miami 6th Street LLC, bought the parcel from Central Baptist Church in March 2017. Wikipedia records $18 million for 36,000 square feet. The Real Deal reports $18.1 million for 0.8 acres. Commercial Observer reports $18 million for 1 acre. Thirty-six thousand square feet equals 0.826 acre.
Seven Years Between the Site and the Capital Close
The project has been public since 2017. It was proposed as “The Sterling” on 5 October 2017 and approved by the Urban Design Review Board on 12 October 2017. Residence sales opened in May 2018 under ONE Sotheby’s International Realty. Groundbreaking was scheduled for later that year, with an opening set for 2022.
The pandemic stopped work. Sales relaunched in 2021. The ceremonial groundbreaking fell on 17 June 2022, and that release set completion for 2026. Wikipedia records the foundation as complete in March 2024, measured at 458,000 cubic feet.
Florida YIMBY put the frame at the 50th floor on 22 April 2026, at roughly 75 percent structural completion, with 22 floors left to the full 72. The same report names Behar Font & Partners as the architect and sets a top-out for August.
The Capital Stack Filled at the Fortieth Floor
Bayview PACE closed $200 million in C-PACE financing for the tower on 6 January 2026. Bayview is a division of Bayview Commercial Mortgage Finance in Coral Gables.
The stage matters. Florida YIMBY recorded the tower at 40 floors in its 8 January 2026 report on the closing. Commercial Observer calls the facility the first construction financing for the project. CoStar calls it a late arrival for a building that broke ground in 2022.
Jeff Klar, vice president at Bayview PACE, said the financing would “help complete Okan Tower’s capital stack.” He described the structure as “long-term, fixed-rate capital,” delivered in tranches aligned to construction progress.
What C-PACE Does to a Hotel Balance Sheet
C-PACE financing is repaid through a special assessment on the property tax bill. The instrument funds energy, lighting, water, envelope and resiliency work, and it applies to new construction as well as renovation.
Commercial Observer ties its growth to the lending market. Bayview reports more than $10 billion of U.S. C-PACE volume and legislative approval in 40 states.
Two Florida deals preceded this one at the same lender. Bayview provided $180 million to Domus Brickell Center and $137 million to the Westin Cocoa Beach Resort & Spa.
Self-Funding Before the Loan
Okan Group carried the project alone for most of its life. Wikipedia records a 2019 construction estimate of $300 million, self-financed. The Real Deal reports the same arrangement through the C-PACE close.
Commercial Observer adds a second capital route. Okan Group has accepted EB-5 investments. The same report puts presales at 62 percent of units at the January close, with sales led by Fortune International Group’s Michael Sadov.
Unit sales and debt closed in the same season. The building had passed its halfway point before either the loan or the sales figure was public.
Four Floors of Office in Two Sizes
The 2022 release and Florida YIMBY’s April 2026 report both put Class A office at 64,000 square feet. Bayview’s notice and Florida YIMBY’s January 2026 report put it at 56,000 square feet across four floors.
Commercial Observer adds a 429-space parking garage. No other document in the set counts stalls. The Real Deal reports more than 80,000 square feet of amenities. The 2022 release names the amenity rooms and publishes no area.
The Supply Around the Site
The Real Deal places the Crosby at Miami Worldcenter and Melo Group’s Downtown 6th next to the tower. Commercial Observer places PMG’s Waldorf Astoria-branded condominium project nearby, also under construction. Hoodline describes a wider wave of hotels, condominiums and offices around Miami Worldcenter.
Demand in the submarket ran soft through the summer. Miami Herald reporting with CoStar data put Miami-area occupancy on World Cup game nights at 73 percent, down about four points. Average daily rate was $268. Revenue per room rose 37 percent on those nights. James D’Agostino of Gale Miami Hotel & Residences told the Herald that downtown “continues to struggle.”
What the File Leaves Open
No hotel management company is named for the 316 keys. The Hilton flag appears in every document. The management agreement does not.
Storeys read 70 in the 2022 release, Wikipedia, The Real Deal and Hoodline. They read 72 in Florida YIMBY’s January and April 2026 reports and in Commercial Observer.
Height reads 902 feet in the 2022 release, Wikipedia and Florida YIMBY’s April 2026 report. It reads 903 feet in Florida YIMBY’s January 2026 report.
Delivery reads 2026 in the 2022 release, 2027 in Wikipedia, and 2028 in Florida YIMBY’s January 2026 report, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer and CoStar. The 2028 date is the latest published target.
No meeting or event space appears in any document from 2022 through 2026. No opening month is published. Bayview lists the loan term as “N/A.”