What To Expect In Coconut Grove Commercial Real Estate This Year

, ,

Coconut Grove is seeing boom times. How long will it last?

The Fairchild Coconut Grove

Oscar Rodriguez, principal of ROVR Development to get his insights on this market. ROVR is developing only new waterfront project rising in Coconut Grove—The Fairchild Coconut Grove.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the main factors driving the recent boom in Coconut Grove?

Rodriguez: Coconut Grove has it all, from lushly landscaped quiet neighborhoods and architectural charm to a dynamic cultural, dining and entertainment destination and an active beautiful waterfront on Miami’s Biscayne Bay. All of this is within close proximity to Miami’s business and financial core, making Coconut Grove an ideal place to call home.

The community has so much to offer: beautiful parks, close proximity to the best schools including Gulliver Academy, Ransom Everglades School, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and The University of Miami, green canopied neighborhoods and amenity driven shopping and dining centers such as The Mayfair and Cocowalk. Coconut Grove is central to everything and has a hip vibe that can’t be replicated.

GlobeSt.com: What is your forecast for the market in Coconut Grove for 2018?

Oscar Rodriguez

Rodriguez: Coconut Grove has always had a unique heart and soul that will continue to be the source of its popularity and success. The area has attracted high profile residents and has developed exponentially in the past few years. Local and international demand for this one of a kind community will continue to propel Coconut Grove as one of the strongest markets in South Florida.

As more and more people are drawn to the area and discover its untapped potential, it will continue to grow and progress. But I believe it will always hold on to that unique vibe that makes it special and preserve that neighborhood feel.

 

Source: GlobeSt.

/by

Downtown Miami Church Sold To Developer For $55M

, , , ,

Property Markets Group acquired the site of a downtown Miami church along Biscayne Boulevard for $55 million, with plans to build a major mixed-use tower.

The First United Methodist Church of Miami sold its 1.15-acre property at 400 Biscayne Blvd. to New York-based PMG. The deal was partially funded by Toronto-based Greybrook Realty Partners, which previously announced plans to invest $32.2 million into the project. The site is near American Airlines Arena, Miami Dade College, and the College/Bayside Metromover Station.

PMG’s Ryan Shear, Evan Schapiro, Matt Ellish, and Yechiel Ciment negotiated the deal. They were represented by Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr attorneys Luis Flores, Rebecca Sarelson and David Yontz, plus Josh Kaplan at Bilzin.

“This is our third investment in the Biscayne corridor, increasing our ability to create innovative living experiences for residents,” Shear said. “We feel that this market is one of the most important areas of Miami from a future growth perspective, general location and view standpoint.”

The developer said it plans to build over 690 units and about 20,000 square feet of commercial space. The property is zoned for about 50 stories. The apartments would be branded by PMG’s new X Social Communities division, which appeals to young professionals seeking more attainable pricing. Its nearby X Miami apartment building, which is under construction, is part of the same brand.

The 400 Biscayne project would have co-working spaces, an oversized fitness center, communal kitchens, smart package lockers, smart home technology controlled by an app, and many pre-furnished units. As part of the project, PMG will build a new church on the site with a separate entrance for FUMC Miami.

“FUMC wanted to rebuild the church in the same location, so the relationship with the potential buyer was very important,” Flores said. “They liked the young and thriving energy that PMG brings to its developments and could see themselves doing business with the developer in the short and long term. The transaction is unique because we had to wear different hats at different times since we are the buyer and builder of the future church.”

“It was the right time for the church to take advantage of the revitalization of its neighborhood,” Pastor Dr. Audrey Warren said. “The project will ultimately allow the church to grow and meet its future operating needs.”

PMG said the architect of the building is Sieger Suarez, and Carlos Ott is consulting on the church that will be included in the structure.

 

Source: SFBJ

/by

Planned Redevelopment Of Former INS Location In Miami Draws $26M Loan

, , ,

Developers planning to redevelop a former home of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Miami borrowed $26 million to finance the project.

Three entities managed by Ye Zhang — Florida Fullview Immigration Building, Fullview Immigration Building I and Wealthy Delight — borrowed the money from an affiliate of Madison Realty Capital.

In 2013, the developers paid $12.5 million for the former INS location at 7880 Biscayne Boulevard, which the federal agency vacated in 2008.

