Historic Olympia Theater offer may still spark renovation
A developer’s proposal to renovate the historic Olympia Theater building at 174 East Flagler Street in downtown Miami may be the catalyst for a restoration of the entire property – even though the proposal was withdrawn after voices of opposition were raised. Now the owner of the famous venue, the City of Miami, is studying exactly what will be needed to bring the theater and the old building above it…
Builder pick set to spur Coconut Grove bayfront development
A contractor has been selected to build the long-awaited Grove Bay Parking Garage on the waterfront in Coconut Grove. The city’s Off-Street Parking Board on Nov. 1 authorized the Miami Parking Authority to negotiate a construction agreement with Munilla Construction Management (MCM). Authority staff reported that MCM was the lowest responsible bidder among six companies at $14,526,192.
Target is taking its talents to South Beach
Miami Beach is getting its first Target, the company announced Tuesday. They’ll be opening a small-format store at a new development called BLVD at Lenox, which will be located on the corner of Fifth Street and Lenox Avenue. It’s across the street from a popular retail space housing major tenants like Publix, Best Buy, Total Wine, and T.J. Maxx. The Target store will encompass 33,000 square feet, which…
Target to open first Miami Beach store
Miami Beach residents, rejoice. Target is coming to South Beach, which means residents will no longer have to leave the island to get their Target fix. The retailer will open its first small-format store in South Florida at BLVD at Lenox, a four-story retail development being built by Michael Comras’ MAC 1045 5th St. LLC, according to a press release. The 33,000-square-foot store is slated to open in the spring of 2019.
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami ready to make a splash
With preparations underway to open its permanent home in the Miami Design District on Dec. 1, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami plans to kick off its grand opening with a bold inaugural program that its director says reflects the museum’s commitment to championing new narratives in contemporary art, while providing a platform for the exchange of art and ideas. “We are thrilled to…”
Bruce Berkowitz And Billionaire W.R. Berkley Buy Coconut Grove Assemblage
A company led by billionaire William Berkley and Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Holdings just picked up pieces of an assemblage in west Coconut Grove. B and B Group Properties LLC paid $5.4 million for six lots totaling about an acre at a bankruptcy auction on Tuesday… The properties sold were: 3364, 3384, 3441 and 3461 Grand Avenue, and 3400 and 3412 Florida Avenue. Other bidders…
South Miami kills plan to redevelop Shops at Sunset Place
The Shops at Sunset Place at 5701 SW 72nd Street won’t be redeveloped anytime soon. The South Miami City Commission killed proposed zoning rules that would have allowed the mall’s new owners, Federal Realty Investment Trust, Comras Company and Grass River Property, to redevelop the aging mall. Commissioners voted 3-2 against the project during a meeting that stretched into Tuesday…
Apartment developers warn micro units may not make living more affordable
Micro units may not be worth the hype, according to prominent apartment developers in Miami. “The cost of land in the city makes the price per unit the same regardless of size,” said Carlos Melo, a principal of the Melo Group, during a panel discussion on millennial living hosted by Bisnow on Wednesday. “So you really don’t reduce the price of the unit.” Melo’s company has developed nine apartment…
Dallas REIT wants to build mixed-use rental complex in Wynwood
One of the nation’s largest multifamily companies is planning a major project for the north end of Wynwood. Dallas-based Westdale Real Estate Investment Management is seeking to redevelop 19 properties in Miami’s hot neighborhood into a 202-unit apartment complex with some office and commercial space, according to documents and plans submitted to the city’s planning and zoning department.
