L-R: Charles Penan, Jason Shapiro and Brell Tarich of Aztec Group. Courtesy photos

It's safe to say that the GroveHaus Luxury Residences developer had a successful couple of weeks judging by how the newly finished property has fared.

Metronomic Inc., based in Miami, fully leased the 10-unit property in Miami's Coconut Grove one day and then secured a $5.75 million loan against the real estate with help from Aztec Group Inc., a Miami-based real estate investment and merchant banking company.

Aztec Group managing director Jason Shapiro, executive vice president Charles Penan and director Brell Tarich closed the refinancing April 9. TCM Finance, a Miami-based lender, issued the one-year bridge loan.

It was obtained to refinance the $4.7 million construction loan. While the construction loan, which Metronomic secured on its own, wasn't due, the refinancing has better terms. They include a modestly lower interest rate, which Aztec Group declined to disclose.

More notable about the refinancing is its high loan-to-value ratio.

“That's the key. The original loan was based on cost. Our current loan was based on value,” said Aztec's Penan.

The cost is the amount a developer must pay to build a project, which is lower than the value of the finished project. For example, if the construction cost is $1 million and the development firm secures a loan that's 70% loan-to-cost, it has $700,000 on hand. The project value increases after completion to, let's say, $2 million. That means a refinancing that's now 70% loan-to-value offers the developer $1.4 million, or much more than the initial loan.

The GroveHaus, which received its temporary certificate of occupancy April 8, is a three-story, fully furnished luxury apartment building south of U.S. 1 at 3265 Bird Ave. It has one- to four-bedroom units ranging from 1,560 to 3,124 square feet.

The three-story, 10-unit luxury apartment building is at 3265 Bird Ave. in Coconut Grove. Courtesy photo

Sextant Stays, a Miami-based vacation rental company, fully leased the property paying a market-rate rent to Metronomic, which owns the property through an affiliate, according to Aztec.

Metronomic “went from 0% occupancy to 100% occupancy in one day,” Penan said.

Sextant rents the units on a per-night basis at a profitable rate while taking a risk on public demand for GroveHaus.

This week it was offering a three-bedroom Grove Haus unit for $350 a night, although the price climbs into the $400s in June and into the $500s in July.

“They operate on a hotel sort of model where they are able to sell each night at a higher rate than you would get if you were renting it for the month,” Tarich said. “Those units are much larger and they attract families, people who are looking for longer stays, more comfort.”