Downtown Miami

TriStar and RFR seeks renovation of historic Lincoln Road building for retail

TriStar Capital and RFR Holdings will go before the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board on Tuesday morning seeking permission to renovate and expand a building on Lincoln Road for retail.  A joint venture between the New York developers bought the 17,642-square-foot building at 800 Lincoln Road f or $88.2 million in 2014 from…

Spanish Billionaire Buys Stretch Of Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road For $370 Million

The price tag of about $7,700 per square foot of land represents the second largest real-estate deal in Miami-Dade County history.

Foreclosure Roundup: River Landing retail project in Miami in dispute with lender

Two major commercial foreclosure lawsuits were recently filed in Miami-Dade County, although a Broward County surgical center resolved its problems with its lender.  The River Landing retail project in Miami’s Health District hasn’t broke ground yet, and first it must resolve a foreclosure lawsuit.

Fort Lauderdale to consider condos at Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six, new hotel

Fort Lauderdale officials will review two major development proposals on Tuesday, the addition of condos and office space to the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six and a dual-branded hotel downtown.  The city’s Design Review Committee will provide comment on both projects, but it’s up to the city council to determine their fate at a later time.

Sheridan Healthcare To Move HQ To 221,000 SF In Plantation

The new space will initially hold more than 1,000 Sheridan corporate employees.

Work has Already Started on that Huge New Nike Store Now Owned by the Founder of Zara

The big, three-level, Touzet Studio-designed Nike Store complete with rooftop basketball court coming to the corner of Lincoln Road and Lenox Avenue has already begun demo/construction, with fencing up and excavators and stuff scattered about. Meanwhile news just broke…

Craig Robins and Jackie Soffer, Two Very Different Miami Real Estate Giants, Just Got Married

Ending a courtship that began when Jackie sued Craig over a shared private jet, two very different giants of Miami real estate from very different real estate families, Craig Robins, developer of the super-high-design…

Study: EB-5 Challenges, Successes

Since 1990, the EB-5 visa program has been a tool for converting international capital flows into local economic development and employment, creating jobs in targeted areas and offering foreign investors visas for doing so. Funds from foreign investors are often channeled into capital for commercial…

Washington Avenue Revival in Miami Beach

Miami Beach city commissioners nodded favorably to an ordinance that could change the face of Washington Avenue. They would allow new height limits for most buildings  and adding parking spaces converted to temporary patios for outdoor dining.  This is designed to increase…

Investors love real estate funds – for now

Real estate investors are much happier with their returns than in past years but are also anxious over valuations, according to a new survey by research firm Preqin.  In the survey, conducted among investors in private…

BBX buys into Centra Falls in Pembroke Pines

The real estate division of Fort Lauderdale-based BBX Capital Corp. said it made a “minority investment” in Centra Falls, a townhome community development in Pembroke Pines, which Label & Co. is developing.  A grand opening of Centra…

Miami retail development trend near a peak

Retail development has surged in South Florida, but the trend may be near a peak in Miami-Dade County, according to a research report by Chicago-based commercial real estate firm JLL.  Retail space occupancy rates average 95.9 percent in Miami…

Investors flock to Flagler Street in downtown Miami

Moishe Mana recently paid $6.8 million for the Metro Beauty building at Flagler Street and Miami Avenue in downtown Miami .  The long-overlooked Flagler Street corridor in downtown Miami has become a money magnet as investors buy some of the city’s oldest…

Are Millennials Starting to Buy Single-Family Homes?

There’s no lack of discussion about Millennials and the housing market. Where do single-family homes fit in?…

World’s fourth-richest man Ortega buys Lincoln Road block with an Apple store for $370M

A company controlled by Amancio Ortega Gaona, the world’s fourth-wealthiest man, purchased a full block of South Beach’s Lincoln Road Mall – including space leased to Apple – for $370 million.  In three deeds, Ortega’s Playa Retail Investments purchased every property on the north side of Lincoln Road from Michigan Avenue to Lenox Avenue…

Mary Brickell Village shopping center sold for $113M

The Mary Brickell Village shopping center in Miami’s financial district was sold for $113.46 million to an affiliate of Rockpoint Group.  Brickell Main Street, an affiliate of Montreal-based Ivanhoe Cambridge, sold the property at 900 and 901 South Miami Avenue and 911 Southwest 1st Avenue to MB Village Owner, part of Dallas-based real…

Coconut Grove developer buys Wilton Manors property for $14M

Grass River Property and Downstream Realty Partners acquired a Wilton Manors apartment and retail property that could be ripe for redevelopment.  David Bukstel-managed 2727 Palm Gardens LLC sold the three parcels for $14 million to 2701 North Andrews Property Owner, an affiliate of the Coconut Grove-based developers.

