Triple Five’s $4 Billion American Dream Miami Project Wins Final Approval from County Officials

American Dream Miami will be a massive mall and entertainment center in northwestern Miami-Dade County. The first phase is expected to open in 2023.  Make way for American Dream Miami. The Miami-Dade County Commission did just that Thursday, granting a series of approvals for the mammoth mall and entertainment center after roughly nine hours of debate. The $4 billion development, to be built…

Miami Gardens Shopping Complex Fetches $12 Million

Macken Cos. has completed the $11.9 million sale of Palmetto Design Plaza, a 62,500-square-foot shopping complex in Miami Gardens, Fla. Rise Star LLC acquired the seven-acre property, which hit the market in the fall of 2017. According to public records, the seller was Palmetto Design Center LLC, an entity affiliated with Macken Cos. Located at 3791 NW 167th Street, the shopping center is anchored by…

US Shopping Center Demand Falls to Six-Year Low as Net Absorption Declines and Store Closures Pile Up

Demand growth for mall and shopping center space by retailers fell to its lightest level in six years in the first quarter of 2018 as retailers continued to focus on their top-performing locations and shed marginal stores, with announced store closures totaling nearly 100 million square feet so far this year alone. The balancing act was reflected in the first quarter 2018 U.S. retail vacancy rate, which at 4.6% was…

PCCP Shells Out $127 Million for Miami Downtown Miami Office Tower

The $127 million sale of SunTrust International Center, a nearly 450,000-square-foot, Class A office tower in downtown Miami, sold. PCCP acquired the asset from Crocker Partners, while Invesco Real Estate provided $101.8 million in acquisition financing. Located at 1 SE 3rd Avenue, the LEED Silver certified property was completed in 1973 and recently underwent a $13.5 million renovation program. Amenities…

Video: Bainbridge Companies VP/COO Kevin Keane Bainbridge Discusses Multifamily Properties for 2018

In this America’s Commercial Real Estate Show episode, Bainbridge Vice President and Chief Operating Office Kevin Keane discusses the multifamily sector, including demand drivers, development trends, regional trends, technology for units, issues with affordability, community access points, parking, ride share, labor shortage, construction costs, and rising rates. The Bainbridge Companies, founded…

Video: CCIM Institute Chief Economist KC Conway Bullish on U.S. Economy

In this video, KC Conway, Chief Economist at the CCIM Institute, joins the show host to discuss – if one could refer to such bubbling with enthusiasm as discussing – the U.S. economic state, including job market growth, home building affected by economy, interest rate volatility, net operating income (NOI) concerns, monthly jobs reports, truth of the retail sector, potential political big impacts on United…

Opposition mounts against Brightline’s pursuit of more than $1B in bonds

Phase two of Brightline’s Miami-to-Orlando train service is off to a bumpy start. Members of Florida’s congressional delegation are discussing whether project is eligible for $1.15 billion in tax-exempt bonds that the project’s parent company All Aboard Florida is seeking for the northern expansion of the service to Orlando. All Aboard received $600 million in private activity bonds for the first phase of the…

Mount Sinai Medical Center plans two major fall openings

A new surgical tower and emergency department at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach are on track to be completed by the end of November. Construction on a free-standing emergency department in Hialeah, also owned by Mount Sinai, is expected to be completed by the end of October, a delay by several months from the original expected opening period of this summer. Except for…

Dolphin Expressway getting double-decker elevated Viaduct

A new project on the Dolphin Expressway – State Road 836 – could improve access and alleviate congestion by creating a double-decker elevated bridge over the existing highway, tentatively named the Viaduct, along one of Miami’s most crowded thoroughfares. The project, funded by $186 million in toll revenue from the Miami Expressway Authority (MDX), is intended to modernize the 836 corridor between…

Study: What to Do with All the Vacant Land in Miami and Other Major US CBDs?

We combed Yardi Matrix and PropertyShark data, as well as online government records to determine the amount of land that currently remains undeveloped in the urban cores (CBDs) of 25 American cities: Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Texas; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Miami, Florida…

Renovations on Flagler Street delayed once again

Directors of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority have once again voted to delay the resumption of renovations on Flagler Street, this time for 30 days. But some signaled that they are getting weary of the postponements. “How much longer are we going to drag this out?” asked board member Alicia Cervera, managing partner of Cervera Real Estate. “I’ve had it. These things are devastating to the…”

Terra and AvalonBay buy Doral office park for mixed-use development

Terra and AvalonBay Communities just paid $33.5 million for a development site in Doral. The developers acquired the Atrium Office Park and adjacent restaurant at 3900 Northwest 79th Avenue in Doral, across the street from CityPlace Doral. Avalon Doral LLC paid $20 million for 4.6 acres of the site and Doral Atrium Retail Investments paid $13.5 million for the remaining 5.2 acres, property records show.

Crescent Heights to go before Miami Beach board for 5th and Alton tower

One of Miami Beach’s most controversial development plans is up for discussion again. Developer Russell Galbut will go before the Miami Beach Land Use and Development Committee on Wednesday for the site at Fifth Street and Alton Road. A rally is planned in opposition. Galbut, co-founder of Crescent Heights, is proposing three options for the 85,348-square-foot block, in exchange for…

The Long View: Why real estate tech won’t kill the middleman

Revolutions tend to promise one thing and deliver another. Think of the Jacobins paving the way for Napoleon, the Soviets toppling one autocracy only to ultimately replace it with another, or anti-corruption crusader Hugo Chavez building an empire of graft in Venezuela. Turns out this maxim also applies to real estate technology. Not too long ago, it seemed like the real estate business was about to enter…

Miami Beach Considers Annexing Scandal-Plagued North Bay Village

Since revelations surfaced last year of a blackmail plot against a commissioner with an undisclosed arrest for cocaine in his past, scandal after scandal has rocked tiny North Bay Village, a two-island town on the 79th Street Causeway. Now Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola is proposing a dramatic fix: He wants his city to take over the troubled village. “Frankly, North Bay Village residents that I’ve…”

Biscayne Bay Brewing to open at historic post office in downtown Miami

Biscayne Bay Brewing is opening a second location in a historic building in downtown Miami. The brewery, based in Doral at 8000 Northwest 25th Street, is opening a 6,200-square-foot brewery and taproom at the Old United States Post Office and Courthouse building, at 100 Northeast First Avenue. It’s slated to open this winter, according to a spokesperson. Stambul USA, led by Daniel Peña…

Apollo Provides $140 Million Refi for Miami Beach’s Faena District

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has provided a $140 million floating-rate loan to Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries to refinance the Faena Group-developed Faena District properties in Miami Beach, Fla., Commercial Observer can first report. The Faena District—between 32nd and 36th Street on Collins Avenue—is the creation of Argentine developer Alan Faena and totals more than 1 million square feet…

South Florida commercial insurance rates ‘dodged bullet’

South Florida’s commercial insurance rates have “dodged a bullet” after weathering a series of natural disasters. It was expected for rates to spike from 10% to 25% in 2018, but after the first quarter, the increases weren’t what was assumed during a busy storm season. Instead, Miami is seeing 5% to 10% increases. Over the past five years there have been “bargain prices” where South Florida has seen…

New Hotel for Grove’s Commodore Plaza

The parking lot next to Greenstreet Cafe is slated to become a hotel. But nothing has been finalized yet and the announcement may be premature. The Arts & Minds school property has also been sold. Talk is that an office building is going in there. The hotel is called Commodore Place, located at 3102 Commodore Plaza. From their website: “Commodore Place is a new mixed-use edifice planned for…”