The developers have razed the building the INS occupied and plan to turn the 1.4-acre property into a mixed-use development called Triton Center, designed by Stantec.

Triton Center would encompass a 139-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, 324 apartments, approximately 585 parking spaces, and 25,000 square feet of commercial space.

 

Source: The Real Deal

/by

Macy’s To Close Historic Downtown Miami Store

, ,

Macy’s historic location in downtown Miami is among the latest of its stores to fall victim to a national cutback plan that will include the elimination of 5,000 jobs in the United States.

The company said last week that it expects to save $300 million by closing 11 stores around the country early this year, cutting payroll and streamlining some in-store functions.

“We anticipate our net headcount reduction will be approximately 5,000, including the staffing adjustments across the stores’ organization, further streamlining in some non-store functions and impact closure of 11 stores,” said spokeswoman Jacqueline King in an email.

Besides the Miami store and one at The Oaks Mall in Gainesville, the company will shut four locations in California and others in Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont. The moves are the latest in a plan disclosed in late 2016 to close 100 stores. Thus far, the company has disclosed 81 of the 100. The latest on the hit list will start eight- to 12-week clearance sales.

Macy’s said it intends to close about 19 more stores as leases expire or real estate sales are completed. Last year, Macy’s closed its store at CityPlace in West Palm Beach. Nearly a dozen stores remain in operation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. More than a half-dozen operate in Miami-Dade County.

“Our primary focus in 2017 has been to continue the strong growth of digital and mobile, stabilize our brick-and-mortar business and set the foundation for future growth,” CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement. “Looking ahead to 2018, we are focused on continuous improvement and will take the necessary steps to move faster, execute more effectively and allocate resources to invest in growth.”

The Miami building is viewed as an anachronism by developers, planners and analysts as the downtown area attracts a younger population that generally avoids department stores and prefers to shop online.

“The departure is a good thing,” Mika Mattingly, a Colliers International real estate agent. “There are so many positives. There are a lot of scenarios that are inviting. First among them: educational institutions that could use the space.”

Located at 22 E. Flagler St., the downtown Miami store once anchored the Florida-based Burdines chain, which got its start in 1898. Burdines joined Federated Department Stores in 1956. Looking to leverage the Macy’s brand, Federated lumped the names together into Burdines-Macy’s in 2004, only to strip away the Burdines label a year later. At one point, the location served as corporate headquarters for Macy’s Florida.

“I think this is a huge opportunity for the current owner to really capitalize on a piece of real estate that is completely underutilized,” said Zach Winkler of JLL, a national commercial real estate brokerage firm.

A decade ago, the Downtown Development Authority feared Macy’s might leave downtown as the company wielded the possibility as a bargaining chip for a more aesthetically pleasing downtown.

“It’s been a pillar of downtown for a long time,” said Alyce M. Robertson, executive director of the DDA. “It’s sad to see a major retailer go. Had this happened 10 years ago, we would have faced a much more serious impact.”

But now, amid a post-recession construction boom that delivered high-rise hotels, retail, condos and offices, the urban center is a more vibrant place.

“The population has more than doubled,” Robertson said. “It’s a younger demographic. The property itself could use a facelift. It’s not the most welcoming place. They used to have a restaurant on the first floor on the west side. It would be nice to have some kind of street-level presence to engage the pedestrians on the new Flagler Street when it’s built out.”

Jason Shapiro, managing director of Aztec Group, a Miami real estate finance and investment firm, said the building should be divided up into smaller spaces for restaurants, smaller retail and shared work spaces.

“It’s still the core of the core from a location perspective,” Shapiro said. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t see a wholesale change for the better in the next couple of years.”

 

Source: SunSentinel

/by

“Climate Gentrification” Could Add Value To Elevation In Real Estate

,

Homes at higher elevations in Miami are gaining value at a faster clip than those closer to sea level.

It’s an accelerating trend, and it has residents and real estate agents — in Miami and other coastal communities — asking whether “climate gentrification” has arrived. The term, which only recently entered the lexicon, describes the role of climate change in recalibrating land values, a phenomenon that ultimately could displace low-income and minority residents in a similar fashion as urban gentrification. As sea levels rise and flooding persists, the thinking goes in the case of Miami, waterfront property will lose some of its luster and higher-situated neighborhoods like Little Haiti and Little Havana will become more attractive.