Keyes Commercial Realty Office

Entire block of Lincoln Road sells for $370M to Spanish billionaire

In one of the largest real estate deals in Miami-Dade history, an entire block of Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road has traded hands for $370 million. And the buyer is the world’s fourth richest person, a Spanish fashion billionaire whose empire includes Zara, The Real Deal has learned. A partnership led by local commercial real estate…

Residents opposing Midtown Miami Walmart lose appeal

Walmart’s attempt to build a superstore in Midtown Miami may have inched a step closer to reality, after a judge denied an appeal from residents who oppose the giant retailer’s move into their neighborhood. Yet, the residents vow to further appeal the case to the Third District Court of Appeal. “The appeal is going to continue,” Grant Stern…

Mid-Miami Beach luxury condo gets green light

Marketing for the 4000 Alton Road luxury condominium project will soon commence, thanks to the approval of a series of design changes by a Miami Beach city board.  Those design changes, which were unanimously approved by the Miami Beach Design Review Board on Tuesday, included the approval of a three-foot height variance…

Langford Hotel aims to restore grandeur to downtown Miami

Developer Daniel Pena Giraldi walks through the Langford, pointing out 1920s-era molding, marble and design of the historic property he is converting into a boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Miami. Pena, principal of Miami-based Stambul, has led the restoration and construction of the 126-room hotel.

Construction for Russell Galbut’s 1212 Lincoln Road delayed

The timetable for the construction of a new retail complex in South Beach may be thrown off — by a Pilates studio. Eleven months ago, the Miami Beach Design Review Board approved plans by a subsidiary of Crescent Heights, a company headed by developer Russell Galbut, to build a 203,711-square-foot, five-story retail complex…

Brickell City Centre adds more office space

The developer of Brickell City Centre has placed a larger bet on the office market, as it has converted a planned wellness usage into “Class A” office.  In 2014, law firm Akerman LLP signed a lease to occupy 80 percent of the 130,000-square-foot Brickell City Centre Green tower that was under construction as part of the $1.05 billion…

Firm Brokers $10.83 Million Sale Of South Miami-Dade Class A Industrial Warehouse Property

The transaction represents one of the largest commercial real estate transactions in the South Miami-Dade County area this year.

Midtown Doral reveals its first retail tenants

Midtown Doral has announced the first two brands that will open in its 100-store retail component:  Capriccio’s Restaurant is the first eatery confirmed for the development at N.W. 107th Ave. in Doral. It will be the Italian restaurant’s third location. It sells salads, desserts, paninis, pastas, risotto and veal or salmon carpaccio.

Demo Time: Mekka Demolished for Paramount Miami Worldcenter Today

Mekka, the former meganightclub and last building remaining on the site of Paramount Miami Worldcenter, that condo tower that will have every possible amenity except the kitchen sink, (which it, ironically, will have hundreds of) was demolished today. According to the developer, it was a demo…

Comment of the day: “Anything that makes Dade Blvd more…

“Anything that makes Dade Blvd more pedestrian-friendly and knits together South Beach and Sunset Harbour will be good. They should REALLY tame that road to nowhere though. I hope all the construction they’ve been doing, and building the West Ave bridge, will help.”

Somebody Save Zaha!: Zaha Hadid’s Miami Beach Parking Garage is Dead

Two developers tried to save starchitect Zaha Hadid’s long-stalled Collins Park Garage for the City of Miami Beach, and the city basically said ‘thanks, but no thanks. That thing’s dead.’ (okay, we’re paraphrasing here, but it was close) Developers Seth Gadinsky and Glenn Boyer have offered…

Tri-Rail is Coming to Downtown Miami, Says the Big Cheese

“It’s going to happen” said Jack Stephens, the executive director of South Florida Regional Transit Authority, a.k.a. Tri-Rail, about the extension of Tri-Rail into Downtown Miami. They have most of the money promised to build their portion of the Downtown…

One Biscayne Tower Inks 100,000 SF in Leases

Law firm renewals and expansions. Those are the two factors driving office leasing activity at One Biscayne Tower these days….

