Carl DeSantis family office co-invests in $97.8M Coral Gables office portfolio

CDS International Holdings, the family office of the late South Florida entrepreneur and philanthropist Carl DeSantis, has co-invested in the $97.8 million acquisition of The Ponce, a 365,000-square-foot office portfolio in Coral Gables, Florida. CDS participated through a joint venture with Greenwall Capital, led by principal Jack Henry Kapp. The portfolio consists of the 12-story Class A building at 2525 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, the six-story Class B building at 2555 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, and a parking garage at 152 Valencia Avenue. The sellers were Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Global Investment Management (PGIM), which had owned the properties since 2007. The acquisition was co-led by Intalex Capital, founded by Bryson Ridgway, and Itero Investments, founded by Carlos Jimenez, Lori Miller Worman, Scott Grubbs, and Jennifer Bender. ACORE Capital provided a $105 million loan covering both the acquisition and $30 million earmarked for future upgrades, including modernized common areas, upgraded building systems, enhanced courtyards, and expanded tenant amenities, with completion expected by 2027. The portfolio is currently 65 percent leased, with tenants including law firm Podhurst Orseck and financial services firm MassMutual. Hines will continue to manage the portfolio, while Ryan Holtzman and Lena Weeks of Cushman & Wakefield will lead leasing.

About the CDS International Holdings family office: The Carl DeSantis investment vehicle

CDS International Holdings is the private investment vehicle of the late Carl DeSantis, a Miami Beach–raised entrepreneur who built one of South Florida’s most prominent entrepreneurial legacies. After becoming one of the youngest store managers in Walgreen’s history, DeSantis founded Sundown Vitamins from his garage, growing it from a mail-order business into the world’s largest vitamin manufacturer. The company was later renamed Rexall Sundown and became a NASDAQ-listed Fortune 100 company before being sold to Royal Numico in 2000 for $1.8 billion. DeSantis subsequently deployed that capital across a broad range of investments including Celsius, a Nasdaq-traded global fitness beverage company; Tabanero, an award-winning hot sauce brand; Kwandwe, an eco-tourism resort in South Africa; and major real estate projects across South Florida, including the $300 million redevelopment of the former Office Depot world headquarters and an office portfolio in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The firm, operating under the CDS Holdings umbrella, has also been active in restaurants, yacht and airplane charters, and consumer products. The Coral Gables acquisition marks a continuation of CDS’s longstanding focus on South Florida commercial real estate, and follows a prior co-investment alongside Intalex Capital and PEBB Capital in the 110 East office tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale, acquired for $43 million in 2023.
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