Cleaning up after Toys “R” Us

Retail real estate these days can seem like a choose-your-own-adventure of sorts, with a variety of plausible story lines for all the players involved. Pivot to be experiential? Yes. Rebrand? Yup. Relaunch online? Affirmative. Chapter 11? Check. This last ending — filing for bankruptcy — is among the most prevalent plot lines, affecting not just retailers but landlords, brokers and lenders. And it is certainly…

Partying and excess remain fixtures of ICSC, even as some companies opt for modest events

Looking out from a booth in the Wynn nightclub Intrigue, it was difficult to ignore a man on stilts dressed as a tree bounding between the aisles. From up there, the view certainly spelled excess: women dancing on podiums and a crowd of real estate folk bumping and bopping to a top 40 playlist. The party at the nightclub Sunday night set the tone of what was to come on the inevitable party circuit that…

Duane Morris Opts for Smaller Miami Office in Move to Citigroup Center

Duane Morris is moving its downtown Miami office from the Southeast Financial Center to a smaller space at the nearby Citigroup Center, a relocation that reflects a national trend toward smaller law firm workspaces. Duane Morris is moving in September when its long-term, $16.8 million lease of the 34th floor penthouse begins at 201 S. Biscayne Blvd., offering views of Biscayne Bay, Bayfront Park and…

Faena District in Miami Beach scores $140 million refi

Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries secured a $140 million loan to refinance the Faena District in Miami Beach. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is providing the floating-rate loan, according to the Commercial Observer. The financing is backed by the Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Casa Faena hotel, the Faena Hotel Residences, the Faena Forum, the Faena Bazaar and the retail and parking.

Miami’s hotel fortunes a tale of two years

Across the street from The Palm restaurant and across the bay from the Bal Harbour Shops is the Grand Beach Hotel Bay Harbor. Its position, between a carnivore’s bliss and a temple to the monied set, embodies the northern reaches of Miami Beach: relaxed, well heeled, traditional. In a city of disparate submarkets, Bal Harbour and the contiguous Surfside are respite from the more raucous South Beach.

Is Hialeah “the next big thing” for real estate investment in SoFla?

Hialeah is hot. The city has been experiencing a surge in real estate investment, bolstering its reputation as an industrial hub while also identifying it as a more welcoming place for multifamily and commercial construction following recent moves to encourage development.
But investors drawn to cheaper land prices and those who may be looking to make a quick buck on a flip could find it difficult…

Video: Baird’s Michael Bellisario on top line growth for hotels and hospitality

On this episode of America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, Michael Bellisario, Vice President and Senior Analyst at Baird, joins host Michael Bull to discuss the hospitality sector, including sector health, place in the cycle, top line growth, employment, leisure and business travel trends, year-to-date performance, land cost, tips for new construction, renovation costs, tax reform impacts, property level value…

Construction starts on 187 apartments near Florida International University

A 187-unit apartment building that will cater to college students is under construction near Florida International University. TD Bank made a $55.04 million loan to finance construction of the rental property at 400 Southwest 107 Avenue in Sweetwater. The borrower is an affiliate of CA Ventures of Chicago, led by CEO Tom Scott, and the development is called The Residence at University City. CA Ventures…

Video: The Hospitality Group’s President Tom French Discusses Whether it is Time to Sell hotels?

On this episode of America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, Tom French, President of The Hospitality Group, joins host Michael Bull to discuss the hospitality / lodging sector. Among the topics discussed are sector health, RevPAR (revenue per available room) trends, buyer and seller cycle concerns, investor opportunities that may exist, hospitality property market trends, developments in hotel financing…

Moishe Mana’s not done yet, picks up downtown Miami building for $13 million

Moishe Mana’s portfolio of properties in downtown Miami keeps growing. The investor and developer just paid $12.9 million for a two-story retail and office building at 201 East Flagler Street. The deal brings his total spent in downtown Miami to nearly $285 million. Mika Mattingly and Cecilia Estevez of Colliers International South Florida represented Mana in the deal.

Miami Beach to request proposals for a new convention center hotel — once again

The Miami Beach City Commission voted unanimously this week to issue a request for proposal for developers to submit designs and bids for a convention center hotel. The hotel would be built on the same site that a previous hotel design was proposed in 2016, which was ultimately turned down by voters. But under the new request for proposal, the hotel would be a third smaller than the previous design.

Treasury issues new LLC disclosure law

The Treasury Department has re-upped rules meant to crack down on money laundering in real estate — but don’t ask Uncle Sam for details. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released another set of rules requiring title companies to disclose the identity of all-cash buyers who purchase luxury property under the guise of an LLC, sources told The Real Deal. But FinCEN has…

American Dream Miami wins county commission approval

Make way for American Dream Miami. The Miami-Dade County Commission did just that Thursday, granting a series of approvals for the mammoth mall and entertainment center after roughly nine hours of debate. The $4 billion development, to be built on 174 acres at Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike in northwest Miami-Dade, will have more than 5 million square feet or retail and entertainment…

Okan Group launches Miami tower with fireworks display at PAMM

Hundreds of brokers, attorneys, bankers and industry insiders waited in a line that snaked around the entrance to the Pérez Art Museum Miami last week to celebrate the launch of Okan Tower, a new mixed-use tower planned for Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District. The developer, Bekir Okan of the Turkey-based Okan Group, hosted the soirée on the top floor of PAMM with drinks and hor d’oeuvres…

Developer plans mixed-use hotel for Coconut Grove lot next to GreenStreet Cafe

Metronomic Inc. is under contract to buy the parking lot next to the popular GreenStreet Cafe in Coconut Grove, where the developer is planning to build an Aloft hotel. Metronomic, led by Ricky Trinidad, will pay $4.8 million, or about $670 per square foot, for the nearly 7,200-square-foot lot at 3110 Commodore Plaza, broker Miguel Pinto said. The Coral Gables-based developer is expected to close on…

Miami Beach shelves plan to raise roads amid opposition from North Bay Road residents

The Miami Beach City Commission voted down a plan to elevate North Bay Road amid growing concerns from residents that it could ruin their property values and lead to flooding on their properties. The contentious move could delay the project for close to six years since the Florida Department of Transportation plans to start its Alton Road project in 2021. While Alton Road is under construction, drivers…

Retailers Finding a New Home in South Florida

One out of every 10 new multifamily developments throughout South Florida is now incorporating at least some retail space into its design. While this is also common in condominium and office developments, the trend of incorporating retail, and even small amounts of office space, in residential developments seems to be increasing in the market. In the Downtown Miami submarket specifically, 180,000…

Luxe condo breaks ground in Coconut Grove, nearly 50 percent sold

The 23-unit residency held its groundbreaking ceremony on May 10. Glasshaus in the Grove, Miami’s sexiest new boutique condominium, broke ground May 10. Located in Bayshore Village near Millionaire’s Row, the boutique project is walking distance from marinas, parks, shops, and restaurants. Glasshaus in the Grove, is a ‘livable residence’ that mixes outdoor and green space that evokes the tropics.