Condo Above Biscayne Boulevard Church Approved, May Be Built In Phases

An attorney for developer Fifteen Group said yesterday that a retail and condo project above a historic church at 1836 Biscayne Blvd may be built in phases.  The developer won approval for both the project and historic designation of the property. Thanks to the historic designation, Fifteen Group can now sell Transferable Development Rights…

Miami Beach commission gives final OK for convention center hotel lease

The Miami Beach Commission gave Portman Holdings the final approval for the Miami Beach convention center hotel’s 99-year lease agreement on its second reading Wednesday.  The lease agreement with the city encompasses the parking lot behind the Fillmore Theater, which is adjacent to the convention center. The hotel would have…

Shops at Downtown Doral confirms more retail, restaurants

More brands have lined up for the Shops at Downtown Doral, the retail and restaurant component of Codina Partners and Lennar Commercial’s 120-acre Downtown Doral development.  The mixed-use project is expected to open with 70 brands across 180,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, joined by 2,800 luxury…

Miami Design District building sold for $1,442 per square foot

Another property in the Miami Design District traded at a premium as a company led by Miami Beach investor Sam Herzberg paid $11.4 million for a 7,904-square-foot building.  Washington, D.C.-based 3800 NE 2 Ave LLC, headed by ABC Imaging CEO Mehdi Falsafi, sold the two-story building to Herzberg’s 3800 Design District LLC.

Spinnaker Cove apartments near Hialeah sold for $17M

The Spinnaker Cove affordable apartment complex near Hialeah sold for $17.1 million.  Affordable housing developer Stuart I. Meyers is a co-investor of both the buyer and seller.  Park View Estates, a Hollywood-based company affiliated with Cornerstone Group with Meyers and Jorge Lopez as managers, sold the 220-unit…

Brickell City Centre Rebrands Office Component, Adds 130,000 SF Office Tower

To enhance Miami’s dwindling Class A office inventory, the project has added a second mid-rise office tower.

Uniforms Direct Leases 53,000 SF at Tower 101

Uniforms Direct has leased 52,683 square feet for its corporate headquarters in the Tower 101 office building at 101 NE 3rd Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  The deal marks the largest office lease this year in the Downtown Fort Lauderdale submarket, according to JLL, which notes the downtown office…

Miamiana: What to Do With the Miami Science Museum’s Pan Am Globe?

With the impending move of the old Miami Science Museum into the brand new Frost Museum of Science, there are no plans yet to relocated the iconic and very historic Pan American Airlines Globe that is the highlight of the museum’s lobby and was once the centerpiece of Pan Am’s seaplane base on…

Courting Chinese real estate investors is a long term play, experts say

While the recent turmoil in the Chinese financial markets won’t deter Asian investors from buying real estate in the United States, the Miami market is still a couple of years away from seriously competing with…

Chetrit sells Hollywood apartments for $19M

A member of the Chetrit family just sold an apartment community in Hollywood for $19 million.  The Royal Park Townhomes, a rental complex with 69 units, was sold by Hollywood Park Partners LLC in a deed filed Friday. Corporate records show the company is managed…

Cooper City apartment community sells for $55M

A development partnership just sold the newly built Jefferson at Monterra apartment community in Cooper City for $55.7 million.  The community is part of Cooper City’s much larger Monterra housing development, which was built on 500 acres…

Miami Beach commission approves lease for convention center hotel

Miami Beach commissioners on Wednesday voted to approve a lease agreement and allocate future rent from a proposed convention center hotel to fund mass transit efforts on Miami Beach’s traffic clogged…

Future of transportation in Miami: panel

Activating dormant railroad lines, expanding Tri-Rail, making buses more efficient, encouraging the business community to lead.  These were just some of the ideas and programs that were tossed around during a panel discussion on the future of transportation in Miami on Wednesday…

Former INS building razed for mixed-use hotel, apartments

Development of a new mixed-use hotel, apartment and retail project — replacing the former U.S. Immigration Naturalization Service building on Biscayne Boulevard — is underway, ADD Inc. announced on Tuesday.  The Triton Center, at 7880 Biscayne Boulevard…

Mid-Miami Beach luxury condo gets green light

Marketing for the 4000 Alton Road luxury condominium project will soon commence, thanks to the approval of a series of design changes by a Miami Beach city board.  Those design changes, which were unanimously approved by the Miami Beach Design Review Board on…

Starwood Capital pays $82M for Miramar business parks

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has sold two Miramar business parks for a whopping $82 million, according to Broward County records.  MetLife sold the two buildings, Miramar Center I and III, at 3401 and 3601 Southwest 160th Avenue, and two additional buildings…

Homestead Sees First Spec Industrial in Years

“We see the Miami industrial market ripe for new industrial and office space…”

Why Office Developers Are Eyeing Palm Beach

At 3.2 million square feet, Downtown West Palm Beach is the smallest of South Florida’s three central business districts. But it could see new office development first.

