Related Group plans for Olympia Theater building put off again

A Related Group subsidiary’s proposal to redevelop the Olympia Theater building in downtown Miami was put off for a second time last week, as the organization that runs the theater voiced objections to the plan to alter the historic building. The proposal was supposed to get an airing last month before city commissioners, but Vice Chairman Ken Russell asked that the item be deferred, saying the proposal…

Rockwood, Thor list Wynwood site for $45 million

Rockwood Capital and Thor Equities are looking to cash in on a large development site they own in Wynwood. The 2.1-acre property at 2801 Northwest Third Avenue is on the market for $45 million with Whitehall Realty Group’s Devlin Marinoff and Metro 1 Commercial’s Tony Arellano, the brokers said. Property records show Thor Weck Owner LLC paid $26.9 million for the site in 2015. The Thor affiliate…

State Street Realty Negotiates Record PSF Sales Price For Free-Standing Warehouse In Doral

State Street Realty, a Miami based brokerage and advisory firm, closed the sale of a 29,000-square-foot industrial property in Doral, located at 9590 NW 25 Street. The transaction is valued at $5.6 million, or at $193 per square foot, marking a new benchmark for the highest per-square-foot sales price for a free-standing warehouse above 20,000 square feet, according to a release. The Buyer, Church…

Could Coral Gables lose the rights to Miracle Mile name?

The city of Coral Gables is now looking at trademarking the city’s “jewel,” Miracle Mile. Now that Illinois-based Institutional Mall Investors is applying to trademark its Miracle Mile Shops in Las Vegas, the City Beautiful wants to protect the popular retail street, according to the Miami Herald. The street, which is Coral Way from Southwest 37th Avenue to 42nd Avenue, has been known as Miracle Mile since 1947.

Newly Released Port Tracker Report Points To Another Record-Breaking Month

The theme of records being broken remains firmly intact based on data in the most recent edition of the Port Tracker report issued this week by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates. The ports surveyed in the report include: Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, Houston, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads…

Rok picks up industrial building in Miami Gardens

An affiliate of Rok Acquisitions just bought an industrial building in Miami Gardens for $8.8 million, records show. The warehouse at 15801 Northwest 49th Avenue spans about 150,000 square feet, according to the buyer. Records show the Rok affilate, Warehomes Precision LLC, led by Marcos and Jason Morjain, scored $6.65 million in financing from City National Bank of Florida. Precision Trading Corp…

South Beach’s Monad Terrace secures $62.5 million in construction financing

Expected to go vertical in March Monad Terrace in Miami Beach secured $62.5 million in construction financing, JDS Development announced, paving the way for vertical construction to begin next year. Construction is well underway at the anticipated but delayed project set to rise along West Avenue (just south of the Waverly) with the foundation soil mixing more than halfway complete.

Sergio Pino goes micro at Midtown Doral

Sergio Pino is going “super micro” at Midtown Doral. In a bid to attract local buyers, the Miami developer is including smaller units in phase two of his mixed-use Doral development. Condos starting at 545 square feet and $229,000 will be included in the project, Pino told The Real Deal. At Midtown Doral, more than 90 percent of buyers so far have been Venezuelan. Now, due to political and economic…

Investor Scoops Up Miami Trailer Park

As developable tracts of lands become more scarce in Miami, investor Steve Schneider has purchased the Palm Lakes Trailer Park, which includes 120 home pads on approximately seven acres, for $6.25 million. The trailer park, at 7600 NW 27th Avenue, lies within the North Central Urban Area District zoning overlay and could eventually be developed for high-density units up to 12 stories. In the short term…

Nearly 700 smart apartments planned for 400 Biscayne

Next to another planned luxury tower A large apartment complex is planned at 400 Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami, with Greybrook Realty Partners and Property Markets Group co-developing. The project would include 20,000 square feet of retail space and over 690 smart rental units, which would feature keyless entry and control of the audio, video, and thermostat from an app on the…

WeWork to open flagship downtown Miami location in December

WeWork finally has an opening date for its downtown Miami location, two years after inking a deal with the property’s owners. The co-working firm, which was valued at $20 billion in July, will open Dec. 1 at the Security Building, a historic 15-story building at 117 Northeast First Avenue, a spokesperson told The Real Deal. WeWork signed a 15-year lease for the nearly 97,000-square-feet…

Judge dismisses suit challenging Beckham land sale

A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge threw out a lawsuit challenging the sale of county-owned land in Overtown to Miami Beckham United. Activist and wealthy landowner Bruce Matheson filed the suit earlier this year, alleging the county’s land deal with Beckham breaks state law because it wasn’t offered to other bidders, and said he would buy the 3-acre property under the same terms and for the same…

Overseas lenders held $72 billion worth of US commercial loans in Q2

Foreign banks held $71.6 billion worth of commercial real estate loans backed by U.S. properties during the second quarter of the year, a sign many point to as proof there’s still confidence in the overall economy and market fundamentals. That figure is up from $59.3 billion in the second quarter last year and $38.3 billion at the same point in 2015, according to data from Trepp reported by the Wall Street…

Airbnb is teaming up with Miami based Newgard Developent Group to create large apartment complex in Florida

Airbnb is introducing its first branded apartment complex in Florida, a state where strict regulations threaten its growth and restrict its supply of available rooms. The partnership with Miami-based Newgard Development Group marks the first step by Airbnb to design accommodations from the ground up for home-sharing, further challenging the traditional hotel industry. Under the brand “Niido…”

First Airbnb-branded apartments coming to the US in partnership with Miami Developer

If you can’t beat them, join them? Miami-based Newgard Development Group is partnering with Airbnb on the first Airbnb-branded apartment building in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. The move comes as the short-term rental giant tries to woo developers and property managers to allow Airbnb rentals. The 324-unit building, which will be built just outside of Orlando in Kissimmee, will feature…