Fanjul sugar moguls score loan for new Palmetto Bay project
The development arm of the Fanjul’s Florida Crystals just took out a $43.6 million construction loan for an apartment complex in Palmetto Bay. PNC is providing the financing, property records show. FCI Residential plans to build Atlantico Palmetto Bay, a 271-unit rental building at 17945 Southwest 97th Avenue with about 7,000 square feet of commercial space. Last year, FCI affiliate FCI Palmetto Bay LLC…
Coconut Grove Playhouse grant denied by state
By now, you probably have heard about the issue regarding Bernardo Fort-Brescia, CEO of Arquitectonica destroying mangroves behind his house at the Moorings here in the Grove, claiming that Hurricane Irma destroyed them. The story was front page news in the Herald, blasted all over Sunday’s front page. It’s not such a catastrophe on the surface if you take Hurricane Irma into account, but the fact that…
One Company Is Single-Handedly Transforming Miami Suburb of West Miami
West Miami, where Sen. Marco Rubio lives and started his political career as a commissioner, is adjacent to affluent Coral Gables. EIG has developed three apartment complexes there: Soleste West Gables (206 units), Soleste West Gables II (221 units) and Soleste Club Prado (196 units). EIG has plans to develop two more projects in West Miami — Soleste Alameda, to include 310 units, and Soleste Twenty2…
GOP tax reform plan could slash Florida home values, Florida Realtors say
The House bill will end the practice of writing off local property taxes, will limit first home mortgage loans and will not allow homebuyers to take out mortgage-interest deductions for second homes. A proposed tax-reform bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives has some Realtors worried about its impact on home ownership. Some said the tax bill could cut Florida home values…
Mall sector brings down commercial property values
The country’s struggling mall sector is pulling overall commercial property values down with it, according to a new report. Green Street Advisors’ Commercial Property Price Index declined 1 percent to 125.5 in October, the most dramatic month-over-month decline since the recession, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mall values fell 6 percent in October from September and 11 percent in the past year.
Miami’s Apeiron at Jockey Club gains key approval
Apeiron at the Jockey Club, a planned luxury residential-hotel project for just north of Miami Shores, has received approval from the Biscayne Shores Community Council. The unanimous 5-0 vote from a council comprised of area residents was reached after the zoning staff at the Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources provided a favorable recommendation, according…
Echo Brickell, projecting sellout of $300M, begins closings
Property Markets Group and JDS Development Group just completed Echo Brickell with an expected sellout of about $300 million, developer Ryan Shear told The Real Deal. Nearly 30 units have closed to date, Shear said. The developers launched sales of the 57-story, 180-unit tower at 1451 Brickell Avenue in 2013. ISG is handling sales and five units are left, according to Shear. Buyers hail from around…
What Will Happen To Little Haiti Real Estate If Haitians Lose Temporary Protected Status?
If President Donald Trump’s administration does what it has threatened and ends a program allowing people from troubled nations to temporarily live in the United States, Miami could see an exodus of some 50,000 people, many of those from its quickly gentrifying Little Haiti neighborhood. Wikipedia Little Haiti has a vibrant stretch of retail on NE Second Avenue. Business could be affected if Haitians with…
Will the city of Miami go mini? Commission to vote on smaller micro units
The city of Miami will vote on a new standard of micro units at a commission meeting this week. The ordinance would bring the minimum size of micro units to 275 square feet, smaller than the 400-square-foot minimum currently in place. It was recommended for approval by the city’s planning, zoning and appeals board on Nov. 1 and will go before the commission on Thursday. Micro units allow developers…
Miami Beach voters approve North Beach mixed-use district, reject Ocean Drive alcohol ban
Miami Beach voters approved a measure on Tuesday that will increase density in the city’s North Beach neighborhood, and rejected an ordinance that would curtail alcohol sales on Ocean Drive. The North Beach ballot measure was approved by nearly 59 percent of voters just two years after they rejected a similar density increase in North Beach. Miami Beach residents have consistently rejected any density…
Terra and Related propose new mixed-use office project in the Grove
Terra and the Related Group want to add a new office development to their plans for Coconut Grove. The two Miami developers, which are in the midst of building Park Grove, are seeking rezoning of the properties at 2850 Tigertail Avenue and 2765 South Bayshore Drive from T5-O and T6-12-O to T6-8-O, according to documents filed with the city of Miami. The joint venture will go before the Miami City…
American Legion Post To Be Developed For Mixed-Use
Last year, Global City Development and Midtown Group announced that they would redevelop an underused waterfront Upper Eastside property owned by the American Legion. The parcel at 6445 Northeast Seventh Ave. would be transformed into a mixed-use waterfront project with 237 apartments, plus state-of-the-art facilities for military veterans of American Legion Post No. 29. But Global City also…
Why commercial real estate owners will salivate over the Republican tax plan
There’s a lot to love in the GOP tax plan for the commercial real estate industry. Commercial property owners would see several benefits under bills from both the House and Senate, including lower taxes on their profits and the ability to avoid a 30 percent limit on interest expense deductions, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Senate bill would also lower the commercial property depreciation period…
Miami’s TSG Group launches national investment platform
Miami-based TSG Group is launching a new investment platform with plans to spend up to $300 million on commercial real estate in the U.S. over the next two years. Black Salmon is led by TSG’s Camilo Lopez and Jorge Escobar; Ignacio Murman, former head of acquisitions of Independencia Asset Management; Diego Madotta, former commercial vice president of Capital Markets Argentina; and Eduardo…
Brickell Avenue Building Being Offered as Prime Redevelopment Site
The Banco Santander Building in downtown Miami is for sale, but prospective buyers are likely more interested in the land than the 15-story tower sitting atop it. Avison Young’s listing flyer describes the 188,138-square-foot building at 1401 Brickell Avenue as a, “One-of-a-kind redevelopment opportunity,” between the most prominent buildings in the corridor: the Four Seasons and Brickell Arch.