Silvia Coltrane, partners add condos to mixed-use North Beach hotel project

Miami Beach developer Silvia Coltrane is proposing changes to her North Beach hotel project, including adding condos to the mixed-use development. Coltrane’s 72+ Collins Hotel falls within the North Beach Town Center district. The Miami Beach Commission voted on Wednesday to pass an ordinance on second reading increasing the floor area ratio for the properties between 69th Street, Collins…

Developer of Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach sued over construction delays

Three condo buyers are suing the developer of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach over the project’s construction delays, seeking to get their deposits refunded. Since March, three separate civil lawsuits have been filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against 4701 North Meridian LLC, which is a partnership between Ophir Sternberg’s Lionheart Capital and Elliott Management Corp. The three lawsuits…

City swap, three-tower development on Miami River cast adrift

A complicated deal to gain a new office complex for the City of Miami in exchange for a triple tower private development on the Miami River is not as advanced as recently proclaimed. In fact, City Manager Emilio González said it’s far from being a sure thing. The deal arises from the city’s intent to sell or lease Miami Riverside Center, its office tower complex on the river at 444 SW Second Ave. Saying they…

Never Mind South Beach. Miami’s Downtown Is Undergoing A Multibillion-Dollar Transformation

In 2010, when LeBron James announced during a televised ESPN special that he would be “taking his talents to South Beach” and joining the Miami Heat, Floridians chuckled, because while South Beach is the main tourist drag on a barrier island, the Heat’s stadium is actually located across a causeway, on the mainland in downtown Miami. Bisnow/Deirdra Funcheon Developers Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani…

Macken sells Walmart-anchored center in Miami Gardens

Macken Companies just sold a Walmart-anchored shopping center in Miami Gardens for $11.85 million. The newly developed Palmetto Design Center at 3791 Northwest 167 Street sold for about $190 per square foot to Rise Star LLC, a Hollywood-based company led by Valentina Georgescu, according to a press release. The plaza, completed in 2016, was developed in a joint venture between Macken…

Mall Of America’s Developers Are Planning A Bigger, $4 Billion Project On Outskirts Of Miami

Triple Five Worldwide says its three North American malls — Mall of America in Minnesota, West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the under-construction American Dream Meadowlands just outside of New York — will draw more tourists annually than Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Times Square, the Las Vegas strip, the French Quarter, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone combined. Now, the company…

Hyatt Regency riverfront deal gets a slowdown

Hyatt Regency executives are eager to lock in a new long-term lease of Miami riverfront so they can build a new hotel and more, but city commissioners are in no rush and made that clear May 10. Proposed legislation to put the matter on the August primary election ballot was deferred for at least two weeks. The City of Miami owns the 4.2-acre site at 400 SE Second Avenue, home to a Hyatt Regency hotel…

GreenOak Raises $1.55 Billion for Real Estate Deals in Miami, Other Major U.S. Cities

GreenOak Real Estate has raised $1.55 billion for its third U.S. fund, the largest yet for the firm formed by former Morgan Stanley property executives. While GreenOak has historically spent most of its capital in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston, it will also target other major cities, including Seattle, Washington and Miami.

Downtown Miami’s largest office lease gets boulevard penthouse

Downtown Miami just saw its largest office lease in 2018 signed and secured. Duane Morris LLP is the new penthouse tenant at the CitiGroup Center with the help of Tower Commercial Real Estate. Duane Morris LLP is making a short jump from its current location at 200 S Biscayne Boulevard to its new offices at 201 S Biscayne Boulevard According to Jon Blunk, president of Tower Commercial Real Estate…

Miami-Dade courthouse bidding D-Day: June 5

Brightline’s parent company might still have a chance to build a new downtown Miami-Dade civil courthouse — in spite of the county mayor’s opposition. On June 5, the Miami-Dade County Commission will decide whether or not to merge two bidding processes for real estate developers and contractors interested in building a new courthouse that will replace the deteriorating circa 1928 civil courthouse…

Success In The Suburbs: Build For Underserved Customers Outside The Urban Core, Florida CRE Experts Say

In South Florida, the focus is usually on the flashy, the sexy, the chic. But developers working in the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale are finding that it is profitable to leave trendy developments to others and focus on quieter deals in underserved areas, like the small cities of Sunrise, where the Florida Panthers hockey team plays, and Plantation, where major companies like Magic Leap and Virgin Cruises have recently…

L’Atelier developers score $28M refi for sold-out North Beach tower

The developers of L’Atelier Residences in North Beach refinanced their construction loan with a $27.8 million loan from Bank of the Ozarks. The Disney family’s Shamrock Holdings, SMG Management and W Capital Group are the developers behind the 18-story, 24-unit building under construction at 6901 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The lower leverage, lower interest rate loan replaces the $57 million…

Miami-Dade’s resi sales suffered the most in Q1: Realtors reports

Fewer South Florida homes sold in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, with Miami-Dade taking the brunt of the slowdown, new reports from the Florida Realtors show. Still, prices continue to rise across South Florida. Residential closings fell 6.5 percent in Miami-Dade County to 5,770 during the first quarter. The decline was marginal in Miami’s counties to the north. In Broward…

Triarch buys North Miami Beach retail building near planned SoLē Mia

Triarch Capital Group just picked up a retail building along Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach for $6.55 million, property records show. The 15,000-square-foot retail building at 14652 Biscayne Boulevard is leased to Boga Style Home. Online marketing materials show its lease is set to expire in about three years, with four five-year renewal options that would run through 2044. The seller, Glazer…

South Florida Retail Summary (Q1 2018)

Market Snapshot for South Florida Retail A summary of the highlights, trends, and current market activity of Q1 2018 for South Florida commercial real estate focusing on Miami-Dade County: Analysis derived and compiled from leasing data and transaction reports in order to better understand the health of the CRE market in Miami-Dade County. In Q1…

SunTrust building in downtown Miami sells for $127M

SunTrust International Center in downtown Miami just sold to PCCP for $127 million. Crocker Partners sold the 31-story office building at 1 Southeast Third Avenue about three years after renovating the tower. The 440,000-square-foot office building has nearly 170,000 square feet of vacant space, José Lobón of CBRE said in a press release. The 33,500-square-foot retail portion is fully leased…

American Dream Miami developer Triple Five under contract to buy Archbishop Curley site in Little Haiti

Triple Five Group, the developer of the proposed American Dream Miami mall, is under contract to buy the Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School site in Miami, with plans to build apartments, condominiums and retail space, The Real Deal has learned. Robert Gorlow, a Miami Lakes-based consultant for Triple Five, confirmed that the Edmonton, Canada-based company has the 15.56-acre site…

Nearly 3M sf of retail space will be delivered this year in South Florida: report

Who says brick and mortar retail is dead? More than 2.8 million square feet of retail space are projected to be delivered this year in South Florida. And in Miami-Dade County alone, about 1.8 million square feet will open by year’s end, including several shopping centers that are more than 100,000 square feet, according to a report from Marcus & Millichap. While traditional retail stores across most of the…

SunTrust International Center Sells for $127M

SunTrust International Center, a 4-Star office tower in downtown Miami, has sold for $127 million, or roughly $283 per square foot, to institutional investor PCCP LLC. The seller, Crocker Partners, paid $82.5 million as part of an auction sale in 2011 that valued the office property at roughly $54.79 million, or about $122 per square foot, according to CoStar data. See CoStar COMPS #2155498.The 449,076…

Multifamily Concessions Creeping Up in Miami, Fort Lauderdale

Despite hyper-supply in Miami’s multifamily market, lease-up of new apartments remained as strong in 2017 as it was in 2016. However, an uptick in concessions indicates property managers may be working harder to maintain that same level of lease-up momentum. Concessions increased year-over-year for Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Strong population growth in South Florida has kept demand for…

Take a virtual reality tour of Paramount Miami Worldcenter

The tour shows what the 27-acre, Miami development will look like once it’s finished Paramount Miami Worldcenter, home to the largest construction site in Miami’s history, aims to build a city within a city in Downtown Miami. Unlike Metropica, a $1.5 billion mixed-use project by Joseph Kavana that aims to transform Sunrise’s corridor in Broward County into a city within a city, the Miami development…

Can landlords discriminate against porn stars?