Stiles Promotes Jeff McDonough To Lead Multifamily Real Estate Division

Since joining Stiles in 2005, McDonough has been instrumental in several significant development projects and held roles of increasing responsibility.

Keyes Commercial Realty

American Dream Miami developer secures more land for mega mall

Triple Five Group has locked up an additional 24.6 acres in northwest Miami-Dade County, where it plans to build American Dream Miami, the largest mall and theme park in North America.  International Atlantic, an affiliate of the Edmonton, Alberta-based company, recently purchased a 15-acre site for $6.8 million from Rocoo…

Redevelopment of former immigration building into mixed-use center begins

The redevelop of the former U.S. Immigration Naturalization Service building in Miami into the mixed-use Triton Center has kicked off.  Florida Fullview Immigration Building, managed by Leo Wu, is building a 139-room hotel, 324 apartments, 17,000 square feet of retail and 576 parking spaces in the 12-story building at 7880 Biscayne…

All-Aboard Florida gets final downtown land

All Aboard Florida has closed on the final land it needs to redevelop six blocks of downtown, as nearly 100 workers continue to forge the foundation of a new train station that will bring passenger rail to Miami’s urban core.
All Aboard Florida just closed on 2 acres in Overtown, a move that…

Brickell City Centre makes towering change

Brickell City Centre announced Tuesday the rebranding of its office component to incorporate two Class A office buildings equaling 260,000 square feet, both of which will be ready by year’s end.  Although the project long has been known to include the two office buildings, the rebranding of its…

Wealthy Chinese targeting business in Miami

Twenty-two wealthy Chinese art collectors with ties to real estate have expressed interest in visiting Miami this year to explore the city’s business environment and investment opportunities.  Invited by Peng Lu, associate provost of international programs at Florida International University…

Cooper City’s Monterra apartments sold for $56M to Morguard

Morguard Corp. acquired the apartment community in Cooper City’s Monterra neighborhood for $55.7 million.  Jag-Star Monterra, part of McLean, Virginia-based Jefferson Apartment Group, sold the 252 apartments at 8101 to 8191 Solano Ave. to Morguard Monterra, an affiliate of the Kenner, Louisiana-based apartment investor.  The 281,510…

What Will Change After Bal Harbour Shops’ $400M Upgrade?

Stanley Whitman wasn’t afraid to break the rules. He knew just what he was doing when he created the Bal Harbour Shops nearly 50 years ago—although not everyone necessarily agreed with his approach at the time.  Trees in the parking lot? “No one does that. It breaks up the asphalt, takes up parking spaces, and makes the lot harder to clean.”

Court time nears for tennis stadium

Although a county committee ultimately recommended that the Aviation Department waive competitive bidding for proposed leases with three high-profile local entities at Miami International Airport, Commissioner Dennis Moss expressed frustration last week that a report he requested on the process was …

Mega-marina begins artificial reef

Flagstone Property Group’s work to build the area’s first deep water marina for super-yachts includes creation of an artificial reef.  Flagstone is developing a corner of city-owned Watson Island into a multi-million dollar resort called Island Gardens.  The developer said this week it has…

LNR Partners Trades 197,000 SF Retail to Miami-based Investor in REO Sale

The Shoppes at Jupiter, a 196,941-square-foot shopping center located at 201 N US Highway 1, sold for $27.8 million or approximately $141 per square foot. It closed as an REO transaction to an investment group called Orion Venture XI Jupiter, based in Miami.  Built in 1981, the 24-acre retail site…

Blasts from the Past: Miami’s Kitschy Little Science Museum Closed Last Week

The intimate, much loved, and kitschy little Miami Science Museum closed its doors over the weekend with a nostalgia-fueled party Friday night, after fifty five years of field trips, planetarium shows…

Aesthetic Pursuits: The Design District’s Obsession With Aesthetics Extends to New Black and White Street Signs

If neighborhoods were tech companies, the Design District might be Apple, because the attention to aesthetics is proving incredibly all-encompassing. According to the Next Miami, the developer of the high-end retail and design area Design District Associates, was granted…

FAA Rejects Plans For Tall Miami Towers. Now What?