New retail and restaurants head to Coconut Grove

Three new retail and restaurant tenants are coming to Coconut Grove. Bonobos, Le Pain Quotidien and Poke305 just inked leases in the Grove, according to the Comras Company, which brokered the leases. Bonobos, a clicks-to-bricks men’s clothing company, took over Kit + Ace’s 1,960-square-foot space in Coconut Grove at 3401 Main Highway. Kit + Ace, a luxury clothing and accessories brand, opened…

Here are South Florida’s billionaire real estate players who made the Forbes 400

South Florida’s real estate billionaires, Jorge Pérez and Jeff Greene included, held onto their wealthy status, according to the latest Forbes 400 ranking. It now takes $2 billion to make it on the list, up from $1.7 billion a year ago. In the local real estate industry, Pérez, head of the Miami-based Related Group, ranked 261 with a net worth of $3 billion.

Construction firms sue each other over delays and problems at Civic Towers

The woes for the owners of two federally subsidized apartment buildings damaged by Hurricane Irma keep piling up. Construction firms involved in the renovation of Civic Towers, located at 1855 Northwest 15th Avenue and 1900 Northwest 14th Street in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood have now filed dueling lawsuits against one another that allege fraud and other shenanigans. Coastal Maintenance…

Ex-mayor charged with fraud over North Miami real estate deal

A former North Miami Beach mayor is back in the hot seat after his alleged role in a failed real estate investment. Ex-mayor Myron Rosner, who pleaded guilty to breaking campaign rules in 2012, was just charged with securities fraud, sale of an unregistered security, sale of security by an unregistered dealer and grand theft by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, according to a release. The state…

Coconut Grove’s Mutiny Hotel Was the Cocaine Kingpins’ Playground

America in the late 1970s and early ’80s was in a pronounced funk: Inflation and unemployment were high; consumer sentiment was in the dumps. But so exceptional was Miami’s cocaine economy that dopers were paying banks to accept suitcases full of cash (while certificates of deposit were yielding 20 percent, on top of your choice of toaster or alarm clock). According to one study from Florida…

Redevelopment plan for Miami Jewish Health System campus wins planning board approval

Holding a community meeting with its neighbors proved beneficial for Miami Jewish Health Systems. The Miami Planning and Zoning Board unanimously voted on Tuesday to give the non-profit organization a favorable recommendation for its $200 million plan to redevelop its Buena Vista campus. Iris Escarra, an attorney representing Miami Jewish Health System, told board members the…

Video: Barbara Denham, Economist at Reis, Submits Office Property Investment Forecast

Barbara Denham, Economist at Reis, appears on this episode of The Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about office market cap rate trends, rising interest rates effecting cap rates, and future forecasts impacting office space.

Video: Green Street’s Phil Owens on Change and Opportunity in Retail Real Estate

In this short clip, Phil Owens of Green Street’s Advisory Group, discusses the opportunity for an information advantage in retail properties. Investors are assessing their mall exposure to retailers, looking at ratios of occupancy cost, and using a set of information sources to identify risk as well as opportunity.

MLB Approves Miami Marlins Sale to Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman

If you’ve been saving a particularly nice bottle of bubbly for the day when Jeffrey Loria’s fat, greedy face finally leaves Miami baseball fans to suffer in peace, it’s time to pop the cork. Major League Baseball’s owners have unanimously approved the sale of the team to a group led by investor Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter. MLB has confirmed the owners signed off on the $1.2 billion sale, which will make…

Downtown’s retail market strength drives businesses north

The strength of downtown’s retail market and its spiraling leasing rates have pushed merchants and restaurateurs farther north, observers say. Though she agrees that Edgewater and areas north benefit from the popularity of the central business district, Noa Figari, vice president of retail leasing of Colliers Urban Core Division, says her heart is still downtown. “I really think downtown’s transformation…”

Micro-Units Are A Big Deal:

And they’re coming to your city… In 1963, Walt Disney approached two of his staff songwriters, the Sherman Brothers, to come up with a catchy tune for the UNICEF exhibition in the upcoming New York World’s Fair. The result was “It’s A Small World (After All).” Little did Mr. Disney know that his song could easily be the soundtrack for today’s boom in tiny living. Americans these days are obsessed with…

Hialeah Is ‘A Great City In Which To Be A Landlord’

Two single-story apartment complexes in Hialeah, with a combined total of 15 units, have sold for more than $1.2M — $81K per unit, or $230 per SF. Both buildings are fully leased. One apartment building is located at 83 West Eighth Street, with nine studio units that rent for $650 to $750 per month. The second property, a block away at 85 West 10th St., has six one-bedroom, one-bath units with rent…

Miami Highlighted in NREI Takeaways from Day 3 of NIC Fall Conference

Rapid inventory growth has had an impact of occupancy rates at seniors housing facilities, and that growth has been particularly evident in certain markets, including Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Miami and Boston, noted… On the flip side, the strongest absorption rates over the past year were observed in San Antonio, Texas, Dallas, Miami, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Phoenix, according to Peck.

U.S. Rents Are Getting More Affordable – as the Renters Get Richer- but Miami an Exception

Not all cities benefited from better affordability; of 53 metros with at least 1 million people, one in three recorded an increase in the number of cost-burdened households. Fifty-nine percent of Miami renters spent at least 30 percent of their income on rent, the highest in the U.S. One positive from the report is that rental affordability improved across income levels, with the rent-burden rate falling fastest…

Meeting Set to Discuss Coconut Grove Playhouse

The county sent out background materials regarding the Coconut Grove Playhouse meeting which is Thursday, October 19 at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. I’m not sure why this is not inside the Grove, but that bothers me. What’s ironic is that this meeting would have been held inside the playhouse in better times. So these are the current plans with changes made since the April meeting.