Adult film stars say they often get screwed when it comes to finding housing. Adult-film actress Aurora Snow claims she and others face discrimination from landlords due to their line of work, Inman reported. “I was young, had great credit and plenty of money, and had even agreed to put down three times the deposit,” Snow wrote in an op-ed for the The Daily Beast. “But it wasn’t enough. He grilled me…

Two Little Havana retail properties command $11.19 million

A company run out of Broward County paid $11.19 million for two properties that span two acres in Miami’s Little Havana. Gamla LLC, managed by Dov Ohayon in Plantation, paid $7.5 million for a 1.59-acre property in the 1100 block of Flagler Street that extends to Northwest First Street and Northwest 11th Street. The property has 26,223 square feet of retail space and is located in an area of Little…

All aboard: Brightline train services start May 19

Brightline will host a two-day celebration at the MiamiCentral station for the public Commuters in Miami-Dade County will have a new form of transportation to visit Broward and Palm Beach counties starting next week. Brightline, a passenger rail that offers non-stop service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, will officially launch Saturday, May 19, revealed Brightline representatives…

Miami officials to expedite $45 million Flagler, SW 1st Street roadway project after construction delays

Store owners near West Flagler Street and Southwest First Street have seen a 50 percent dip in profits since the project began The City of Miami Commission passed a resolution Thursday that allows the City Attorney to take all necessary actions to expedite the construction delays relating to West Flagler Street and Southwest First Street. One of those actions includes suing the Florida Department of…

Midtown Miami Hotel Lands $21M Construction Loan

Aztec Group has arranged $21.3 million in construction financing for the development of AC Marriott Hotel, a 153-key hotel in Midtown Miami. Florida Community Bank provided the loan, secured by Aztec Managing Director Boaz Ashbel on behalf of Midtown Lodging 2 LLC. Located at 3400 Biscayne Blvd., at the corner of Northeast 34th Street and Biscayne Boulevard, the new hotel is scheduled for…

Estates at Acqualina breaks ground with skydivers, a marching band and 25 Rolls-Royces

Three skydivers parachuted onto the sand as a marching band played “The Champion” alongside 25 Rolls-Royces — all to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Estates of Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach Thursday evening. The luxury condo project, developed by the Trump Group, will include two 50-story towers with a total of 247 units at 17895 Collins Avenue. The south tower will have 154 units, and the…

Duane Morris signs $17 million lease at Citigroup Center in downtown Miami

Duane Morris LLP is moving into the penthouse office suite at the Citigroup Center in downtown Miami. The law firm signed a lease for more than 23,000 square feet on the top floor of the 34-story building at 201 South Biscayne Boulevard. The lease is valued at $16.8 million, marking one of the largest office deals in downtown Miami so far this year, according to a press release. Duane Morris is moving…

Mast Capital, partner close on Miami River dev site for $26M

Mast Capital just closed on a 6.3-acre site along the Miami River where the developer is planning a 688-unit project. The firm, led by CEO Camilo Miguel Jr., paid $26 million for the property at 1001 Northwest Seventh Street in a joint venture with AEW Capital Management, according to a press release. Colliers International South Florida’s Gerard Yetming and Mika Mattingly brokered the deal. Property…

Former offices of South Florida’s biggest Ponzi schemer now available to lease

The space once held a massive aquarium, a private elevator and was protected by a high-tech security system in what a U.S. Attorney called “the structure of a secretive man.” The former offices of one of South Florida’s most well-known convicted Ponzi schemers and a beleaguered bankrupt insurance company are now available for lease in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The 36,537 square feet of office…

Hyatt’s redevelopment dreams for the Knight Center strike out again

For the second time in less than a year, Hyatt Hotels Corp. failed to win the Miami City Commission’s permission to let residents vote on their redevelopment proposal for the site of the James L. Knight Convention Center and the adjacent Hyatt Regency Miami. Citing pressure to rush through an Aug. 28 ballot measure that could grant the company a new 99-year lease, four out of five commissioners…

688-Unit Apt. Complex Coming to Long-Vacant Miami River Site

Mast Capital.A $26 million land deal that closed late Thursday clears the way for a large rental development along the revitalized Miami River. Mast Capital bought the 6.3-acre site at 1001 NW 7th Street in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood from RAD Miami. Mast already has site plan approval for Miami River Walk, featuring four buildings of 688 apartments and nearly 3,000 square feet of retail.

Spectacular recoveries : Comparing the strongest economic recoveries in recent U.S. history

In a previous post, we discussed how the economic recoveries from recessions are longer and slower than the downturns that lead to those recessions. Today, we compare the sizes of recoveries across the economic history of the United States. In the graph above, which shows the unemployment rate, the current recovery is clearly remarkable: The drop from unemployment’s high point of 10% down to…

How Industrial Became CRE Financing’s Newest Sweetheart

Over the last few years, industrial properties have risen through the ranks among banks and other commercial real estate lenders to become financing’s new sweetheart property type. These include core market warehouse and distribution centers, refrigeration/cold storage centers, flex buildings, manufacturing properties and R&D facilities. Lenders are aggressively targeting these specific property…

Starwood Capital wants to build a new HQ in Miami Beach

Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group plans to develop a new headquarters in Miami Beach to move into by 2021, according to a memo sent out to employees reviewed by The Real Deal. In the memo, Starwood-owned LNR Partners said it is “in the process of finalizing plans with Barry [Sternlicht] and our partners at Starwood Capital to build a new world-class headquarters office here in Miami…

Jack’s Miami to open second location, Pharrell to partner on new Design District restaurant, other restaurant news

Jack’s Miami is opening a second location at Mary Brickell Village. The restaurant, which has its original location near Wynwood, is opening a pop-up at The Craftsman Miami, unit 135 at 900 South Miami Avenue. Jack’s has a sublease with the bar, and is taking about 1,000 square feet, which includes an 800-square-foot kitchen. The homestyle restaurant’s second outpost is an “express” location for…

Law firms want smaller offices amid SoFla’s shifting real estate market

Law firms’ office spaces are shrinking in South Florida. The average office size for a law firm in South Florida decreased from 800-1,000 square feet per lawyer to 550-700 square feet per lawyer, according to a recent CBRE study cited in the Daily Business Review. Nationally, law firms’ average square footage reduced 27 percent between 2010 and 2017, according to the study. Andrew Smulian, former…

The end of real estate’s flashiest foreign buyer: Anbang’s ex-chair Wu Xiaohui gets 18 years in prison

Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of Anbang Insurance Group, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted by a Chinese court of orchestrating a $12 billion fraud. Wu had become the poster boy for Chinese debt-fueled U.S. real estate purchases, acquiring some of New York’s most notable assets between 2014 and 2016. In addition to his prison term, Wu will also have $1.65 billion…