Builders have the option of sitting down with federal bureaucrats to modify their plans and work out compromises or can engage in a technical process called “public circularization” to challenge the FAA’s judgment.

Fortune International, Chataeu win ruling against Sunny Isles Beach condo association

A Miami-Dade County judge ruled against a condominium association in Sunny Isles Beach in its lawsuit against developers Fortune International Group and Chateau Group, which control five units in the building.  The developers are building the 52-story Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sunny Isles Beach condo tower next door to…

Why Miami’s global impact should grow — not wane — as foreign currencies decline

During the height of the Great Recession, naysayers predicted that it would take about 20 years to absorb the glut of new construction in South Florida. For at least that long, they predicted, South Florida would wallow in economic misery, its nascent popularity as a premier global destination fading…

Aventura Mall to add Robert Graham store to luxury lineup

Global fashion retailer Robert Graham announced it will join Aventura Mall’s luxury lineup in November.  The New York-based apparel brand has promised to carry the complete Robert Graham collection, including men’s sportswear, premium denim, furnishings, accessories, outerwear, eyewear, footwear, jewelry…

FAA warns six Miami towers could be too tall, including Related Group projects

The FAA notified developers of six high-rise towers in Miami in August that their proposed projects could be too tall, including two condo buildings by the Related Group.  The “notice of presumed hazard” letters are interim warnings and not final rulings. They’re based on the FAA’s initial findings that the towers could obstruct or have…

Fifteen Group Revises Plan For 38-Story Tower Above Historic Church, Wants To Sell TDRs

Developer Fifteen Group has submitted revised plans for a project at 1836 Biscayne to make it more appealing to preservation officials, as well as make the project more economically viable.  Plans call for a 38-story tower with 352 residential units and 637 parking spaces above the historic First Church of Christ at 1836 Biscayne Boulevard.

Retail/office building proposed in west Miami-Dade

A developer filed plans for a retail and office project west of Sweetwater in Miami-Dade County.  Coral Gables-based Flightway Eleven submitted the application to the county on Aug. 26 for a 62,906-square-foot building. The first floor would have 14 retail bays and the second floor would have 14 office bays.  It would be located on the…

5 reasons retail development is loving Florida

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Sunshine State is in the midst of a love affair with the retail real estate market.  That’s according to a new retail report unveiled on Aug. 31 by JLL President of Retail Brokerage Naveen Jaggi during the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Florida Conference at the Orange County Convention Center.

Real estate investment firm IMC rebrands, reaches 9 million square feet

IMC Property Management, one of the most active real estate investors in South Florida, has rebranded as IMC Equity Group.  The North Miami-based company owns about 9 million square feet of property, with about 650,000 square feet acquired for $88.5 million so far in 2015, according to IMC director of acquisitions and finance…

Fill-er-up: Another South Beach Gas Station Makes Way for Development

Following the disappearance of the gas station at 17th street and Alton Road under a pile of rubble and construction stuff, the Chevron station at 1800 Alton Road has now been sold according to The Real Deal and will be redevelopment into prime retail on the edge of Sunset…

New Multi-Tower Megaproject Coming to Hallandale Beach

Take a second to wrap your head around the major, mixed-use development (ironically?) named Oasis and planned for Hallandale Beach, just north of Gulfstream Park. As South Florida Business Journal reports, the project is being designed by Bermello Ajamil & Partners, and will include hotel…

National Commercial Real Estate News Roundup For August 31, 2015

Baby boomers and millennials have more in common than we thought, office construction surges in largest commercial market, medical offices in residential centers are very desirable, retail and multifamily rentals are getting harder to find — and more. It’s…

Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s largest office lease inked

Tower 101 at 101 Northeast 3rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale and JLL’s Brady Titcomb and Alice Lucia Jackson
Downtown Fort Lauderdale is about to get a new outfit.  Uniforms Direct has agreed to move its corporate headquarters to Tower 101, marking the largest office lease in the city’s cent…

Joint venture mortgages Coral Springs retail center for $22M

Six months after a joint venture acquired the Royal University Plaza in Coral Springs, the group has mortgaged its new shopping plaza for $22 million.  The plaza is a 10-acre development with 98,500 square feet of leasable space, located at…

On the scene photos at ULI’s Vision Awards

The Urban Land Institute’s Southeast Florida/Caribbean District held its Vision Awards dinner last Wednesday evening at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami. More than 650 people were in attendance.  During the…

Firm Secures Largest Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Lease Of 2015

JLL’s Alice Lucia Jackson and Brady Titcomb completed the 52,683-square-foot headquarters lease transaction.