How E-Commerce is Impacting CRE

Retailers are spinning a logistics web around the country. A lot has changed since 2011. That’s when a blog post on this site stated: “Many consumers still want to see or touch goods before they purchase, so they still go into a physical store to get this experience.” That statement still holds somewhat true, but e-commerce has continued to grow by leaps and bounds in the past six years – and fewer…

Artists Creating – And Owning – Their Own Spaces in Miami

Art does a lot for people. It appeals to our creative nature; it’s personal; its expression touches something in all of us. In the words of Pablo Picasso, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” The same sentiment can be said about art in communities. By embracing creativity, neighborhoods are learning that art can wash off their dust. We’ve seen that with Miami’s…

CRE In Miami is Getting Greener

When it comes to climate change, perhaps no other region in the nation has as much to lose as South Florida – Miami and Miami Beach in particular. With each year, King Tide flooding becomes increasingly extreme and creeps into more and more neighborhoods, and herculean efforts are underway to adapt city design and pump water back into the ocean. It should come as little surprise that cities…

Florida in The Top 5 For Commercial Development

When the NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association, conducted its analysis to determine the top states for commercial development, it looked at GDP, salaries, wages, and the amount of jobs created and supported from the development and operation of commercial real estate. People in South Florida, though, merely had to look at the number of cranes and construction projects filling…

6 Ways to Save On a CRE Lease

“Man is an animal that makes bargains; no other animal does this – no dog exchanges bones with another.” Economist Adam Smith wrote these words in 1776 in his seminal Wealth of Nations, and this macroeconomic maxim is just as appropriate for today’s CRE market. Everyone loves a good bargain, from BOGOs at their local grocery store to businesses looking to lease office space. Bargain hunting…

The Traits of a Good Tenant Representative

Quality tenant representation goes far beyond listings and price per square foot. It is difficult to overstate the importance of quality tenant representation in commercial real estate. Through the peaks and troughs of the market, a good tenant rep must be able to assess economic trends, broker deals, thoroughly evaluate a client’s needs, and make sure those needs are always their priority. The best reps…

What are construction defects and what can I do about them?

Construction defects can impact the value and function of a construction project so it is important to be familiar with the legal resources available to help. If you have had problems and concerns with your construction project, you may have wondered what construction defects are and what you can do about them. In general, construction defects refer to a condition of a construction project, either…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report Third Quarter 2017

The third quarter of 2017 ends with a slight increase in the average lease rate to $9.76 per sq. ft. and the vacancy rate remains the same at 4.1%. The positive absorption was only 174,347 sq. ft. bringing the annual total thus far to just under 900,000 sq. ft. Although the stats this year are not particularly impressive everyone still wants more industrial real estate assets in Miami. Two large sales worth noting were…

Little Havana’s Big Evolution?

Little Havana has a special place in the hearts of Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla. The two are the co-founders of the Barlington Group, a company that invests in real estate and small businesses throughout Miami — but it’s in Little Havana where they own stakes in 40 retail, residential and hotel buildings. Of those properties, 23 can be found along Southwest 8th Street, also known as Calle Ocho, the main…

Turkish developers plan 73-story downtown Miami tower

A surface parking lot in the heart of downtown Miami is destined for new heights – Turkish developers plan a 73-story tower to be called The Sterling. The nearly 966-foot tower is to be home to a 300-room hotel, 363 dwellings, commercial-retail and office space. The architectural team says the design, with its sloping and curved top, was inspired by the shape of a tulip, the national flower of Turkey.

73-story hotel project inspired by tulip proposed for downtown Miami

A sleek 73-story mixed-use project named The Sterling whose design was inspired by a tulip has been proposed by Turkish developer Okan Group for downtown Miami, reports The Next Miami. The plans for the 956-foot tower include 362 residences, 300 hotel rooms, over 55,000 square feet of office space, a little over 3,000 square feet of retail, and nearly 10,000 square feet of restaurant space.

Sleek Miami hotel proposed near Resorts World Miami site

A modern 43-story hotel with a rooftop bar overlooking Biscayne Bay has been proposed near the Resorts World Miami site in Downtown, per The Next Miami. It would be comprised of 270 hotel rooms, nearly 15,000 square feet of office space, and over 700 square feet of retail. The project was designed by architect Allan Shulman and Mandala Holdings is the developer. Located on the corner of Northeast…

43-story downtown Miami hotel would not have on-site parking

A hotel wearing a cloak of colored glass is planned a block from the bay in downtown Miami, with no on-site parking. Mandala Holdings proposes the 43-story hotel on a corner at 511 NE 15th St., next door to Trinity Cathedral on North Bayshore Drive. The property is about a half block from the Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover Station, and adjacent to the waterfront owned by Genting Group…

Giralda Avenue renovations might yield long-term benefits

While the construction pain of the Miracle Mile and Giralda Avenue renovations is temporary, the benefits for the city’s retail tenants will be long-lasting, observers say. The redo was long overdue, said Doug Jones, managing partner at JAG Insurance Group, which has offices in the city. “It was a double-edged sword,” he said. “The store owners knew it was going to impede their businesses for awhile, but in…

EB-5 investor visa program may face dramatic change

After years of short-term extensions, the fate of the EB-5 investor visa program is still unknown among local and national experts, but most agree that dramatic changes to the program are more likely than expiration. The EB-5 immigrant investor visa program was designed to create jobs and spur national economic development by incentivizing foreign investment in commercial enterprises in…

Miami’s Elysee condo secures $16.5 million construction loan

Elysee, a 57-story waterfront condo planned to rise at 700 Northeast 23rd Street in Edgewater, has secured $16.5 million in construction financing from Mosaic Real Estate Credit. This allows the Two Roads Development project to move forward on its initial phase of construction that’ll include installing pilings and subterranean excavation work, in addition to pouring the building’s foundation.