Hines Eyes Amazon for Downtown Miami Office Tower

The Hines real estate firm plans to build a 47-story, multi-tenant office tower in downtown Miami, unless retail behemoth Amazon swoops in to make it single-tenant. Michael Harrison, a senior managing director for Houston-based Hines, said on Thursday that the firm has hired CBRE to begin marketing the building, which could be as large as 600,000 square feet. It’s scheduled to open in 2021 in the mixed…

Video: Director of Leasing at Hines on retail tenant success in today’s changing environment

In this video, Nick Grazia, Director of Leasing at Hines, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, discusses the retail sector with an emphasis on maximizing tenant success. This includes tips for landlords,  helping tenants, Yelp and other reviews of tenants, mall REITs, retail operator issues, franchisee relations with franchisors and their landlords, and retail landlord and tenant rep relations. Hines, per its…

South Florida Parking in the 21st Century

One of the greatest thrills for South Florida city drivers these days is to find available parking, whether it’s in front of a specific destination or in a convenient garage. That gift, though, is becoming fewer and farther between, which is why so many commercial and corporate locations provide valet services. Drivers and passengers get to walk a short distance, while valets run all over the city to park and retrieve…

Shopping and Entertainment Mecca in South Florida Nearing Final Approvals

As South Florida awaits word on its chances to land Amazon’s coveted second headquarters, another massive development moves closer to reality. Triple Five Worldwide, the company that built the Mall of America in Minnesota, is working on an even bigger retail and entertainment destination at Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike in northwest Miami-Dade County. Topping 5 million square feet at full…

Turner & Townsend Releases International Construction Market Survey 2018

Global construction volume is on the up and the future is looking bright. But the industry faces more work with fewer workers. The challenge for the supply chain is how to convert this increased output into profit. There is an expectation of increasing construction activity around the globe with a few exceptions, notably a reduction in the UK. Our survey shows that of the 46 markets examined 21…

Bridge Development scores $75M loan for Miami Gardens industrial park

Bridge Development Partners just scored a $75 million construction loan and broke ground on the first phase of its Bridge Point Commerce Center project in Miami Gardens. The 2.1-million-square-foot industrial park is being built on 186 acres at 3900 Northwest 215th Street. Bridge Development bought the site in October for $28.2 million . The first phase consists of three buildings totaling 1.1…

Ecosteel USA proposes $240M steel mill complex in Homestead

Ecosteel USA, a construction and engineering firm and building supplier, is proposing a $240 million steel mill complex on about 124 acres of county-owned land in Homestead, outside the Homestead Air Reserve Base. The Ecosteel facility would be an “eco-friendly steel mill,” meaning it would use an electric furnace to melt scrap steel into billets. The company said it expects to produce about 1,000 tons…

Video: Survey on Open Floor Plan vs. Private Offices ~ Those Not Fans of Open Far from Alone

In this video, Marketing Communications Specialist Diana Sabau discusses a recent survey she performed asking employees from various age groups and in various industries. The survey questioned how they felt about office layouts. In particular, she wanted to find out preferences regarding open floor plans – if you’re not a fan I think you’ll be stunned at how much company you have – as opposed…

City of Miami swap of its riverfront office tower moves ahead

A high-value deal to build new City of Miami offices and open up riverfront for a three-tower private development could go to city voters in November. The city charter requires a referendum on any sale or lease of city-owned waterfront. The city aims to sell or lease Miami Riverside Center, its office tower complex on the river at 444 SW Second Ave. Officials say they’ve outgrown the building. A few years…

Duty-free giant to upgrade 21 Miami International Airport stores

The Western Hemisphere’s largest duty-free retailer is pledging to spend $17 million to upgrade its 21 stores in Miami International Airport in extending its leases at two of the airport’s three terminals to 2024 in a no-bid deal. The deal is part of the fifth amendment to the lease of Duty Free Americas Miami that the Miami-Dade County Commission approved in November 2005 and that was to expire…

Miami-Dade office market shows major gains

Miami-Dade’s office market in the first quarter showed prices markedly above three years ago but vacancy rates also higher, with the central business district in particular having growing vacancy. Despite a changing landscape, experts say they aren’t worried, as reports show the market on track to surpass absorption levels due to increased popularity in co-working offices. A presentation of the…

Developer Secures $75M Construction Financing for Industrial Park

Bridge Development Partners LLC obtained a $75 million construction loan to build a massive industrial business park in Miami Gardens, FL. At full build-out, Bridge Point Commerce Center will consist of 2.1 million square feet on 186 acres at 3900 NW 215th Street Fronting Florida’s Turnpike, the site is equidistant to the two major airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale and has immediate access to the…

Top office and industrial trends that will impact Northeast Florida in 2018

Businesses, investors and real estate owners are still watching and waiting for the office and industrial markets to catch up with the real estate boom happening in Florida and across the country. Jacksonville is still slow to recover fully from the recession, there are some high points in the market and indicators all analysts will be watching this year. Will this be a banner year for growth and expansion in these…

Ex-Bacardi buildings in Edgewater head for historic roles

A pair of unique and colorful structures, making a statement in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood for decades, is being considered for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. The city commission is to consider a resolution today (5/10) to support the nomination of the Bacardi Buildings Complex. City code requires the City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board…

Miami River Commission backs vast downtown development

The Miami River Commission is endorsing the latest plan to redevelop a city-owned property in the heart of downtown. By unanimous vote Monday the commission recommended approval of a proposal to redevelop a 4.2-acre site at 400 SE Second Ave., home to a Hyatt Regency Hotel and the city’s James L. Knight Convention Center. The matter is up for review by the Miami City Commission today…

City of Miami may buy, renovate former theater

In an effort to spruce up another corner of the Liberty City neighborhood, the City of Miami is considering a project to purchase and renovate a vacant former theater. Known as The Carver Theater, the building at 6016 NW Seventh Avenue has been vacant and for sale for years. The structure had been divided into smaller shops years ago, before being boarded up. The city’s Department of Community…

After 5M riders, city officials aim for trolley expansion

The meeting will be attended by Commissioner Willy Gort and Commissioner Manolo Reyes City of Miami officials plan to continue expanding the Miami Trolley by adding a new route, the Flagami route to Miami-Dade County’s bustling transportation scene. The Miami Trolley added a Little Haiti route earlier this year and held a ribbon cutting ceremony on February 9 at the Little Haiti Cultural Center.