SunTrust Center Wins New-to-Market Tenants

“Crocker’s capital investment in the SunTrust International Center has proven effective.”

FAA Rejects Plans For Tall Miami Towers

Two Related projects and one being developed by Florida East Coast Realty were “presumed to be a hazard to air navigation.”

Keyes Commercial

Miami considers retail project near Design District

A two-story retail building has been proposed in Miami’s Upper Eastside neighborhood near the Design District.  MacArthur Properties III’s rezoning proposal will go before the Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board on Sept. 2. It concerns a 0.8-acre site at 3701 and 3737 Biscayne Blvd. and 306 and 316 N.E. 38th Street. It’s just off…

Miami Beach service station could be redeveloped as retail after acquisition

A service station on Alton Road in Miami Bech could be redeveloped into a retail center after it was purchased for $7.3 million.  Larry’s Service Center, managed by Mark D. Raybon in Pembroke Pines, sold the property at 1824 Alton Road to Saber 1800 Alton LLC, an affiliate of Aventura- and Armonk, New York-based development firm…

Northern Trust lends $10M to build Little Havana self-storage facility

Northern Trust Co. made a $10 million construction loan for a self-storage facility in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.  The bank (Nasdaq: NTRS) awarded the seven-year mortgage to Value Store It Little Havana, managed by Miami Lakes-based MMR Investments and Todd A. Ruderman. It covers the 33,750-square-foot…

Miami Association of Realtors HQ building sold for $16M

The Miami Lakes office building that’s home to the Miami Association of Realtors’ headquarters traded for $16.25 million.  AFC Investments, managed by Martina Casanueva, sold the 199,049-square-foot office building to O2R Properties, managed by Ophelia S. Sanchez, the CEO of for-profit Management Resources College. Miami-based…

JLL Tapped To Lease New 1.6 Million SF Project

Construction of the new business park is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Boca Office Asset Trades In $23 Million Deal

The buyer was Boca Raton-based IP Capital Partners, LLC., an entity managed by Josh Procacci.

Rumormongering: Old Senator Hotel Site Finally Alive With New Construction

The Senator Hotel at Collins Avenue and 12th Street was the Pennsylvania Station of Miami Beach’s art deco preservation movement, and since its sad martyrdom decades ago has been replaced by nothing more than a parking lot. Now that parking lot, along with lot across the street and two remaining…

Architectural Revenge: There is a Cavernous ‘Spite Canyon’ Between the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Hotels

One of the many things the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach is famous for is its ‘spite wall,’ a massive wing of hotel rooms and ballroom space built by the hotel’s first owner, Ben Novack, allegedly to shroud the neighboring Eden Roc Hotel’s pool in darkness. The Eden Roc…

Closing Up Shop: What Happened to South Beach’s Mysterious Giveaway Store?

The ‘Giveaway’ store, which according to the internet is actually called Giveaway Discount Drugs Inc., is one of those strange Miami things, right in the middle of South Beach on Washington Avenue. The messy old store frontage that has, incredulously, hobbled on for years…

Metropica: Lincoln Road in the Everglades?

Metropica. The name is intriguing and the project may be transformative.

