Miami Commercial Investment Activity Upticks, Aided by Low Vacancies

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According to the Miami Association of Realtors’ Realtor Commercial Alliance, Miami’s commercial vacancy rates continue to rank among the lowest in Florida, leading to more local investment from global companies and investors.

Miami’s vacancy rates for office (14.9 percent), industrial (5.3 percent), retail (6.3 percent), and multifamily (4.4 percent) are the lowest among major cities in Florida, according to a May 2015 Commercial Outlook report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Reis, Inc., a leading provider of commercial real estate market information. Each of Miami’s commercial sectors are performing better than the U.S. average, except for multifamily which is 0.1 percent lower. The national vacancy rates in May were 15.6 percent for office, 8.4 percent for industrial, 9.6 percent for retail and 4.3 percent for multifamily, according to NAR and Reis.

“One of the world’s top global cities, Miami has become a launching pad for new industries,” said Barbara Tria, the 2015 Miami Commercial Alliance President. “Technology companies and other businesses are moving to Miami largely because of the region’s top-tier cultural offerings, outdoor lifestyle, and affordability compared to other major cities around the globe.”

Miami Office Market

Miami’s 14.9 percent office vacancy rate in May ranks as the 21st lowest out of 82 major U.S. cities, according to the NAR and Reis report. New York leads the nation at 8.9 percent. Statewide, Miami’s office vacancy rate is performing better than Florida’s major cities. The Sunshine State’s other major metropolitans had the following rates: Fort Lauderdale (18.6 percent), Jacksonville (20.4 percent), Orlando (16.5), Palm Beach (16.5) and Tampa (19.7). The national average is 15.6.

South Florida’s growing, multilingual workforce is one reason for its low office vacancy rate. Miami-Dade County added 33,700 jobs across several sectors from April 2014 to April 2015, a 3.1 percent increase, according to job numbers released May 22. Miami had the third-largest job gain in Florida behind Orlando and Tampa. Miami’s unemployment rate from April 2014 to April 2015 decreased by 0.7 percentage points, to 6.2 percent from 6.9 percent.

Miami Industrial Market

Miami’s industrial vacancy rate of 5.3 percent is the third-lowest in the nation among the 82 major American cities studied by NAR and Reis. Only Orange County (Calif.) and Los Angeles performed better than Miami in the industrial sector in May, registering vacancy rates of 3.4 and 3.6 percent, respectively. Florida’s other major metropolitans had the following rates: Fort Lauderdale (8.2), Jacksonville (6.9), Orlando (10.3), Tampa/St. Petersburg (7.8), and Palm Beach (5.5). The national average is 8.4.

Miami International Airport and PortMiami are two of South Florida’s international trade successes. Miami International ranks as the top airport in the U.S. for international freight, and the ninth-best airport for foreign cargo in the world. In 2013, Miami International handled 2.1 million tons of total airfreight, of which 88 percent was international freight.

PortMiami is the top-ranked container cargo port in Florida with 900,000 TEUs handled each year. The port has an opportunity to expand its international business as it is deepening its channel from its current 42-foot depth to 50-52. When the deep dredge project is completed, PortMiami will be the only U.S. port south of Norfolk, Va. that can accommodate the new, mega cargo vessels that will pass through the expanded Panama Canal.

Miami Retail Market

Miami has the 15th lowest retail vacancy rate among U.S. major cities, according to the NAR and Reis report. Miami’s 6.3 percent rate is considerably lower than Florida’s other large metropolitans. Fort Lauderdale (9.3 percent), Jacksonville (12.9), Orlando (11.0), Palm Beach (9.5) and Tampa (10.6) are higher than Miami. The national average is 9.6.t”>

Miami’s tourism and multilingual employment base are just two reasons why major developers are bringing new retail ventures to the region. Earlier this year, the company that owns and runs the largest mall in America announced plans to build the nation’s largest shopping mall in northwestern Miami-Dade, a roughly 200-acre entertainment complex with submarines, a Legoland, sea lions and an artificial ski slope. American Dream Miami is projected to cost as much as $4 billion to build.

Brickell City Centre and The Mall at Miami World Center are two other significant Miami retail ventures. At Brickell City Centre, Hong Kong developer Swire Properties will deliver 500,000 square feet of retail space anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue by late 2016. The Mall at Miami Worldcenter, in the heart of downtown, will complete 765,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and entertainment space by 2017.

Miami Multifamily Market

The vacancy rate for Miami’s multifamily market is tied for 38th among 82 major U.S. metros, according to the NAR and Reis report. Miami’s 4.4 percent multifamily vacancy rate is the lowest in the state. Fort Lauderdale (5.2 percent), Jacksonville (7.0), Orlando (6.1), Palm Beach (5.6), and Tampa (5.0) all have higher rates. The national average is 4.3 percent.

 

Source: WPJ

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North Miami Beach: A ‘Hidden Gem’ In The Real Estate Market

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A new strategic vision, competitive pricing and a less hectic lifestyle are three reasons North Miami Beach is emerging as an attractive location for new residential and commercial investment.

Both the scenic Biscayne Boulevard corridor and the 163rd Street commercial district are in the early stages of an exciting transformation that will bring many positive benefits and developments to the city.

NorthMiamiBeachHiddenGem-ChartLed by Mayor George Vallejo, the city of North Miami Beach adopted a strategic plan in September that sets guidelines for real-estate development, design and zoning for the next 15 years. The “visioning” framework, which was guided by two consulting firms, encourages new mixed-use projects and high-end residential towers in appropriate locations. It also includes funds for a comprehensive parks master plan, which will make the city an even more appealing place to live.