Doral’s One Park Square Trades For $96 Million

Widely regarded to be among the most architecturally-striking office buildings in Florida, the trophy asset sale closed on September. CBRE arranged the sale of One Park Square, a Zyscovich-designed, 281,786-square-foot office tower widely regarded to be among the most architecturally-striking office buildings in Florida. Located at 3470 Northwest 82nd Avenue in Doral, the trophy office asset was…

Miami’s construction office market ranks 16th nationally over the last decade

No. 1 in the state In looking at how the office construction market has fared in 50 of the largest U.S. metros, a new study by Commercial Cafe found the Miami metro area; comprised of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach; to be the 16th fastest-growing market. Roughly 10 million square feet of office space was constructed in that area from 2007 to 2017. The top three metros by a wide margin…

Nova Southeastern’s North Miami Beach campus is on the market for $32 million

Nova Southeastern University’s North Miami Beach campus is on the market asking $32 million. Located at 1750 Northeast 167th Street, the 8.28-acre site includes over 245,000 square feet of gross leasable area, including the following: Vacant four-story 52,800 square-foot technology education building; Vacant three-story a 28,000 square-foot education building; Five-story 153,000 square-foot NSU Health…

Miami’s rental market is down slightly year over year

No. 9 in the country Miami’s rental market hasn’t changed much within the last year in terms of pricing, with median one-bedroom apartments at $1,800 a month and median two-bedroom apartments going for $2,450 a month, according to the latest report from Zumper. One-bedroom units didn’t budge at all year over year as Miami remained in the No. 9 spot nationally. Two-bedroom units…

Cold storage facility sells for a cool $10 million in Miami-Dade

A cold storage facility in northern Miami-Dade just traded hands for $9.62 million, according to the firm that brokered the deal. The Mandich Group, a real estate investment fund, paid about $72 per square foot for the 133,000-square-foot facility at 501 Northeast 183rd Street. Records show FLA Plantation Cold Storage sold the property. Previous sale information was not available. It hit the market a year…

Miami Beach preservation board greenlights demolition of Lincoln Road building

A plan to redevelop a Lincoln Road property with a 1920s facade can move forward following a favorable vote by the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board. Real estate investor Leon Zwick’s 947 Lincoln Road Investments won 6-1 approval Tuesday for a “near total demolition” of the existing two-story retail building at 947 Lincoln Road and 1657 Michigan Avenue in Miami Beach. Originally built…

Moishe Mana puts North Miami Beach mixed-use property on the market

Developer Moishe Mana just put an office building and adjoining retail property and garage in North Miami Beach on the market. TIR Prime Properties’ Mariano Saal and Sheila Dreher are listing the site at 699 Northeast 167th Street, which includes a 12-story office building. The 136,468-square-foot property is 54.5 percent occupied, with its main tenant Regions Bank, Dreher said. The site is…

Billionaire developer revises Miami Beach condo plans

The Brazilian billionaire developer behind a contentious condo project in Miami Beach submitted revised plans for the site. José Isaac Peres, founder of Multiplan Real Estate Asset Management, now plans to provide public beach access at the property, the Marlborough House at 5775 Collins Avenue. In September, the Miami Beach Design Review Board delayed a decision on the demolition of the…

Lennar Corp Center Sold for $40 million

Colony Northstar, Inc. sold the Lennar Corporate Center, a four-building office complex at 700-790 NW 107th Ave. in Miami, FL, for $40 million, or about $139 per square foot, to NayaUmi LLC. National homebuilder Lennar Corp. developed the 289,986-square-foot office campus between 1982 and 1993, and maintains its headquarters there. Located in the Miami Airport submarket, the four four-story…

Video: Reis Economist Barbara Denham Reviews Office Property Performance

Barbara Denham, Economist at Reis, appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to review office market performance and variables that may be affecting it, including differences in suburban versus urban office space performance. Highlights include: Vacancy rate was flat at 16.1% for Q3, also unchanged for year; Rent grow 0.3% in Q3, 1.4% year over year; flat vac rate and rent growth; odd given how deep…

CVS waiver denied at 27th Avenue and US1

I am amazed that on Wednesday night, the Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board did the right thing and stuck with the law! By a unanimous decision, the board voted down the expansion ideas that CVS Pharmacy had for their new Grove location. As you know, they are interested in taking over the Shell gas station space at 27th and US1. There was an existing covenant on the property, agreed upon…

Video: Jim Costello of Real Capital Analytics on Business Cycle, Interest Rates Impact on Retail Real Estate

Jim Costello, Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss where we are in the cycle of retail real estate, tax reform impacts on retail properties, rising interest rates and cap rates.

Video: Jim Costello of Real Capital Analytics on Medical Office Property Cap Rate Trends

Jim Costello, Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics, comes on The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss opportunities in medical properties, medical real estate cap rate trends, and healthcare property investment properties.

Video: Jim Costello of Real Capital Analytics on Retail Property Cap Rates, Opportunities

Jim Costello, Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics, joins appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss various opportunities in retail commercial real estate properties, retail property cap rate trends, and retail real estate lender sentiment.

Would-be Miami Marine Stadium operators tell what they’d do

When it comes to a restored and reopened Miami Marine Stadium, major unanswered questions include: Who will operate the venue and what will it be used for? Three groups showing an interest in operating the stadium gave recent presentations to the Virginia Key Advisory Board. One of them, SMG, has vast experience managing major venues for sports and entertainment, including here in South Florida.

Video: Brian Bailey Shares Federal Reserve’s View on Impact of Changing 1031 and Banking Regulations

Brian Bailey, Subject Matter Expert with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss the Federal Reserve’s view on potential 1031 tax reform and banking regulations.