WSJ: In Miami’s Flagler Street Area, Investors Pay High Prices for Low-Rent Properties

For decades, investors and developers largely ignored Flagler Street in downtown Miami, home to some of the city’s oldest buildings. Commercial real-estate buyers focused instead on Brickell, its financial center.  That’s changing. Flagler Street, Miami’s historic main street lined with beauty parlors and variety stores, is attracting serious…

Homestead spec business park begins leasing

A 1.6 million-square-foot speculative warehouse complex that’s under development in Homestead has begun leasing for its first phase.  The complex, dubbed Turnpike 1 Business Park, is being developed by Brazilian firm…

Miami’s SunTrust International Center inks leases

SunTrust International Center in downtown Miami has signed leases for more then 72,000 square feet, Cushman & Wakefield announced on Thursday.  The firm’s leasing team of Senior Director Jon Blunk, Senior Associate Cristina Glaria, and…

Builders, developers gear up as hurricane approaches

South Florida is awash with new developments and active construction sites.  And as Tropical Storm Erika barrels toward the Florida coastline — currently forecast to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane — such open sites, full…

U.S. market overview panel set for TRD’s Shanghai showcase

The roster of participants in the “U.S. real estate market overview” panel at TRD’s September showcase in China includes an outstanding lineup of real estate luminaries from across the country.  Mark Chu of Eastdil Secured, Andrew Farkas of Island Capital, Sean Mei of Partners…

Equity One pays $11.8M for Miami-Dade retail center

Equity One purchased Bird 107 Plaza, a retail center in Miami, for $11.8 million.  Bird 107 Partners, managed by Mark Schwimmer in Miami, sold the 40,101-square-foot retail property at 10591 to 10695 Southwest 40th Street (Bird Road) to Equity One, a North Miami Beach- and New York-based retail REIT (NYSE: EQY). The price…

Berkley Corp Pays $18M for Office Investment

W.R. Berkley Corporation, a Greenwich, CT-based commercial lines casualty insurance provider, acquired the office building at 324 Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach, FL from Armata Holdings for $18 million, or about $718 per square foot.  The 25,068-square-foot office building was delivered in 1960 and…

Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort Sells for $26.3M

The Carlyle Group sold the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort at 4000 S. Ocean Dr. in Hollywood, FL for $26.25 million, or about $113,000 per room, to Sotherly Hotels, Inc.  The 259,873-square-foot, 311-room hotel was built in 1970 and renovated in 2007. The waterfront hotel features a business…

Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Sells for $33.5M

Claremont Companies sold the Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal hotel at 3333 NE 32nd Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, FL for $33.5 million, or about $322,000 per room, to Chatham Lodging Trust.  The 157,001-square-foot, 104-room hospitality building was constructed in 2000. The deal is part…

South Beach’s Art Deco Marlin Hotel Getting a Little Expansion

The Marlin Hotel, a mainstay of the grand parade of fancy-free art deco architecture marching up Collins Avenue is moving forward with a renovation after securing $8.4 million in financing for the project. 18 rooms will be added to the 14 room hotel…

Inside Lincoln Road’s Lost Carib Theater, Soon to be a Ross Dress for Less

The former Carib Theater on South Beach’s Lincoln Road, now an empty shell already completely obliterated of its midcentury, fantastical splendor, will soon be replaced by a Ross Dress for Less. Although the facade is allegedly designed to evoke the old Carib in a contemporary aesthetic, we’re not…

Marlin Hotel scores $8.4M in financing for expansion

The Marlin Hotel in South Beach has secured $8.415 million in financing to fund the renovation and expansion of the property into a 32-room luxury boutique hotel (view hotel listings), The Real Deal has learned.  Grandbridge Real Estate Capital’s Adam Lipkin arranged the loan for MRK Investments, which…

Miami-Dade sees falling foreclosure rate in June

A strengthening housing market continued to chase away foreclosures in Miami-Dade County during June, according to a CoreLogic report released Thursday.  Out of all the county’s outstanding mortgages, only…

Miami developer buys Doral hotel for $8.5M

A Marriott-branded hotel in Doral that was lost to foreclosure has just been acquired by a Miami-based developer for $8.5 million.  The hotel, at 10505 Northwest 36th Street, is split between two four-story buildings with a combined 94 rooms.  Just as the real estate market…

Downtown Miami, FL

Miami Attracting More New-to-Market Tenants

There is plenty of new-to-market tenant demand (view trend charts) for premium class A office space in Miami, particularly in Miami’s urban core. Find out what’s going on.

Firm Wins 300,000 SF Assignment – And Sunbeam’s Ryan Goggins

Kingsley, Rutchik and Goggins are responsible for 2.5 million square feet of leasing in South Florida, focusing on the Miami and Fort Lauderdale markets.

Krasnow Tapped as Commercial Realty Firm’s Executive Managing Director

Kenneth Krasnow has joined Colliers International (NASDAQ: CIGI) as an executive managing director.  Based in the firm’s Miami office, Krasnow will focus on the continued strategic expansion of dedicated resources and services in South Florida for the global commercial real estate firm.

