A Colliers International South Florida team closed the $26 million sale of land along the Miami River in a deal that points to the growth of the district along the river.

Colliers executive vice presidents Mika Mattingly and Gerard Yetming, both in Miami, closed the deal on the 6.3-acre property at 1001 NW Seventh St. bounded by the river, Seventh Street and 12th Avenue.

Mast Capital Inc., a Miami real estate developer and investor, bought the property from RAD Miami and will build a four-building, mixed-used complex with 688 apartments and 2,900 square feet of retail. The deal closed May 10.

Mast already has all the approval needed to build the project on the south side of the river east of Marlins Park, said Mattingly and Yetming, who represented RAD and procured Mast.

“It was a long process,” Mattingly said.

Before Colliers took on the transaction, Yetming had been trying to sell the property when he worked for CBRE Inc. where he launched the site on the market in 2013.

Once Yetming joined Colliers, he and Mattingly started working with Mast in 2016.

Part of the reason the deal took about two years to close is because Mast had to make sure it could build the project it envisioned on the site.

“That's one of the challenges in this market — making sure that a piece of land works for the development that you envision,” Mattingly said.

The deal breaks down to $4.1 million per acre with the benefit of development approval prior to closing.

“Without all that, a developer would need to pay significantly less because the developer would need to be compensated for the risk,” Yetming said.

The project named Miami River Walk is one of several underway in the river district. They include the $1 billion mixed-use project by Chetrit Group and JDS Development Group, the One River Point luxury condo by KAR Properties and the under-construction River Landing Shops & Residences at 1400 NW North River Drive.

The development is catering at least in part to the growth of the Health District on the north side of the river, Mattingly said.

The Health District is home to Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami VA Healthcare System and other health care providers. The district had a daytime population of 44,197 last year, according to Colliers data.

“You are really seeing the emergence of restaurants and entertainment that are capitalizing on the river,” Mattingly said.

Construction on Miami River Walk is set to start in the fourth quarter, according to Mast's website.

“I think this (deal) was just an exercise in persistence and perseverance,” Yetming said.