Don’t Get Too Comfortable at That Desk ~ NYT on Emerging Trends in Office Space

First there were individual offices. Then cubicles and open floor plans. Now, there is a “palette of places.” New office designs are coming to a workplace near you, with layouts meant to cater to the variety of tasks required of modern white-collar workers. Put another way, it means people don’t sit in just one place. It’s partly a backlash against the one-size-fits-all mind-set, not to mention the corporate…

Video: Plum Lending CEO Bill Fisher on Technology and Big Data Benefiting CRE Financing

Bill Fisher, Founder and CEO at PLUM Lending, appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about the utilization of technology and data to power one’s business and make better financing decisions. Also discussed are the rapid changes in technology in the commercial real estate industry.

Video: Brian Bailey of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta on Where We are in the Cycle

Brian Bailey, Subject Matter Expert with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, joins host Michael Bull to discuss where we are in the cycle. Highlights include: Have seen nothing but solid job growth for last 4 years; Unemployment has come down significantly; This is the third longest expansion since 1945; Modest growth looks in the cards for foreseeable future; Dark clouds include net loan demand softening…

Micro-Units Are A Big Deal

In 1963, Walt Disney approached two of his staff songwriters, the Sherman Brothers, to come up with a catchy tune for the UNICEF exhibition in the upcoming New York World’s Fair. The result was “It’s A Small World (After All).” Little did Mr. Disney know that his song could easily be the soundtrack for today’s boom in tiny living. Americans these days are obsessed with simplifying their lives. Television…

Current Opportunities For Investors In U.S. Commercial Real Estate Debt Investing

The commercial real estate market has undergone a significant recovery since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. However, not all segments of the market have participated equally in the recovery – including within the CRE debt market. In the following interview, portfolio managers Devin Chen and Jeffrey Thompson discuss the state of the market, including…

Office building in Miami area purchased for $96 million

Commercial real estate offers many exciting opportunities for many business and companies to grow and expand which is why it is helpful for them to understand the legal process surrounding commercial real estate transactions. A company recently purchase a class A office building in the Miami area for $96 million. It is the most expensive recorded office sale in the community just about a half an hour from…

Israeli investment firm buys office building near Miami International Airport

An Israeli investment firm just paid $10.9 million for an office building near Miami International Airport, according to a release. Netz U.S.A. LLC bought the 82,763-square-foot building from Montreal, Canada-based entity TMSA Altis 5040 LLC. The nine-story building, 50Forty on 7th, at 5040 Northwest 7th Street, traded for about $132 per square foot. Records show the seller bought the property out of…

Developers plan culinary pop-up along Miami River

At a bend in the Miami River, just a few blocks from downtown, developers plan to open a culinary pop-up venue next month. They say it will be a taste of what’s to eventually rise at the site, a mixed-use food and entertainment destination known as Riverside Wharf. The overall project earned the approval of City of Miami voters in March 2016, a referendum triggered by the city code and charter requiring…

New affordable housing is coming to the West Grove

New affordable housing is coming to the West Grove, after a major public-private partnership gained final approval from Miami city commissioners. Miami-Dade County is a partner with Platform 3750 LLC, which plans to build the mixed-use project on 2.1-acres at 3750 S Dixie Highway (US 1). The project will bring stores, offices and apartments to the neighborhood, and intends to take advantage of its…

Developers Want to Put Two Massive LED Screens on Miami Beach Building

Plenty of South Florida walls are covered with eye-catching murals, but the developers behind one Miami Beach project have another idea for filling the blank space: ginormous LED screens — one of them nearly 91 feet wide and 38 feet tall. The two screens proposed for “1212 Lincoln Road,” a Crescent Heights mixed-use development that will span a block of Alton Road from 16th Street to Lincoln Road, would…

PortMiami’s Container Cargo Traffic Increases Over 18 Percent Since Last Year

The Port said the growth in cargo is due to the $1.3 billion of infrastructure investments that include dredging the shipping channel and adding four super post-Panamax cranes, allowing the port to service larger cargo ships.

County asked to restrict Port of Miami developments

Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who for years has sought to limit development at the Port of Miami to port-related projects, this week asked fellow commissions to make that aim county policy. The resolution would direct the administration to update the port’s 2035 master plan and develop “the Port of Miami 2040 Master Plan” to conform to her proposed policy that all future port development…

Irma blows project to reshape Coconut Grove waterfront off course

A multi-million-dollar project to reshape the Coconut Grove waterfront into a mixed-used development called The Harbor was scheduled to demolish the aging and now-defunct Chart House restaurant Sept. 11. The only problem was that Hurricane Irma hit Miami on the same day. The Grove Bay Hospitality Group had plans to start construction on the waterfront once demolition finished, but with the…

Developers Plan Mixed-Use Project “Eden” In Miami’s Little River

Developers Stambul, Miami Real Exposure and P & K Developments are bringing a 42,000-square-foot, mixed-use development called Eden to Miami’s Little River neighborhood. Records show Miami-based companies 8045 NE 1 Avenue Properties and 79th Street Development bought the two parcel site at 237 and 235 Northeast 79th Street in May for $2.6 million. The entities share a 50 percent…

Miracle Mile upgrade ‘on target and on schedule’

One day after Hurricane Irma tore through Miami, workers were back on the job of renovating the north side of Miracle Mile, said Javier Betancourt, director of the Coral Gables Economic Development Department. “There was very little down time, because they did such a great job of prepping the site” in advance of the storm, he said. “The project is on target and on schedule.” The south side of Miracle…

Forecast: South Florida Apartment Demand Will Slow (For Now)

It has been the proverbial Energizer Bunny of the post-recession real estate market. Boom, boom, boom goes the steady drumbeat of new rental apartments coming up across South Florida for the past seven years. You can hardly traverse downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Boca Raton these days without running into a construction snarl or towering crane resulting from the multifamily boom. But the sun…

‘There’s Still A Lot of Money Around’: CRE Pros On The State of The Market In Miami