Keyes Commercial Realty

Developers close $30.5M North Miami Beach land deal for The Harbour

Developers 13th Floor Investments and Key International just closed on a $30.5 million land deal for their twin-tower condo project dubbed The Harbour in North Miami Beach.  The deal covers five acres of land at 16385 Biscayne Boulevard, where the firms…

Sabadell Financial Center Inks More Than 25,000 SF In Lease Deals

Three of the tenants are new to the Miami market.

What China’s economic slowdown means for South Florida’s EB-5 projects

China’s money troubles have the potential to shortchange South Florida’s building boom, if its large pool of investors seeking U.S. visas shrinks.  More than 80 percent of applicants for the citizenship-for-money program, known as the EB-5 investor program, are Chinese. Massive mixed-use projects like Skyrise Miami and Tibor Hollo’s Panorama.

Fort Lauderdale Development Site Sold for $17.3M

Simmons Vedder Partners and Principal Global Investors LLC sold the 0.88-acre site at 100 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, FL for $17.25 million.  An entity controlled by The Kolter Group, the West Palm Beach-based development group, acquired the development land for a proposed hotel…

Developer seeks $14M county bond for Homestead affordable housing complex

A Wisconsin-based developer is seeking $14 million tax-exempt bond financing for an affordable housing complex in Homestead.The Miami-Dade County Commission will consider the request by Modello Homes, an affiliate of Oregon, Wisconsin-based developer Gorman & Co., on Sept. 1. It would build 110 units in the Modello Apartments…

Watch 1000 Museum’s 24-Hour Concrete Pour in Drone-Vision

Pouring a skyscraper’s concrete foundations is a highly choreographed, many-hour performance in three dimensions born out of the necessity to create a foundation that is one solid mass of concrete. Often called a ’24-hour’ pour whether it actually took seventeen hours…

Preservation Watch: Petit Douy, Brickell Avenue’s Little Chateau, is Being Restored

Petit Douy, the little chateau perched on an oolitic limestone outcropping at the corner of Brickell Avenue and SW 15th Road, which for years has silently stood sentinel is alive with construction activity as it begins a new life. Commercial real estate developer Michael Comras is restoring…

Say Goodbye to The Bath Club Estates, Thirteen Very Expensive Condos That Never Really Felt Right

Don Peebles is cutting his losses on his boutique, fabulously-pricy, and still fabulously-unbuilt Bath Club Estates condo development that he’s been working on in North Beach for the last few years, placing the small oceanfront plot of land on the market. The developer told the Miami Herald that…

Protest against boat show planned at Marine Stadium

The village of Key Biscayne is getting reinforcements for its war to stop the Miami International Boat Show from being held at Virginia Key’s Marine Stadium site.  On Saturday, environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Tropical Audubon Society…

Can Blackstone’s real estate business keep growing?

Can Blackstone’s real estate group, led by Jon Gray continue its phenomenal run?  From the New York website: When General Electric executives phoned Blackstone Group’s Lexington Avenue office in March to propose one of the largest real estate deals in U.S. history…

Puerto Rican project management firm opens in Coral Gables, aims to hire 100

Caribbean Project Management has opened a Coral Gables office with eight employees and plans to expand that to 100 over the next five years.  CPM is one of Puerto Rico’s largest infrastructure consulting and project management firms with over $5.1 billion in projects under management since it was founded in 1991. It also has an affiliate…

Metro 1’s Wynwood Greenhouse wins Public Space Challenge

The Wynwood Greenhouse has nabbed a $20,000 grant, as one of the winners of the Miami Foundation’s 2015 Public Space Challenge, developer Metro 1 announced on Wednesday.  The Miami Foundation created the “Our Miami Public Space…

Rok picks up Wellington offices for $8.65M

A Wellington office building has just been sold to Rok Acquisitions, a large Miami-based real estate investment company that has focused on downtown Miami properties.  An affiliate of Rok executive member Michael Sperling paid $8.6…

South Florida by the numbers: Focus on Miami-Brazil connection

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.  When Brazil observes its Independence Day on September 7, the 44,000-plus Brazilians who live in Miami…

Former Yacht Manufacturing Site, Marina Trades

“With the recent zoning changes to Palmer Lake, the site and the immediate area are ready to become the next great hub of development within South Florida.”