No Comments

Leasing Activity Heats Up At The Gateway at Wynwood

As Miami continues to experience a post-pandemic boom, The Gateway of Wynwood – the newest office building in the Wynwood area – announces tech start-up OpenStore’s expansion and the growth of its impressive roster of tenants with the addition of two new leases.

Aron Rosenberg, the developer behind The Gateway at Wynwood, has signed a lease with OpenStore for an approximately 26,000-square-foot expansion, bringing the company’s total footprint in the building to over 40,000 square feet. At the same time, The Gateway at Wynwood signed a new lease with Baseline, a vertically integrated platform investment company, for 5,000 square feet of office space. It also signed a lease with Mediterranean-Asian-Fusion Steakhouse concept DALIYAH and MIZU Rooftop Garden for approximately 6,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurant space plus the nearly 3,000-square-foot rooftop area.

The Gateway at Wynwood was represented by Colliers’ Executive Managing Director Stephen Rutchik, Managing Director Tom Farmer and Director Tyler de la Pena in the office lease transactions. CBRE’s Alex Cesar, First Vice President of Retail Advisory and Transaction Services, and Drew Schaul, Senior Vice President of Advisory and Transaction Services, represented The Gateway at Wynwood in the retail lease.

“Leasing activity has ramped up since the building’s opening, and we are excited to welcome these new tenants and see a current tenant expand so fast at The Gateway at Wynwood,” said Shelby Rosenberg, R&B Realty’s Head of Development and Acquisitions, Asset and Property Manager, US Portfolio. “Our building continues to remain a hub for new-to-market tenants, expansions and relocations to Wynwood, the ‘place-to-be’ for companies looking for a live-work-play environment. We are proud of the role we have played in the transformation of this community into one of Miami’s hottest neighborhoods.”

The Gateway at Wynwood, which opened in 2022 as the first tenant took occupancy in January, recently achieved LEED Gold Certification. The building implemented practical and measurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Green buildings allow companies to operate more sustainably and give the people inside them a healthier, more comfortable space to work.

OpenStore, the building’s first tenant to officially move in, is a platform that allows entrepreneurs with Shopify businesses to sell their companies and receive liquidity for what they’ve built. Founded by Keith Rabois of Founders Fund, Jack Abraham of Atomic, and Michael Rubenstein, the former President of AppNexus, OpenStore connects merchants and customers into a single unified shopping experience through access to data, information, and capital. The company announced in July that it raised $30 million in Series A funding, with a valuation of $250 million. OpenStore’s goal is to offer instant liquidity for eCommerce entrepreneurs.

Baseline is focused on developing and operating short and long-term single-family rentals. Baseline’s principals have delivered over 4,000 market-leading vacation rentals and 20,000 single-family homes with an aggregate value of over $7 billion. This will be the Orlando-based company’s first Miami office.

DALIYAH and MIZU Rooftop Garden’s concept was created by DZYNE Hospitality and OPSO Group, which are partnering with Canada’s A5 Hospitality. DZYNE Hospitality, led by Derrick Orosa, aka “DZYNE,” is working with OPSO Group, the company behind some of Miami’s trendiest restaurants, including Midtown’s MAÜ MIAMI and KAVO MIAMI, on the new concept. Founded by Alexandre Besnard and Patrick Hétu, A5 Hospitality has been a leading player in Montreal’s hospitality industry for 15 years. A5 has a varied yet targeted offering, ranging from high-end Japanese dining to large-scale entertainment projects, specializing in the development and operation of restaurants and bars. MIZU Rooftop Garden is set to open first, in time for Art Basel 2022, with the downstairs restaurant, opening by Summer of 2023.

The_Gateway_at_Wynwood_Rooftop

“Our Rooftop Garden has the most amazing views of the entire Miami Skyline, South Beach, Brickell, Downtown, Midtown, Design District and of course, Wynwood”, said DZYNE of DZYNE Hospitality. “Our high-end Mediterranean Japanese Steakhouse will be situated in between all the action of Wynwood, making it the ideal destination location, where you can have amazing Japanese cuisine with disco, retro and high energy music playing throughout the restaurant or take our private elevator directly to the Rooftop Garden and lay back for some specialty cocktails, bottle service, Japanese Krudos, fresh sushi and cold Japanese dishes, as well as Wagyu and Kobe BBQ.”  

The Gateway at Wynwood offers about 195,000 square feet of leasable Class A office space and nearly 25,900 square feet of prime street-level retail space. Designed by renowned architect Kobi Karp, the environmentally responsible building features flexible floorplans, a private rooftop terrace, gym, unique bay window system, 24/7 on-site security, vibrant exterior cladding, and 2:1,000 on-site covered parking. The Gateway at Wynwood announced the building’s first office lease with biotech company Veru Inc in the summer of 2021. The eight-year, 12,155-square-foot lease will serve as the company’s global headquarters and triple Veru’s current office space.