Following weeks of nonstop news coverage about hurricanes, real estate professionals were understandably concerned that investors might shift their sights away from Florida and its severe weather events. But the experts who spoke about capital markets and foreign investment during Bisnow’s Miami State of the Market event Tuesday agreed: the impact was almost nil. Bisnow: Deirdra Funcheon…

New Miami Beach development by Lincoln Road requests design changes

The mixed-use Miami Beach project that was already approved for 1212 Lincoln Road is requesting modifications to their initial plan, per The Next Miami, which also reports the Netherlands-based Citizen M hotel chain has signed on to operate the hotel portion. The original plan called for 100 boutique hotel rooms, a European-style market, and 450 parking spots. However, developer Crescent Heights is now…

Time Out Market Miami unveils renderings and its first restaurants

An open food hall concept is headed toward South Beach Time Out Market Miami, which received approval in March, has released a batch of renderings and unveiled its first seven culinary concepts as it prepares for a 2018 opening. Headed near Lincoln Road at 1601 Drexel Avenue, the upcoming food hall will include restaurants KUSH, Coyo Taco, Jugofresh, Paradigm Kitchen, and BUHT-ER, per a press…

Join Corcoran Sunshine, the US Immigration Fund, Lennar and other top firms in Shanghai

Every year more than 3,000 Chinese institutional and direct investors in U.S. real estate join The Real Deal for three days of networking, break-out sessions and panels. It’s the biggest event of its kind and draws top U.S. real estate players and their counterparts in China. See some of the coverage of our event last November here.

Balfour Beatty wins $260 million contract in Miami

Balfour Beatty PLC (BBY.LN) has been awarded a $260 million contract to build commercial and residential property in Miami, Florida, it said Wednesday. The infrastructure company said it will build the River Landing Shops and Residences project for H&R REIT (HR.UN.T) and Urbanx Co., in association with real-estate developer Matthews Southwest. The project consists of 2 million square feet of retail and…

Stricter Building Codes Saved Florida’s Commercial Buildings from Irma’s Wrath

A little over two weeks after Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida, it’s business as usual for commercial real estate brokers on the ground. “We had downed trees and inconvenient electrical outages, but other than some roof damage, it turned out to be pretty much a non-event on the commercial side,” says John Dunphy, senior vice president in the Tampa office of real estate services firm JLL. “

The making of South Florida developer Masoud Shojaee’s empire

From the fall issue: It may be hard to believe that the man who today oversees a vast empire of real estate development in South Florida, who relishes the riches of his success — driving a Rolls-Royce Wraith and sporting the latest fashions from Bijan and Dior — was once a frightened 18-year-old, completely alone in the U.S. as a freshman at the University of Miami, in exile from his home country, where…

A Sharp Lawyer, Gobs Of Insurance And Strategic Site Selection: How To Insulate Properties From Future Storms

South Floridians will never escape hurricanes entirely, but they can take steps to brace themselves against the risk. In conversations with Bisnow, several real estate professionals offered tips on how to best insulate projects from big storms. The magic formula? An ultra-sharp lawyer, loads of insurance and impeccable site selection. Marcus & Millichap Senior Managing Director for Investments Alex Zylberglait…

Is Rupert Murdoch the one person who can pose a threat to Zillow?

Rupert Murdoch, the hard-boiled executive chairman of News. Corp., is using Realtor.com to drive advertising dollars to the company.
From the New York October issue: “What the hell does Zillow mean?” It was 2015, and the bull-headed media mogul Rupert Murdoch was speaking at a gathering of 4,000 real estate agents in Midtown Manhattan. “We know what ‘realtor’ means,” he said. Murdoch had made…

Hotel operator buys Perricone’s Marketplace & Café site in Brickell

Steven J. Perricone just sold his Perricone’s Marketplace & Café site in Brickell to a hotel operator for $16.2 million, property records show. Marketplace Investment Group, headed by Perricone, sold the 10,965-square-foot site at 15 Southeast 10th Street and 955 South Miami Avenue to citizenM Hotels for about $1,475 per square foot. The trade is part of a sale-leaseback agreement with the hotel…

Jeff Gural steps down as chairman of Newmark Knight Frank

Jeff Gural is stepping down as chairman of Newmark Knight Frank as the company readies for its initial public offering. The move is part of a larger effort by the Gural family to differentiate its business from the commercial real estate firm. The family’s firm, Newmark Holdings, is changing its name to GFP Real Estate to eliminate confusion between the company and its affiliate, Newmark Knight Frank, the company…

TH Real Estate Targets $400 Million in Value-Add Properties

After raising $245 million equity from investors from three large U.S. state pension plans that are repeat CASA Funds investors and a German pension fund, TH Real Estate has closed CASA Partners VII, the seventh in a series of multifamily funds. With leverage, the equity commitments will allow the fund to target a portfolio of approximately $400 million. The fund is focused primarily on U.S. value-add…

CoStar Market Insights: South Florida Checks Many Items on Amazon’s HQ2 Wishlist

Amazon’s announcement that it is accepting proposals for the site of its second headquarters has cities across the country scrambling to prepare bids to win over the Seattle-based company. South Florida is no exception, and The Miami-Dade Beacon Council has already announced that it is writing a proposal to outline the advantages that Miami could bring for Amazon…

Video: Brian Bailey Shares Federal Reserve’s View on Impact of Changing 1031 and Banking Regulations

Brian Bailey, Subject Matter Expert with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss the Federal Reserve’s view on potential 1031 tax reform and banking regulations.

Video: Plum Lending CEO Bill Fisher on Technology and Big Data Benefiting CRE Financing

Bill Fisher, Founder and CEO at PLUM Lending, appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about the utilization of technology and data to power one’s business and make better financing decisions. Also discussed are the rapid changes in technology in the commercial real estate industry.