Now that firms behind the collapsed FIU bridge dropped out, $800M I-395 bridge can move ahead

Miami may get its new “signature” I-395 bridge sooner than expected now that bid protests tied to the multimillion-dollar contract have been dropped. A group that includes Munilla Construction Management and Figg Bridge Group, the builder and engineer of the Florida International University bridge that collapsed in March and killed six people, withdrew its lawsuit after a judge confirmed awarding…

Miami River Commission gives thumbs-up to Knight Center and Hyatt redevelopment proposal

A proposal to replace the James L. Knight Convention Center and the adjacent Hyatt Regency Miami with a three-tower mixed-use project gained support from a key quasi-public agency, leading the way toward a public referendum. The Miami River Commission on Monday voted unanimously to recommend approval of the redevelopment project, which is being spearheaded by an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels…

Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights sells South-of-Fifth nursing home for $31M

A Brooklyn buyer paid $30.75 million for a nursing home and rehabilitation center in the heart of South Beach, property records show.
Southpointe Heights LLC, an affiliate of the Miami-based development firm Crescent Heights, sold the four-story, nearly 63,000-square-foot South Pointe Plaza Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at 42 Collins Avenue to 42 Collins Avenue LLC. The buyer, a Delaware…

Tata Harper spa opens in Miami condo

Tata Harper Spa has a skincare line that’s popular with Emma Watson, Anne Hathaway, and Gwyneth Paltrow Tata Harper, a green-friendly skincare and wellness line, debuted a full service spa in the Jade Signature condo tower in Miami. Tata Harper’s skincare line has a celebrity fan base that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Emma Watson, and Anne Hathaway. Located in Sunny Isles Beach…

Paul Cejas scores approval for partial demo at Washington Avenue project

A company controlled by former U.S. ambassador Paul Cejas and his wife Gertie reached a compromise with a Miami Beach board to move forward with a mixed-use project on a prime slice of Washington Avenue near Lincoln Road. By a 5 to 1 vote, the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved an application submitted by 420 Lincoln Road Development LLC to save a portion of a two-story…

Metropica, a $1.5B mix-use project aims to transform Sunrise’s corridor

The developer, Joseph Kavana, aims for an upscale makeover right across the street from Sawgrass Mall One developer aims to bring the city to the suburbs. Metropica, a master planned 65-acre, $1.5 billion high street project is coming to Sunrise’s western corridor. The mixed-use development, which is the first of its kind within South Florida’s western corridor, will soon make its debut in the heart…

LeBron James’ Unknwn signs lease for flagship store in Wynwood

LeBron James is bringing his well-known talent to Wynwood. But this doesn’t have to do with this supreme skills on the basketball court. Unknwn, a men’s fashion retailer co-founded by James, just signed a lease for a flagship store in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned. The 9,500-square-foot property at 261 Northwest 26th Street will feature a 2,300-square-foot store and an…

Self-storage developer buys land in Hialeah Gardens, scores construction financing

Self-storage developer Richard Beavers just bought vacant land in Hialeah Gardens and scored $12.4 million in construction financing, property records show. Hialeah Storage Builders LLC, led by Beavers, paid $2.3 million for about 2 acres of land north of Northwest 107th Street and just west of Northwest 89th Avenue. Beavers is the president of Self Storage Associates, headquartered in Ocoee…

Video: Reis Economist Barbara Denham on U.S. Office Market Performance and Economic Outlook

Barbara Denham, Economist at Reis, makes an appearance on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss office property market performance. Among the topics discussed are rent growth, interest rate changes, job growth and its impact on office market performance, the impact of shared space models, economic and global markets impacts, office property supply, the best markets for vacancy rate…

Miami-based developer faces indictment linked to Tampa project

Mordechai Boaziz, director of Miami-based Maverick Investments, was indicted on federal charges of conspiring to lie to banks and a federal agency. His attorney in Tampa, John Fitzgibbons, said Boaziz is innocent and intends to fight the indictment. Boaziz could face a $1 million fine and as many as 30 years in prison. The charges against Boaziz stem from his acquisition of an apartment complex in Tampa…

Turkish developer unveils plans for $300M tower in downtown Miami

Billionaire Turkish developer Bekir Okan is launching plans for a $300 million, 70-story hotel and condo tower in downtown Miami. Okan Tower will have a 294-room Hilton-branded hotel, 236 condo-hotel units, 153 condos, 64,000 square feet of Class A office space and a restaurant on the 67th floor. Okan Group unveiled the project at an event at its 3,000-square-foot sales gallery in Istanbul on…

Miami Worldcenter condo buyer alleges he was misled about project’s retail

A condo buyer at Paramount Miami Worldcenter is suing to get his deposit back, alleging the developer misrepresented the type of retail beneath the luxury high-rise that is under construction. Longobardo Lozada Becerra, who put a $274,500 deposit on unit 1805 at Paramount Miami Worldcenter, filed a civil suit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court alleging that the developer falsely told him there…

Lagunitas Brewing Co. buys Wynwood property

A major brewer out of California is tapping into Wynwood. Lagunitas Brewing Company affiliate Cerveceria La Tropical USA LLC paid $10.53 million for a warehouse at 42 and 50 Northeast 25th Street, adding to a growing list of breweries in the neighborhood. The seller was Kaco Afe LLC, a company owned by Karen Cohen of Always Flowers. The building sits on a 28,400-square-foot lot and includes…

Salumeria 104 to open in Coral Gables, Other Restaurant News

Graspa Group is bringing its Salumeria 104 concept to Coral Gables. The restaurant is taking 3,300 square feet at 117 Miracle Mile, in the former Angelique Euro Cafe space, according to a spokesperson. Alan Howard of Great Miami Investment brokered the 10-year deal. Graspa has two five-year extensions, which would bring the lease to 20 years. Salumeria has been open in Midtown Miami since 2012.

Miami Developer Looks to Cash Out of 4-Star Apartments

Miami-based AHS Development Group, eager to capitalize on continued strong demand for multifamily properties, is putting The Place at Dania Beach on the market. The firm hired Cushman & Wakefield to find a buyer for the 4-Star multifamily community at 180 E. Dania Beach Blvd. in Dania Beach, FL, south of Fort Lauderdale. There is no asking price. The 144-unit, seven-story complex is fully occupied…

Miami officials to demolish eight buildings in Little Haiti

The demolitions are part of the City of Miami’s effort to remove urban blight. One building was demolished May 1 in Little Haiti and eight more demolitions are scheduled as part of city officials’ efforts to remove urban blight. The property, located at 5527 NW Miami Court, was deemed uninhabitable after City of Miami inspectors found structural damage, such as missing windows and doors; damaged…

Miami investor Ricardo Caporal buys dev site near Westchester

A company controlled by Miami investor Ricardo Caporal paid $5 million for a development site near Miami’s Westchester neighborhood, property records show. AmeriLumber Hardware & Building Material Inc. sold the 1.37-acre property on Bird Road and Southwest 70th Court to Altis Ludlam Miami LLC. The lot is just north of a development site owned by a self-storage company and west of the proposed…

Two Prominent Office Properties Hit the Market in South Florida

CBRE is marketing two signature office properties in South Florida that brokers expect will fetch substantially more than their previous sale prices. The Landing at MIA, a 50-acre business park adjacent to Miami International Airport, could command close to $250 million – nearly twice what it last sold for, sources say. Los Angeles-based CBRE Global Investors bought The Landing four years ago from Hines REIT…

Miami-Dade’s First Waffle House Opens in Miami Gardens

It’s time for smothered hash browns and double chocolate chip waffles. Today at 2 p.m., Miami-Dade County’s first Waffle House will open at 19675 NW Second Ave. Though the company made no formal announcement, by 7 a.m., about 50 people had shown up at the restaurant even though breakfast wasn’t being served. “We don’t make a big splash when we open,” manager Tim Carley says.