 

No Comments

RFR Buys Third Building On Miami Block For $451 PSF

The 99-year-old Bayside Office Center in downtown Miami sold for $25 million, apparently as part of RFR Holdings’ move to acquire most of a full block in downtown Miami.

Bayside Office Center LLC sold the 44,431-square-foot office building at 141 N.E. Third Ave. The buyer was 141 NE Third LLC, which state records show is affiliated with New York-based RFR Holdings. The price equated to $451 a square foot.

The same family group has owned this building since 1978, when it traded for $580,000.

Rising 12 stories, the building was constructed on the 5,297-square-foot site in 1923 and renovated in 1986.

RFR appears to be positioning itself for a major real estate investment in a prime site opposite Bayfront Park.

 

Source:  SFBJ

No Comments

Aging Beachfront Condo Towers Are Hot Properties In Miami Beach

Developers are targeting hundreds of aging condo apartment buildings in Miami Beach for acquisition so they can tear them down and build new luxury residential towers, zeroing in on towers approaching a 40-year deadline to recertify structural integrity.

At least eight waterfront condo buildings in Miami Beach currently are involved in discussions for sale to developers, according to brokers and developers surveyed this week by the Wall Street JournalWSJ said developers including Related Group and Starwood Capital Group are pursuing aging waterfront properties in the Miami area.

Florida law requires that 80 percent of condo unit owners agree to a sale before a condo building can change hands, often forcing developers to go through a tedious process known as condo termination, effectively negotiating the purchase of each unit with its owner.

The requirement in South Florida that buildings older than 40 years must be recertified for structural integrity is creating a reckoning of sorts for the existing inventory of beachfront apartment buildings in the area, a majority of which date back to the 1970s or earlier.

The viability of older apartment towers in the Miami area has come into question in the wake of the partial collapse of a 12-story beachfront condo building in nearby Surfside last summer that killed 98 people.

The collapse in Surfside of one of two beachfront Champlain Towers, which were erected in 1981 and found to be in need of significant structural repairs, drew attention to a 2020 Florida International Survey of the coast which reported that much of the ground under Miami Beach is slowly sinking.

According to WSJ, hundreds of apartment buildings, representing more than two-thirds of the inventory in the Miami area, are either approaching or more than 40 years old.

After the Surfside collapse, numerous Florida lawmakers said they would enact tougher inspection requirements for beachfront apartment buildings as well as retrofit funding requirements for condo owners, but no action was taken before the state legislature session ended last month.

Repair costs to retrofit aging condo towers, which must be assessed and then paid by the unit owners, can exceed by far the building’s overall value as well as the ability—or willingness—of condo owners to pay these costs. Failure to make needed repairs can set off a domino effect of assessment defaults, budget shortfalls or building code violations for unfinished repairs.

The best-case scenario for developers who want to buy a condo building is for all of the condo unit owners to agree to sell as a group. Prior to 2007, 100% agreement to sell was required by Florida law. In 2007, Florida enacted a condominium termination statute that reduced the threshold of agreement by unit owners needed to sell the building to 80 percent.

With most of the prime waterfront locations in Miami completely built out and the demand for luxury condos skyrocketing, many developers are offering condo unit owners sale prices much higher than the market rate in an effort to reach the condo termination threshold, WSJ said.

Owners of condo units who are on fixed incomes are confronted with choosing between a sale offer—which may not completely cover their debt on the property—and looming repair assessments they can’t afford, according to the WSJ report.

 

Source:  GlobeSt.

No Comments

Miami Beach Apartment Complex Could Be Redeveloped Into Hotel

An apartment building in the North Beach area of Miami Beach could be partially demolished and redeveloped.

The city’s Historic Preservation Board is scheduled May 10 to hear the plans for the 0.34-acre site at 7418 Harding Ave. The property currently has three apartment buildings of two stories each with a combined 20 units. It was built in 1946.

Bay Harbor Islands-based 7418 Harding Ave LLC acquired the site for $3.55 million in November 2021.

Under the proposal, one of the existing apartment buildings would be demolished, a five-story hotel would be constructed, and the remaining two buildings would be converted into a hotel. When completed, the project would have 48 rooms, with 16 in the new building and 32 in the converted buildings. The new building would also have a lobby and a suite with an enclosed garden. A pool would be developed on the ground floor.

The project would cost about $4.6 million, according to the application.