Walmart-anchored center in Miami Gardens hits the market at $12.5 milliont

A Walmart-anchored shopping center in Miami Gardens just hit the market for $12.5 million, according to a press release. The 62,500-square-foot shopping plaza at 3791 Northwest 167th Street is asking about $200 per square foot. Records show North Miami Beach-based Macken Companies bought the 7-acre Palmetto Design Center in 2003 for $1.5 million. Monte Greenberg, of Macken’s in-house…

Codina’s Downtown Doral enters the race for Amazon’s second HQ

Developer Armando Codina is entering the bidding for Amazon’s second headquarters. Codina says Codina Partners’ Downtown Doral site checks off Amazon’s boxes – proximity to a major airport, population size, and more – for the $5 billion investment. It will be one of the sites the city is proposing in its bid for the Amazon project. “This is the mother of all [headquarters] searches,” Codina said. The Miami…

Hurricane Spooked Some Investors Away From Florida

Turnberry Associates CEO Jeff Soffer went on CNBC to say real estate prices would not be affected long term, and other developers told The Real Deal that they were mostly dealing with temporary landscaping issues and power outages. But Franklin Street Director of Multifamily Investment Sales Hernando Perez said that he has fielded calls from multiple clients who no longer want to deal with the…

SoLeMia Miami secures $101M in financing

Oleta Partners LLC, comprised of LeFrak and Turnberry Associates, has secured a $101 million HUD-insured loan from Wells Fargo for the development of two luxury apartment towers, which will form part of the initial phase of SoLēMia Miami, a 183-acre master-planned community in North Miami. Located east of Biscayne Boulevard and just south of Aventura, the first phase encompasses nearly 400…

Smart Brickell Condo-Hotel is 35% sold and plans to break ground in April

Smart Brickell, a condo-hotel project that’s expected to break ground on its initial phase in west Brickell in Spring 2018, is 35 percent sold in the first tower and the second tower is expected to launch sales in the first quarter of 2018. Karen Elmir’s team at Cervera Real Estate was selected by Habitat Development to handle sales and marketing. Targeting completion in 2020, the $120 million mixed-use project…

Dissecting the Deal: Securing $46.3M for Fractured Miami Condo Acquisition

When a sponsor sought a $46.3 million bridge loan for a property he didn’t fully control, it was clear that obtaining financing would be tricky. So he called Drew Anderman and his team at Meridian Capital, knowing that their financing expertise would lead to a solution. During his 20-year career in commercial real estate financing, Anderman has proven to be one of the most successful dealmakers…

Bid for new Amazon headquarters a winner even if we lose

Tri-county economic development chiefs, adhering to Amazon’s rule of just one bid from any region, are wise in jointly pitching the expanding giant on a headquarters site. Multiple bids would doom all three counties. Even united, it’s a hard battle with more than 100 bidders from across North American, some of whom will give away the store. We surely won’t. In eight detailed pages, Amazon gave…

Swire lease cement police office in Brickell City Centre

Miami police will have an office in Brickell City Centre now that city commissioners have approved a lease with the management company of the vast development. Swire Properties is developing the multi-block project and last year opened phase one, which includes residential towers, offices, hotel rooms and a 500,000-square-foot shopping center. The resolution approved Sept. 19 authorizes the city…

What’s Really Driving Miami’s Industrial Property Boom?

Much the same way Miami has gained prominence from a cultural, culinary, and tourism standpoint, the city has become a hotbed for industrial investment activity. The industrial real estate sector is now considered a top-tier US market, alongside markets such as Los Angeles, New York-New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta and Northern California. Occupancy rate reached 96% in Miami-Dade in 2016…

Terra Group Buys Doral Parcel For $12.5M, Retail And Restaurant Center Planned

Terra Group just paid $12.5 million for a Doral parcel with plans to build a retail and restaurant center there. Doral Court Development, an affiliate of Miami-based Banyan Street, sold the 3.86-acre parking lot at the southeast corner of Northwest 36th Street and Northwest 87th Avenue. Doral Court, a 209,000-square-foot office building located at 8600 Northwest 36th Street, is situated adjacent to the parcel.

Flamingo South Beach is planning a major renovation

The Flamingo South Beach, which has a reputation for being among the rowdiest and youngest residential complexes in Miami Beach, is planning a major renovation that will include new retail, reports The Next Miami. While the renovation is scheduled to be considered by the Miami Beach Design Board Review in early October, the lively rental community at 1504 Bay Road is also currently under a…

What to Look for When Buying or Selling Tenant Occupied Real Estate

We want to alert you of what to look for when buying or selling tenant occupied real estate.  If you are selling real estate and your property is currently occupied by a tenant, you need to find a buyer that is happy with a tenant occupied property and a buyer that is willing to buy that property subject to the tenant’s rights. The buyer inherits all of the seller’s obligations and duties under the terms…

Make Sure You Understand What You Are Signing During a Real Estate Transaction

Moreno v. First International Title, Inc., is a case that illustrates the importance of making sure you understand what you are signing during a real estate transaction.  Because if you do not know what you are signing when buying property it could end up costing you thousands of dollars like it did to Victoria Moreno and causing you unneeded stress and aggravation. In that case, Victoria Moreno…

Missoni Baia to break ground shortly in Edgewater

OKO Group’s luxury project includes 249 units The first of four OKO Group projects plans to break ground in Miami in the coming weeks, the developer announced today, with the 649-foot Missoni Baia beginning its rise at 777 Northeast 26th Terrace in Edgewater. The 57-story luxury tower will be the first-ever branded residences from the Italian fashion and design house, Missoni. Comprised of 249 units…

Square Station tops off in downtown Miami

Breaking ground less than a year ago Melo Group’s Square Station topped off in downtown Miami after breaking ground less than a year ago. The twin-tower apartment project at 47 Northeast 14th Street includes 710 units, with rental prices expected to range from $1600 per month for one-bedroom units to $2,500 per month for three-bedroom units. Just under 100 of these units will be set aside for workforce…

Will Trump’s travel ban on Venezuelans affect Miami’s real estate market?

