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Five Class A Office Projects In The Development Pipeline For Miami Beach

Intent on diversifying its economy beyond tourism and nightlife, officials have heavily incentivized the construction of Class A office buildings in Miami Beach. The hope is that the new projects will lure tenants from the many technology, financial and venture capital businesses flocking to the area.

Those incentives include height increases in certain corridors, an office-friendly overlay district in Sunset Harbour, and a request for proposals for developers interested in building new offices on three city-owned parking lots by Lincoln Road. (The deadline for that RFP is Dec. 17).

As demand rises for workspaces on the multibillion-dollar sandbar, these are five Class A office projects in the pipeline to know about, according to a capital market list compiled by the Miami Beach-based commercial brokerage Koniver Stern:

Starwood Global Headquarters, 2340 Collins Ave.: A limited liability company connected to Starwood Capital Group took out a $76.2 million construction loan to build a six-story, 144,430-square-foot building that will serve as the headquarters for a real estate firm led by Barry Sternlicht. The firm has $100 billion worth of assets under management, employs 4,000 people in 16 offices worldwide, and controls the publicly traded mortgage investment company Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD). Around 55% of the Starwood Global Headquarters office space will be used as the base of operations for 300 Starwood employees. The rest of the office building, which was co-developed by Miami-based Integra Investments, will be leased to third parties. The building will also have 8,000 square feet of retail, a 277-space parking garage, and “an array of outdoor wood-clad ‘cabanas’ on each floor,” according to a press statement issued by Starwood. Topped off in December 2020, the Starwood Global Headquarters is due to be completed by the end of the year.

The Bancroft, 1501 Collins Ave.: This hotel circa 1939 is being converted into Class A office space by Boca Raton-based Pebb Capital, Maxwelle Real Estate Group in downtown Miami, and Crescent Heights headquartered in Miami’s Edgewater. When the project is completed, The Bancroft will have 50,000 square feet of offices, four restaurants, and a 210-space underground parking garage.

One Island Park, 120 MacArthur Causeway: The Related Group scrapped its previous plans to construct a 90-unit condo at Terminal Island. Instead, the Coconut Grove real estate development company, headed by Jorge Pérez, will build an office complex totaling around 162,000 square feet in size with a rooftop restaurant, a four-level parking garage, a guard gate, and infrastructure to fuel up and service megayachts docked at the facility.

Eighteen Sunset, 1733 Purdy Ave.: This past November, developer Bradley Colmer of Deco Capital Group broke ground on the first brand new office building to be constructed within the Sunset Harbour Overlay District. The five-story project will include 40,000 square feet of offices, 17,000 square feet of retail, and a private penthouse residence with amenities that include an outdoor pool and hot tub.

944 Fifth St.: Two New York development firms, Sumaida + Khurana and Bizzi & Partners, are teaming up to build a 56,177-square-foot, Class A office building with high interior ceilings and a white façade. As previously reported by the South Florida Business Journal, this office building will also be the first to be designed by famed Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza. This project has yet to be named. It also has yet to obtain the 75-foot height limit it needs to move forward. Nevertheless, the development team aims to have the project completed by the summer of 2022.

 

Source:  SFBJ

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Real Estate Wins in Miami’s Mayoral Elections

Real estate-friendly candidates and initiatives came out victorious across Miami in Tuesday night’s election, particularly in the mayoral races in the high-profile cities of Miami and Miami beach.

In Miami Beach, Mayor Dan Gelber handily won reelection, capturing 62 percent of votes for this third term. The Democrat had tied his campaign to a controversial referendum to curb partying in South Beach. The referendum proposed rolling back the last-call time to serve alcohol at establishments along famed Ocean Drive, to 2 a.m. from 5 a.m.

The majority of voters agreed with Gelber, with 56 percent approving the non-binding measure.

Proponents say the initiative will help curb disorderly conduct and crime at the wee hours of the night.

“They don’t have to have a 24-hour party. Our residents cannot be held captive to a business model that creates disorder,” Gelber said last night.

Real estate is also at play. Endorsers believe the measure will help revive a historic but shabby part of town, and soften its wild-party image incongruent with the expensive condominiums that surround it.

As Miami attracts corporate giants, developers, including Jorge Perez of the Related Group, say Miami Beach has fallen behind, partially because of the perception of mayhem. Related is looking for a marquee name to fill its One Island Park office development in Miami Beach.

Last month, a tape leaked of Gelber talking with unidentified developers about creating a Political Action Committee to fund city commission candidates that support redevelopment, according to the Miami New Times, which first reported about the tape. The mayor also said he could put initiatives on the ballot favored by developers as a way of bypassing the commission approval.

“In politics, money plays a big part …” Gelber is heard saying. “Tell us what you need to reimagine the areas we know need to be reimagined.”

A Political Action Committee supporting the Ocean Drive measure earned donations from Starwood Capital Group’s Barry Sternlicht and developer Alex SapirThe Real Deal reported.

Critics, like the Citizens for All a Safe Miami Beach, say the measure will cost as much as $40 million in lost tax revenue and drive up unemployment, which will only worsen crime in the area.

Across Biscayne Bay in Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez also cruised through reelection, winning nearly 79 percent of the vote. The Republican elected official was a shoo-in, having raised millions of dollars.

Suarez’s crowning achievement has been to rebrand Miami into the “Wall Street and Silicon Valley of the South” by courting companies to relocate while embracing cryptocurrency. Many took note. Corporate heavyweights BlackstonePoint72 Management and Microsoft, just to cite a few, signed office leases in Miami this year.

Developers have reaped the benefits of the corporate migration. Office landlords have kept rates high thanks to the new-to-market demands. Residential rents and home prices have skyrocketed over the past year due to the influx of moguls and high-earning workers.

Suarez will undoubtedly continue to lobby companies — now with voters’ blessings. “Today we embark on a new chapter to finish what we started,” Suarez said last night. (Representatives for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

The mayoral race in Sunny Isles Beach, a town littered with new oceanfront high-rises, will go to a runoff since no candidate captured more than 50 percent of the vote. Real estate attorney and town commissioner Dana Goldman will face another commissioner, Larisa “Laura” Svechin. 

Down south, Homestead Mayor Steve Losner squeezed out a victory, winning by 68 votes.

Out west in Hialeah, Esteban “Steve” Bovo, who earned an endorsement from former President Trump, won the mayor’s race.

 

Source:  Commercial Observer

 

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