“The sharp design features, varied balcony lengths, and purposefully placed fenestration will complement the existing courtyard and architectural character of the North Shore Historic District,” Miami-based attorney Michael W. Larkin stated in the application.

Larkin said the project may not be heard at the May 10 meeting as scheduled, but the owners intend to move forward with the project.

Mttr Mgmt in Miami is the architect of the project.

With hotel occupancy reaching pre-pandemic levels, more developers are looking for opportunities to build hotels. By utilizing adaptive reuse for part of this project, the developer would save on the expense of having to build the hotel completely from the ground up.

According to the application, 7418 Harding Ave LLC is owned by Edgardo Hugo Zimmerman, Elias Daniel Perez, Victor Daniel Penchansky, Isaac Daniel Gielczynsky, Nestor Daniel Zimmerman, Paula and Gabriel Boano, and Javier Landaburu.

 

No Comments

Truck Sales Lot With Potential For 400 Rental Units Sold In Allapattah Neighborhood

A truck sales lot in the Allapattah neighborhood is slated for redevelopment after it was sold for $9 million.

Land Trust Service Corp. No 2479-36, of Lake Wales, sold the 3.08-acre site at 2479 N.W. 36th St. to Bindi Investments LLC, managed by Copag Registered Agents in Miami. Cesar Carasa of One Stop Realty represented the seller in the deal.

The property last traded in 2016, when it was seized following a foreclosure lawsuit. It operated as a truck and heavy equipment dealership.

Carasa said the property is certainly headed for redevelopment under the new ownership. The T6-8-O zoning permits eight stories and 140 units per acre, so there could be over 400 units on the site. He noted it’s four blocks west of the Earlington Heights Metrorail Station, so a developer could petition for a parking space reduction to encourage mass transit ridership.

“It will probably be developed with rental units,” Carasa said. “Land like this would cost $20 million or $30 million in Brickell. This is great for people who can’t rent in Brickell. They will come to this area because the rent is a little lower.”

 

No Comments

Strong Demand For Office Space At Wynwood Plaza, Utilities Deal Inked

The developers of The Wynwood Plaza have signed a deal for water and sewer utilities.

Active negotiations for 75,000 square feet of office space at the project are now underway, according to a release last month by representatives of co-developer Carpe Real Estate Partners.

Some of the world’s “most creative companies” are among those who have expressed interest in the new project, Carpe said.

Records show that the developer signed a deal for water and sewer utilities at the site late in late March. Demolition is already underway there.

According to the newly signed utilities agreement, Wynwood Plaza will include:

  • 212,962 square feet of office space
  • 509 apartments
  • 25,550 square feet of retail

Plans previously submitted to the city also show a landscaped 25,000 square-foot outdoor public plaza, and a parking garage with 668 car spaces and 954 bike spaces.

 

 

Source:  The Next Miami

No Comments

South Beach Office Building Sells For $52M

East End Capital and GreenOak Real Estate offloaded a South Beach office building for $52.3 million, property records show.

The four-story building, located at 555 Washington Avenue, is in a district known for its party scene, just a block from both 5th Street and nightlife mogul David Grutman’s popular Goodtime Hotel.

The 137,579-square-foot property offers 243 parking spots, 46,000 square feet for offices and 22,000 square feet of street-level retail, most of which is leased to CVS.

For the buyer, the Boston-based Davis Companies, the purchase appears to be its first office foray in South Florida.

The sellers paid $38 million in 2018 for the mixed-use property, built in 2001. The $14 million profit in just four years reflects Miami Beach’s growing appeal for top executives.

 

Source:  Commercial Observer

No Comments

Miami Beach Leaders Want Office-Housing Towers Off Lincoln Road. Will Locals Approve?

If Miami Beach residents approve, two development projects would convert three parking lots off Lincoln Road into apartments, plus office and retail space. The city-approved plans are part of a larger effort to diversify the community’s economy amid South Florida’s migration of professionals working largely for tech and financial services companies.

Miami Beach voters will decide in either August or November whether the city should enter into public-private partnerships with two development teams, said Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola, sponsor of the plan to build on the three surface parking lots. The city needs at least 50% of voters to approve it. Developers proposed two buildings with 43 apartments, 187,000 square feet of office space, 33,000 square feet of retail and 715 parking spaces, more than double the number of existing spaces. The buildings would rise up to 80 feet.

Miami Beach officials approved two bids in February after receiving 18 submissions. The move comes two years after the commission first issued a request for proposals in late 2020 and later issued a formal call for bids. Lincoln Road Property Owners — comprised of Integra Investments, Starwood Capital Group and the Comras Company — plan to redevelop the lot between 17th Street and Lenox Avenue and 1040 Lincoln Road into two buildings with office and retail space. The Peebles Corporation, Scott Robins Companies and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine aim to convert the lot at 1664 Meridian Ave. into a building with apartment rental, office and retail space.