President Trump extended his controversial travel ban to include Venezuela, causing momentary panic among Venezuelan investors of Miami real estate. The order, which bans most citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, only bans some Venezuelan government officials and their families from entering the United States effective Oct. 18, according to the White House.

New residential project planned near Lincoln Road

134 residences and a rooftop pool A 10-story mixed-use development designed by Stantec is planned for 1600 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, located about a block south of the eastern end of Lincoln Road. The new project, according to The Next Miami, includes 134 residences ranging in size from one to two bedrooms with nearly 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The development still…

Codina’s Downtown Doral enters the race for Amazon’s second HQ

Developer Armando Codina is entering the bidding for Amazon’s second headquarters. Codina says Codina Partners’ Downtown Doral site checks off Amazon’s boxes – proximity to a major airport, population size, and more – for the $5 billion investment. “This is the mother of all [headquarters] searches,” Codina said. The Miami developer has built headquarters for Ryder in Miami, Bacardi in Coral Gables, and…

Fort Lauderdale-based self-storage developer arrested for investment fraud

Self-storage developer Daniel Joseph Touizer was arrested and is facing federal prison charges for allegedly scamming millions of investors across the country, the Sun Sentinel reported. In the last 12 years Touizer allegedly schemed 150 people out of $19 million after convincing them to invest in gems, insurance products and self-storage units. About $7 million in investments was withdrawn from his…

Peloro Miami Beach at the center of scaffolding dispute for more than $600K

A subcontractor who worked on Peloro Miami Beach, a condo building being co-developed by the Disney family, is accused of renting more than $600,000 worth of equipment and not paying for it, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Elkridge, Maryland-based PERI Formwork Systems accuses Micon Scaffolding, a Hollywood firm that provides scaffolding materials and…

Ugly properties, it’s your turn to shine: Demand for US warehouse space is on the rise

Industrial rents in U.S. cities are climbing as online retailers seek out warehouse space to meet increasing demands for fast delivery. Amazon and other online retailers are driving up demand — and therefore rents — for warehouse space in urban areas throughout the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. Rents for U.S. industrial spaces reached $5.35 per square foot in the second…

CenterPoint Properties Purchases Winn-Dixie Logistics Ctr in Miami

CenterPoint Properties acquired the Winn-Dixie Logistics building at 3300 NW 123rd Street in Miami, FL for $59 million, or about $61 per square foot, from The Ackerberg Group. The 961,345-square-foot industrial building was built in 1992 in the North Miami Beach Industrial submarket. Erik Lundberg and Jeff Hughes with Stan Johnson Company represented the seller. The buyer handled the sale in-house.

Video: Brian Bailey of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta on Where We are in the Cycle

Brian Bailey, Subject Matter Expert with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, joins host Michael Bull to discuss where we are in the cycle. Highlights include: Have seen nothing but solid job growth for last 4 years; Unemployment has come down significantly; This is the third longest expansion since 1945; Modest growth looks in the cards for foreseeable future; Dark clouds include net loan demand softening…

Video: JLL Chief Economist Ryan Severino Highlights Industrial Market Opportunities

Ryan Severino, Chief Economist with JLL, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show in studio to discuss the market opportunities in the industrial sector.

Report: Miami, Miami Beach Among the Worst Real-Estate Markets in U.S.

Despite every headline-grabbing attempt to fuel the tech sector or the finance market, at its condo-flipping heart Miami is still a company town, and the only industry that keeps the lights on is real estate. So any national survey that ranks the Magic City nearly dead last for its property-selling prospects is very bad news for anyone in South Florida. That’s just what WalletHub found in a report released today…

How E-Commerce is Impacting CRE

A lot has changed since 2011. That’s when a blog post on this site stated: “Many consumers still want to see or touch goods before they purchase, so they still go into a physical store to get this experience.” That statement still holds somewhat true, but e-commerce has continued to grow by leaps and bounds in the past six years – and fewer consumers have to go into a physical store to touch the goods…

Palmetto Expressway Miami Land for Sale for $10 million

New listing! The Palmetto 8 Acres is site is now for sale for $10,000,000. The ownership might also consider leasing the site. The zoning is the heaviest in Miami-Dade County known as IU-3 and it is in unincorporated (no city limits). The frontage on the Palmetto Expressway has over 250,000 cars per day. NW 74th Street now leads into the Florida Turnpike which is a dramatic improvement to the area. About…

Shuttered Miami High School Site Offered For Redevelopment

The Archdiocese of Miami is selling the Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School for redevelopment after closing the school this year. The 15.56-acre campus at 4949 NE Second Avenue could be built out with up to 5 million square feet of new development, including buildings reaching up to 28 stories. The location — east of Northeast Second Avenue, west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks…

Commission Scheduled Sept. 28th To Vote On Land Swap For MiamiCentral Supertowers

Miami commissioners are scheduled to vote on a rezoning that is part of a land swap deal with All Aboard Florida, with two supertowers hanging in the balance. All Aboard Florida wants a 7,677 square foot park across from the civil courthouse to help square off their site where two supertowers are planned. In exchange, they plan to deed city a .5 acre property at 435 Northwest 1st Court along with…

Miami Beach Advocate Wants to Know if Landlords had Hurricane Irma Plan

While packing up to evacuate his South Beach condo this week, Daniel Ciraldo saw his neighbors at an eight-unit art deco building scramble to MacGyver last-minute hurricane fixes. With plywood long sold out, some taped their windows, while others pushed their mattresses against them. It all seemed so inefficient. “The building converted to condos in the early 2000s, and for a while the owners…