Four years after obtaining approval to build a 354-unit luxury apartment tower in North Miami Beach, Turkish developer Celal Ozkan has lost control of the project site. The nearly one-acre property at 16300 Northeast 19th Avenue will be handed over by an affiliate of CEO Contract, led by Ozkan, to Safe Harbor Equity, a Miami Beach-based lender. This transfer follows a bankruptcy court decision and ends a prolonged dispute between the developer and lender.
Judge Laurel M. Isicoff of the federal bankruptcy court in Miami approved the sale last week to Safe Harbor’s distressed debt fund. According to court records, Safe Harbor had issued an $8.5 million loan for the site in 2022. CEO Contract operates from Istanbul and New Castle, Delaware.
A source familiar with the proceedings said that a scheduled bankruptcy auction for September 26 was canceled due to an apparent lack of qualified bidders. The minimum bid required for participation was set at $4.55 million.
“This is a fantastic property that we are excited to work with a developer to sell this asset,” said Chris Spuches, attorney for Safe Harbor Equity. He added that Safe Harbor does not plan to develop the site itself.
Representatives and attorneys for CEO Contract did not respond to requests for comment.
CEO Contract acquired the vacant land through its affiliate Sky Gardens Residences in 2022 for $5.2 million and received final approval in 2021 for its planned 20-story apartment building, Sky Gardens Residences, which would have featured rooftop amenities. However, construction never began.
Problems arose when CEO Contract borrowed $8.5 million from Safe Harbor at an interest rate of 8.75 percent with options for extension on the one-year term loan. Both Celal Ozkan and Cagatay Emre Ozkan—COO of CEO Contract—were guarantors on the debt; their personal guarantees would only be enforced under certain conditions such as fraud or misappropriation.
Safe Harbor alleged that CEO Contract defaulted by missing debt payments due in August 2022 and January 2023, as well as failing to pay all property taxes on time. A subsequent agreement allowed CEO Contract to reduce principal owed to $7.7 million and extend repayment terms.
The legal battle escalated when Sky Gardens sued Safe Harbor last year in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, accusing it of usury and fabricating defaults while also disputing tax amounts owed and objecting to fees related to loan extensions. In turn, Safe Harbor filed a countersuit seeking foreclosure based on missed payments.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was filed by CEO Contract earlier this year, pausing ongoing litigation but not preventing eventual loss of the property through bankruptcy proceedings rather than foreclosure order.
Court documents appraise the land at $18 million with projected completed value at $161 million after construction and lease-up phases are finished.
When transferred, the property will be free from liens except for an outstanding Miami-Dade tax lien totaling $114,000 covering unpaid taxes from 2024 and 2025.