“The city is doing everything it can to diversify the local economy,” Arriola said. “We are taking surface parking lots that are not the best use of public land into something that will make it into an economic engine for the city.”

Developers would undergo the site plan and design review approval steps once receiving support from residents, Arriola said. Construction would start in 2023 and the developments would be completed in 2026. The Lincoln Road Property Owners said in a joint statement, “This development will position Miami Beach to attract new businesses, create sought-after jobs, spur additional private sector investment and create new revenue that will enable Miami Beach to continue investing in infrastructure and quality of life initiatives.” The housing piece will benefit the community, Scott Robins Companies President Scott Robins said, because “people want to live close to their office.” Demand in Miami Beach is anticipated to remain high for office space. “The world that we live in is full of risk,” but “we are not talking about a ton of space,” said Bob Orban, principal in the Miami office of commercial real estate market analytics firm Cresa. Businesses will benefit from an increase in the daytime population, said retail expert Beth Azor of Azor Advisory Services in Weston.

Some Lincoln Road business owners are looking at the long-term gain, despite a potential shortage of parking spaces during construction, including V&E Restaurant Group CEO Matias Pesce. His firm owns restaurants Vida & Estilo, Havana 1957, La Cerveceria de Barrio and Cortadito Coffee House. “The shortage of parking may have an impact on guest traffic,” Pesce said, “but we know it will be for the best.” Another challenge would be a lack of affordable and workforce housing, Orban said. Robins said he and his partners are in talks with the Beach officials to possibly include affordable or workforce housing. “For the people that work for these financial services firms that are going to answer phones and type documents,” Orban said, “it would be more attractive in terms of having something affordable close to their place of work.”

 

Source:  Miami Herald

No Comments

8-Story Sister Wynwood Office Buildings Get OK

As the popular Wynwood Arts District evolves it is enjoying a boom in new office space, including a large mixed-use project that will bring a working campus of two 8-story sister buildings at Northwest Fifth Avenue and 27th Street.

WYN ON 5TH NORTH, at 2701 NW Fifth Ave., and WYN ON 5TH SOUTH, at 2661 NW Fifth Ave., are proposing together nearly 250,000 square feet of offices.

Developer-applicant RAL Tricap Wynwood LLC presented the project March 16 to the City of Miami’s Urban Development Review Board, which recommended approval.

The northern building is to offer 106,414 square feet of offices and 6,961 square feet of commercial-retail use, along with 268 parking spaces and 33 bike spaces. The southern building is designed with 139,254 square feet of offices, 15,999 square feet of commercial-retail use, along with parking for 377 vehicles and 36 bike spaces.

The buildings will total 578,325 square feet of floor area.

Each building will have an enclosed garage and an activated roof deck.

The developer seeks several waivers:

  • Increase maximum lot coverage to 35,254 square feet, or 88.6%, where up to 80% is permitted.
  • A less than 30% reduction in total required parking spaces for a project within a transit corridor area.
  • Above-ground parking on a secondary frontage to extend into the second layer beyond 50% of the length of the frontage.
  • Parking contained within a mezzanine space.
  • Extensions above the maximum height for stair, elevator, mechanical enclosures, habitable space, or non-habitable rooms.

The board voted to recommend approval with a recommendation to study alignment of the entrances at street level, and a condition to study the proposed artwork on the façade at street level to have it be more Wynwood-like.

 

Source:  Miami Today

 

No Comments

800-Plus Apartments Could Break Ground Near Aventura Mall, Future Brightline Station

Mill Creek Residential has proposed a 15-story apartment complex just west of the Aventura Mall, near a future Brightline passenger rail station.

The Boca Raton-based developer filed a pre-application with Miami-Dade County for the 4.85-acre site at 2681 N.E. 191st St., on the east side of West Dixie Highway. Mill Creek Residential has it under contract from Miami-based WD 2600 LLC, managed by Bruno Bloch in Miami.

The site currently has an 18,407-square-foot warehouse constructed in 1971 that’s mostly used for truck parking.

It’s located in the Ojus neighborhood west of Aventura.

This particular site is two blocks south from where a Brightline station is under construction.

Modera Aventura would have 840 apartments, 15,245 square feet of retail facing West Dixie Highway and 1,096 parking spaces. It would be developed in two phases of equal size. The two buildings would have separate pools.

 

Source:  SFBJ

© 2024 FIP Commercial. All rights reserved. | Site Designed by CRE-sources, Inc.