The professor who was first to publish research using the phrase “climate gentrification” isn’t convinced that’s the main culprit in Miami. At least not yet. Jesse M. Keenan, a researcher on urban development and climate adaptation at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, tracked the rate of price appreciation since 1971 for more than 250,000 residential properties in Miami-Dade County, and compared those figures to elevation. Keenan found that properties at high elevations have long appreciated faster in Miami, mostly because of nonclimate factors.

However, since 2000, the correlation between elevation and price appreciation has grown stronger, which Keenan, in an interview with CBS MoneyWatch, suggested may be “early signaling” of preference for properties at higher elevations and a reaction to persistent nuisance flooding in lower areas.

His prediction: Over the next 10 years, climate change will become a more significant factor in the real estate market for many cities. He expects a “slow burn” toward a tipping point — similar to the foreclosure crisis — when all of a sudden values drop precipitously for high-risk properties.

“This is real,” Keenan said. “There are actual people spending lots of money thinking about how to make money from climate change. We have to come to terms with this sooner than later.”

Keenan tracks at least three “pathways” to climate gentrification, and the variations stem in part from the “location, location, location” mantra of real estate. The three scenarios:

  • Low-risk properties surge in value, fueling a migration from high-exposure areas, causing displacement. This isn’t just a sea-level issue: California’s wildfires, for instance, are likely to lead to significant changes in how real estate is valued. “Anything related to climate change,” Keenan explained. “Low exposure is the determinate.”
  • Living in high-exposure areas gets so expensive (think taxes, insurance, etc) that only rich people can live there, pushing historically mixed-income areas (such as Miami Beach, Florida, and Hampton Roads, Virginia) to become more exclusive.
  • Government investments in resilience have the unintended consequence of boosting land and property values that wind up displacing populations. Sea-level fortifications on the Lower East Side of Manhattan could have this affect, Keenan said.

What’s at stake?

“People’s lives, their livelihoods and their culture,” said Mustafa Santiago Ali, senior vice president of climate, environmental justice and community revitalization for the Hip Hop Caucus, a nonprofit that connects the Hip Hop community to civic life.

Ali, who previously spent 24 years in various roles at the Environmental Protection Agency, said it’s fairly easy to predict who the winners will be as climate gentrification takes hold — led both by one-time events such as hurricanes and the more gradual process of sea-level rise. The answer, of course, is wealthier people.

“Who has the resources? Who has the access?” Ali asked in an interview with MoneyWatch. “Who has the education to understand what’s coming and navigate that?”

One key to ensuring a more equitable outcome is making sure communities are heard, are involved in development, including “adaptation” measures to accommodate climate change, and have avenues to take advantage of rising property values, Ali said. In fact, climate will be a focus area of a new initiative of the Hip Hop Caucus set for launch in spring that targets vulnerable communities.

In Miami, residents of some inland coastal neighborhoods that sit at comparatively high elevations, including Little Haiti, worry that rising property values fueled by sea-level increases could price them out, as PRI reported last week.

Developers have proposed three new projects in the Little Haiti neighborhood that could push immigrants and people of color out, activist Valencia Gunder told PRI.

“In Miami, historically because of racism, redlining and segregation, all of the brown and black people were forced to live in the center of the city, which also happens to be the high elevated areas,” she told PRI. “So, they pushed us here because they didn’t want us on the beach.”

For some buyers these days, the beach looks like a better place to visit than to live. And it’s not just coastal areas that could face consequences of “climate gentrification.” Coastal residents are likely to flock to inland cities in droves — with Austin, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and Atlanta likely to gain the most new residents, according to a study by Mathew Hauer published by the journal Nature in April.

The study, which considers a sea-level rise of about six feet by the year 2100, forecasts a migration of as many as 13 million people (double the total of the Great Migration), with more than 2.5 million fleeing the region that includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. New Orleans would lose about 500,000 people, the study predicts, and the New York City area would lose 50,000 people.

That doesn’t mean coastal areas would empty out. History shows people will always want to live near the water, noted Joel Myers, founder and president of commercial weather service AccuWeather Inc.

Sea levels have been rising for thousands of years, he added, and even as that rise accelerates, the other side of the coin is there’s less waterfront land available to purchase. A simple formula of supply and demand.

Click here to view the CBS MoneyWatch video ‘Climate Gentrification Could Add Value To Elevation In Real Estate’

 

Source: CBS News

/by