Jungle Island’s new owner seeks approval for Watson Island hotel vote

The new owner of Jungle Island is returning to the Miami City Commission later this month seeking referendum approval to build a hotel on the Watson Island site. In July, ESJ Capital Partners pulled the plug on a referendum request due to a lack of commission support. The Aventura-based asset management firm paid $60 million for the theme park, and said last year that it needed to quickly move on the…

Acre Cos. has big development plans near Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens

Some vacant plots of land near Stephen Ross’ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens are being developed, amid a push by investors to capitalize on the recently renovated attraction. Property records show a partnership between an affiliate of Acre Companies and commercial real estate developer Education Development Specialists just scored a $10 million construction loan to build a 24 Hour…

Voters get last word on Jungle Island hotel, lease extension

The owners of Jungle Island plan a long, slender hotel designed like the curves and cascading balconies of a cruise ship, only smaller, as a key to a multi-million-dollar redevelopment of the animal theme park on city-owned Watson Island. City of Miami voters will be asked to approve the hotel as part of a proposal extending the lease of ESJ Capital Partners. The city leases the land at 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail…

Michael Cohen once pitched Miami-Dade on an 800-acre Trump film studio

Back in 2012, Donald Trump had big plans for Homestead. So big that he sent his attorney, Michael Cohen, to pitch the Miami-Dade County Commission on Trump Studio City, an 800-acre production facility on county-owned land near Homestead. Cohen is now the subject of a federal criminal investigation that reportedly includes suspected bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.

Owner of Iconic Bookstore Buys Buildings for $15M

Mitchell Kaplan was a law school student who spent more time in bookstores than he did in the law library. So he knew what he had to do. Kaplan dropped out of school and started Books & Books in 1982 in Coral Gables, FL. The independent book dealer became an icon in the community south of Miami, with crowds coming for the poetry readings and big-name book signings. Last week Kaplan partnered…

Books & Books, accounting firm pay $15M for Coral Gables property

A joint venture that includes Books & Books’ owner Mitchell Kaplan just paid $15 million to acquire the Coral Gables property that serves as the bookstore’s flagship location. Lopez Levi Lowenstein Glinsky, P.A., led by Raimundo Lopez Levi and Eric Glinsky, and Kaplan closed on the Books & Books office complex at 255 to 265 Aragon Avenue, Glinsky told The Real Deal.

With Florida’s Industrial Market Super Hot, Opportunity Is In Mergers, Off-Market Deals

“It’s getting a little hairy. Somebody’s going to be upset.” That is CBRE First Vice President Larry Genet’s outlook for the South Florida industrial market, where rental rates are hitting record highs and investors are clamoring to get in. Bisnow/Deirdra Funcheon Bisnow’s South Florida Industrial event included JLL Managing Director Brian Smith, CBRE First Vice President Larry Genet and Prologis Vice…

County pitches Miami Marlins court winnings (if any) for transit

Any available funds that the county claws back from the Miami Marlins in an ongoing lawsuit over the team’s stadium contract should be allocated to the county’s planned six-corridor transit infrastructure expansion, Miami-Dade commissioners recommended in a vote Tuesday.. After the Miami Marlins changed ownership, the prior owners, headed by Jeffrey Loria, claimed there were no profits from the…

International travel up 5% through Miami International Airport

The number of international passengers traveling through Miami International Airport this year is nearly 5% ahead of the same period in 2017, most recent data from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department show. Those international passengers are coveted in most areas of business, from real estate to retail sales, and in restaurants and hotels. Those who stay in Miami tend to stay longer and spend more…

Miracle Mile, Giralda Plaza lure more businesses

Pedestrians strolling along Giralda Plaza and the widened sidewalks of Miracle Mile can spot a handful of new businesses, with another soon to open its doors as Coral Gables welcomes more merchants and plans to keep long-standing businesses competitive. The Coral Gables Business Improvement District, the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce and city aim to lure more proprietors. They’re relying…

Miami tourism industry records a flock of record gains

Despite facing setbacks such as Hurricane Irma, Zika and the closure of the Miami Beach Convention Center for renovations, Bill Talbert, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, points to 2017 as “a year of headwinds turning into tailwinds,” with the tourism industry setting records in overnight visitors, hotel demand and tourism jobs. “Overnight visitors spent…”

Coral Gables office occupancy, demand soar

With office occupancy reaching 93.34% in Coral Gables and leasing costs increasing up to 20% in the past few years, industry experts anticipate a continued healthy office market in the Gables across all Class A, B and C markets. “The Coral Gables market is very healthy overall,” said Steven Hurwitz, director of office leasing and partner at CREC. “Total occupancy is in the low 90s percent-wise across all…

Blast from the past: Photos show ‘Miami that was never built’

A University of Miami employee creates a photo slideshow that includes a car-less Flagler Street. Getting caught up in Miami’s past is easy to do especially when you work at the University of Miami. Jorge Damian de la Paz, the program manager for Office of Civic and Community Engagement at the Big U, shares his photo slideshow that includes renderings of Miami’s historic developments that were…

Fed leaves interest rates under 1.75 percent following May meeting

The Federal Reserve offered no surprises this month. The country’s central bank held target interest rates steady at between 1.5 and 1.75 percent but said nothing to indicate it won’t follow through next month with an expected second hike in 2018, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Fed made its announcement Wednesday, following a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee.

Dade Paper & Bag leases at Flagler Station II, other leasing news

Flagler Station II gets 70,000-square-foot industrial lease.  PriceSmart just terminated its lease for 122,000 square feet at Flagler Station II in Medley, and signed on a 70,424-square-foot sublease with Dade Paper & Bag. PriceSmart still has two 35,000-square-foot spaces available for sublease, according to a press release. The deals chip away at a 262,898-square-foot block that PriceSmart listed for…

Sam Zell isn’t hot on industrial real estate

It seems everyone is bullish on industrial real estate except for at least one well-known billionaire who has made a fortune investing in distressed real estate. Equity International founder and chairman Sam Zell told Bloomberg he was more than skeptical about demand for the large amount of industrial space coming online nationwide. As e-commerce continues gain ground on brick and mortar retail stores…

South Florida’s Downtown Miami, Southwest Broward Submarkets Leading the Way for New Retail Development

South Florida developers aren’t buying the “retail is dying” mantra. Three major shopping centers are in development across downtown Miami and Southwest Broward, ranking those areas as the leading submarkets for retail construction in the tri-county region, according to CoStar data. Miami Worldcenter and MiamiCentral, both 5-Star projects, account for more than three-quarters of the downtown…

The Future Of Non-Bank Real Estate Lending: 10 Predictions For The Next 10 Years

Non-bank real estate lending has become much more prominent in the wake of the financial crisis as banks pulled back dramatically from this asset class, which played such a large role in causing the crisis. With the U.S. government and regulators injecting hundreds of billions of dollars to avoid a collapse of the financial system, banks…

Chart: Florida Just Ahead of Georgia as Leading Exporter to Cuba

Looking at the first chart herein, one can see that among U.S. states Florida exports the most to Cuba in the most recent year (2015), albeit with less margin versus number two ranked Georgia that one might guess. Florida’s near $35 million in exports, presumably much of which originates from Miami, represents 18.8% of a total of $180 million in exports by the USA as a whole. There are a number of…

What Miami’s Skyline Could Mean For All Of Miami’s Residents

Over the last decade, Miami’s skyline has transformed. Where once there was only a handful of tall buildings, skyscrapers now crowd the horizon, standing alongside cranes promising more construction of buildings reaching taller heights. Even while standing in awe at the feet of these striking symbols of economic growth and progress, I can’t help but pause and wonder, how much of this development is…

Miami, home to five WeWorks, ranks as the 14th-best place to launch a startup

The WalletHub list shows that Miami outranks Orlando and Port St. Lucie. According to WalletHub, Miami ranks 14th as the best large city to start a business in the United States. While other Florida cities, such as Orlando and Port St. Lucie, made the cut, Miami outranked both.
”Miami’s diverse population, access to education and capital, and innovative partnerships with the private sector strengthen the city’s…