The host of America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, Michael Bull, is at NAR (National Association of Realtors®) discussing with his guest, Andrew Lomo, Government Affairs Coordinator with IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management), fair housing for rental properties, issues to avoid with rental properties, and what’s new with rental properties. These, of course, are all issues of the utmost importance to…
The Real Deal South Florida 4th Annual Real Estate Showcase & Forum – Panel 2: Sizing Up the Development Cycle, featuring Edgardo Defortuna, David Martin, Arthur Falcone, and Hiten Samtani.
Four Factors That Could Threaten Industrial Real Estate’s Winning Streak
U.S. industrial real estate fundamentals were strong this past year and are expected to continue their upward trajectory throughout the next 18 months. A strong economy, plenty of investment properties and a slew of buyers have led to favorable market conditions while the rise of e-commerce and the push for same-day deliveries will continue to lead to exponential growth in industrial leasing activity…
Miami is the least affordable city for renters in the US: report
The Magic City is not just expensive. It’s the most expensive. Miami ranked as the least affordable metro for renters in the U.S. last year, according to a new report. Nearly 63 percent of Miami renters spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent in 2016, according to Apartment List. Miami ranked the worst at No. 100, while Ogden, Utah, has the lowest share, at 37.9 percent. In Miami, rents have…
10 of Miami’s most iconic buildings, mapped
Miami may not have quite the same voluminous history as some other major cities across the country but our rapidly developing cultural melting pot still offers a magnificent list of iconic architecture. We attempted to pick out 11 buildings of varying sizes from across multiple eras. Single family properties were not featured prominently (we’ll look into posting an additional map highlighting those) but there was…
Office Space on Doral Boulevard Leased
Doral, LLC is pleased to announce it concluded its 12,450 sq. ft. office space sublease assignment at the Federal Reserve Bank located at 9100 Doral Boulevard in Doral, Florida. The sublease is for a long term totaling over $1M. The Sub-Landlord was Claro Video, Inc. a multinational telecommunications company and the Sub-Tenant was US Health Exchange, LLC. (USHX), a health insurance provider.
Video: Area commercial brokers on South Florida’s rising retail rents and evolving tenant mix
Miami is somewhat immune to challenges that face retail across the country, a group of top brokers told a crowd at The Real Deal’s Fourth Annual Miami Real Estate Showcase & Forum in October. Lyle Chariff, Tere Blanca, Avra Jain and Jonathon Yormak were joined by TRD’s South Florida Managing Editor Ina Cordle on a panel titled “Commercial’s Hot Pockets: From broker poaching to an evolving…
ICSC Alert: Tax Reform Update
On November 2, the long-awaited legislation on tax reform was released by Chairman Brady of the House Ways and Means Committee. The “Tax Cuts & Jobs Act” favorably addresses a number of elements related to the retail real estate industry that ICSC, in collaboration with others, has been actively lobbying. In this first draft of the bill, carried interest has been left untouched; a 25% rate for a portion…
Miami commission to hold preliminary vote on contentious parking garage plan near Design District
A controversial plan to build a new parking garage on the border of Miami’s Design District and the Buena Vista neighborhood is set for its first city commission vote next week. Oak Plaza Associates, a partnership between Craig Robins‘ Dacra, L Real Estate, General Growth Properties and Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp, is seeking permission to rezone five duplexes and two commercial properties along North…