Friday, February 20, 2009
South Florida Business Journal - by Oscar Pedro Musibay

The Segadores de Vida church paid $14 million for the former BellSouth facility and 19.6 acres in Miami-Dade County.

BellSouth Telecommunications' former 216,432-square-foot hub in unincorporated Miami-Dade County has landed in heavenly hands.

The fast-growing Segadores de Vida church, currently based in Hollywood, has paid $14 million for the former facility and 19.6 acres. The church hopes to occupy the facility in about 18 months.

The nondenominational church, whose name means "reapers of life," has about 7,000 congregants. It plans to modify the existing building to meet its needs, said Mani Maken, president of real estate company the Maken Group, the sole broker in the deal.

The seller was 46 Acres LLC, a Coral Gables company managed by Jose Boschetti.

The buyer listed in public records is Iglesia Cristiana Senales de Vida, which translates to "Christian Church Signals of Life."

Published reports and records show a garden-style condominium project, called Fountains at San Simeon, was planned for the site.

Makensaid the real estate market downturn made that project impossible. U.S. Century Bank provided a $26.2 million loan to 46 Acres LLC in March 2007.

Maken said the church had been looking for a larger facility for three years. He also assisted them with buying its current 50,000-square-foot church in Hollywood.

Maken said that, despite the tough credit market, the church got $14 million in acquisition financing from U.S. Century Bank.