Singaporean investment group pays $61.5M for industrial buildings in South Florida

A Singaporean investment group just paid $61.5 million for a bundle of industrial buildings throughout South Florida as part of a national portfolio sale. Mapletree Investments purchased two buildings in Boca Raton, seven in Tamarac, one in Weston and one in Pompano Beach from Philadelphia-based Exeter Property Group, according to property records. In Boca Raton, Mapletree bought the 55,899…

Cranes Again Dotting the Skyline in Miami, Fort Lauderdale Metros

The Miami metro has clearly led new office deliveries over the last three years. While new office construction has been mostly muted over the current economic cycle, it has started to pick up across the Miami and Fort Lauderdale metros over the past three years or so. As of the second quarter of this year, the Miami metro is a clear leader in new construction, with 2 million…

Lennar buys farmland near Zoo Miami approved for 85 houses

Miami-based home builder Lennar Corp. paid $4.5 million for 32.7 acres of farmland in southern Miami-Dade County near Zoo Miami.
Lennar paid $137,614 per acre for the land, which has county approval for construction of 85 “estate” houses with 3,001 to 5,000 square feet of space. The property’s zoning designation is estate residential, which requires a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet.

March hotel occupancy dips in Broward, rises in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach

Hotel occupancy in March increased in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and fell slightly in Broward County, according to hotel data specialist STR. Hotel occupancy in Miami-Dade rose to 87.9 percent in March from 85.7 percent in the same month last year, and the average daily room rate in March was $268.22, up from $232.86 last year. The average daily room rate also jumped in Broward County…

Related sues Gran Paraiso crane suppliers over collapse during Hurricane Irma

The Related Group is suing the companies that provided a tower crane that collapsed at an Edgewater construction site during Hurricane Irma. Related’s PRH Paraiso Two LLC and PRH NE 31st Street LLC are suing Connecticut-based manufacturer Terex Corp. and Pennsylvania-based Maxim Crane Works LP in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging the crane was defective, and that the collapse damaged Gran Paraiso…

The Related Group Bets Big on Wynwood

Jon Paul Perez, a vice president at The Related Group, spends most Saturdays in the car looking for development opportunities in Miami’s most popular neighborhoods. And he notices the same thing just about every time he zooms through Wynwood: The place is packed. “People love Wynwood,” Perez said of the revitalized, 50-block corridor north of downtown. “But if someone wanted to live…”

What Is the Bank Secrecy Act, and Why Does It Exist?

Almost 50 years ago, concerns about large amounts of cash coming into the country from the drug trade led Congress to pass what’s become known as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).1 The BSA was designed to help identify the source, volume and movement of currency and other monetary instruments transported or transmitted into or out of the U.S. BSA Basics: To meet the law’s objectives, the BSA assigned…

What Are Indicators Saying about a Potential Recession?

Forecasting recessions is notoriously difficult. Even so, knowing that a recession may be imminent enables consumers and businesses to make better strategic decisions. For example, households may want to increase their savings in case they lose jobs, while companies may reduce investments to adjust for lower expected future demand. Identifying Recessions through Yield Curves: It is therefore not…

Is the U.S. Due for a Recession?

The U.S. economy has been expanding for the last eight and a half years, but how much longer will that expansion last? On the one hand, economic conditions show few signs of slowing down. On the other hand, economists have found evidence of “positive duration dependence,” which says that the longer an economic expansion goes on, the more likely it is to end soon. Hence, there is a concern…

Resi construction outpaced commercial in March in South Florida: report

Residential construction starts outpaced commercial starts in South Florida last month, according to a new report from Dodge Data & Analytics. Overall, spending was up 4 percent in March to $1.06 billion. The amount of nonresidential construction contracts fell 3 percent to $458.7 million, while residential starts increased 10 percent to nearly $600 million. For the first quarter, construction spending has…

Jackson Memorial Hospital files building permit for $174M rehab center

Jackson Memorial Hospital is moving forward with its plans to build a $174 million paralysis rehabilitation hospital on its Miami Health District campus. Jackson submitted a building permit for the Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center For The Miami Project To Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, according to the city of Miami’s building department. The permit is pending…

Miami’s EB-5 regional center to shut down

Miami’s EB-5 regional center will be shut down for failing to generate economic activity and create jobs. Founded in 2014 under former Mayor Tomás Regalado and led by attorney Mikki Canton, the center was supposed to inject foreign investment into Miami’s economy through a visa program known as EB-5. But the regional center did not generate any money, nor did it produce any visas. Miami City…

After Becoming World’s Largest Restaurant Chain, Subway’s Sales Struggles Lead to U.S. Store Closures

Milford, CT-based Subway said this week it will close, consolidate or move “a few hundred locations” in 2018, adding to the hundreds of its restaurants shuttered in recent years. Subway said it has nearly 26,000 locations in the United States and 43,700 worldwide. All the restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees. The decision to shutter hundreds more of its restaurants nationwide is likely the…

Miami Shopping Centers: 2018 Trends & Analysis

Miami’s incredible, sunny climate and outdoor, social lifestyle create a foundation for the fundamental presence of retail shopping centers and malls in the region. In fact, out of the Top-10 Shopping Destinations in the USA, Miami and Palm Beach are both featured, making Florida the only state with 2 locations on the list. This is…

MMG acquires Pinecrest Shoppes in Pinecrest, FL

An affiliate of MMG Equity Partners acquired Pinecrest Shoppes, a 14,558 SF shopping center located at 11635 South Dixie Highway, Pinecrest, FL for a purchase price of $6,200,000 or $425 psf. The property last sold for $6,850,000 in 2007. Pinecrest Shoppes, adjacent to Suniland Shopping Center, is strategically…

How to Maximize the Value of Your Commercial Real Estate Properties

Summary: How to impact NOI for commercial real estate owners How to maintain tenant retention Why is Florida’s commercial real estate market consistently a Top performer nationwide? Florida’s commercial real estate market is heading into 2018 with positive news for landlords. The metrics at the end of 2017 illustrate the potential and benefits of currently owning property…

Mayor attends groundbreaking for Max Strang-designed waterfront condominiums

The 26-unit residency includes a marina, dock, gardens, and esplanade. There’s a new residential property coming to Coconut Grove.
The Fairchild Coconut Grove, a 26-unit residency designed by architect Max Strang, is ”the only new waterfront luxury development rising in Coconut Grove.” Strang and ROVR Development held the property’s groundbreaking on April 10 to commemorate the sale of 60…

Top gear for the top tier: Why develop a supercar-branded condo?

When Miami was bracing for Hurricane Irma last September, Gil Dezer offered the city’s superrich a very different kind of shelter: a refuge for their supercars. Dezer offered to house some of the city’s elite collection of Maseratis, Ferraris and Lamborghinis in his Porsche Design Tower, which has a patented car elevator. “It’s really the safest place for billionaires to hold their toys when this kind of thing…

NFL player buys North Miami Beach apartment complex

NFL linebacker turned investor Elvis Dumervil is growing his real estate portfolio. Property records show a company tied to Dumervil’s property management and development firm, Prestige Estates, paid $9.5 million for an apartment complex in North Miami Beach. The buyer financed the deal with a $9 million loan from UC LDBA Fund I Ventures LLC. Investor and developer George Heinlein, who runs…