Already, a new wave of commercial development is under way, including plans for new high-end restaurants and a hotel along West Dixie Highway south of the roadway congestion in Aventura. Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Developers in Sunny Isles Beach, purchased the Intracoastal Mall for $63.5 million last year and plans to open a luxury iPic theater in the mall this summer.

On the residential side, North Miami Beach is becoming a destination of choice for both domestic and international buyers seeking an alternative to higher-priced properties in more congested areas along the beach, in Aventura or in downtown Miami. Because the redevelopment of North Miami Beach is just in the early stages, pricing for luxury residences is more attractive than other markets that have already experienced a run-up in values.

Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences

Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences

For example, the sales prices for the second tower of Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences, now under development on Biscayne Boulevard, averages $550 per square foot. To the north, a residence in a new Aventura building would be $850 per square foot, and the price for oceanfront units could be double or triple that rate.

Looking back at the last few decades, it’s clear that South Florida communities are at varying stages of the real-estate cycle. For instance, South Beach real estate was a bargain in the 1980s, before a wave of new hospitality, retail and residential investment created one of the world’s most popular (and expensive) urban resort markets.

Downtown languished until the early 2000s, when new residential and mixed-use developments exploded on the scene. After the recession, developers were quick to pick up unfinished projects and market them on an all-cash basis to affluent buyers from Latin America and Europe.

Meanwhile, North Miami Beach has remained a quiet, suburban city with about 40,000 residents and great recreational amenities, such as Greynolds Park and Oleta River State Park. In addition, the Biscayne Bay campus of Florida International University is conveniently located in nearby North Miami.

With its new strategic plan in place and a growing flow of commercial and residential real-estate investment, North Miami Beach is entering a new era, just as other Miami-Dade communities have evolved in the past.

Now the world is about to discover the new “hidden gem” in South Florida’s real-estate market. It’s an exciting time to participate in the transformation process, which will create a bright future for North Miami Beach and its residents.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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Is Brickell’s Biggest Hole Getting Miami’s Tallest Building?

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Scrapped Project

Scrapped Project

The Chinese consortium that bought the former Capital Brickell Place site, which has been sitting empty for years and as of right now is the biggest open hole in the ground in Brickell, is claiming on its website that they are building the tallest building in Miami there, according to The Next Miami.

The website is only in Chinese though,and the website of their Chinese/ American partner isn’t revealing much. Either way, until it’s verified, it’s only rumor. They also supposedly claim to have gained “preliminary approval” for the project, although no details are given.

 

Source: Curbed Miami

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Two Coconut Grove Office Buildings Sold For $42M

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BayviewPlazaTwo office buildings in Coconut Grove were sold for a combined $42 million, commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap announced Thursday.

The first, dubbed the Bayview Executive Plaza, is a 57,155-square-foot building at 3225 Aviation Avenue. It is occupied by the Femwell Group Health, Wolfberg Alvarez & Partners and the accounting firm Pinchasik Yelen Muskat Stein.

The second, named Continental Plaza, is a, 80,380-square-foot building at 3250 Mary Street. It’s across the street from Park Grove, an upcoming mixed-use development that has plans for three 20-story condo towers with retail and office space.

Both were purchased by a company titled Allegra Holding, and both were sold by TA Associates Realty.

Douglas Mandel and Benjamin Silver of Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale for both the buyer and the seller. “These buildings are well positioned to reap the benefits associated with the explosive growth of new developments in The Grove, and the buyer will be able to take advantage of future spikes in demand that will push rental rates to new highs,” Mandel said in a statement.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Working Alone, Together

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One of the largest leasing deals in Miami-Dade last year was for 37,700 square feet in a building on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road.

The lessee: WeWork. Founded in 2010, this New York-based company specializes in creating shared workspaces for startups, private contractors, artists, small firms and international corporations — basically, everyone. WeWork, which was valued at $5 billion in December, has opened locations in nine cities across the U.S., plus two in Israel. The firm’s four floors at 350 Lincoln Road, a 1940s-era building that will be its first Miami location, will be among WeWork’s newest locations once renovations are complete.

“As we build out our global network with locations in major global cities, Miami of course is on our map,” Mark Lapidus, head of real estate for WeWork, told The Real Deal. He cited the city’s growing “entrepreneurial market” and its status as a “gateway to Latin America” as reasons for opening the new location.

WeWork is far from first to market in Miami with the shared office space concept. Local players have been operating here since at least 2010, and many are in the process of expanding.

Pipeline Brickell founders, Philippe Houdard and Todd Oretsky.

Pipeline Brickell founders,
Philippe Houdard and Todd Oretsky.

“The demand for what we offer is very high,” said Philippe Houdard, co-founder of Pipeline, which has operated in a 23,000-square-foot office space in Brickell since 2012. So high, Houdard added, that occupancy for Pipeline’s private suites and reserved desks is near 100 percent, with tenants ranging from established corporations such as Italian car design company Pininfarina to relatively unknown companies including Ironhack, a computer programming school, and Crea7ive, a local web design company.

Monthly rates for shared offices can range from $99 for a mailbox and a phone number to more than $3,000 for a private suite. Services, much like the rates, vary from operation to operation, but typically a shared-office space in Miami offers access to refreshments, high-speed Internet, meeting rooms, and — perhaps most significantly — networking opportunities and camaraderie.

“There is a sense a community,” said Ana Maria Yumiseva, owner of Frecuencia Latinoamerica, a mobile technology company that operates in Pipeline’s Brickell office.

Donna Abood, managing director of the Miami office for Avison Young, said Miami-Dade is fertile ground for shared office space. “When you have entrepreneurs, you have a lot of startup businesses, and their need to collaborate is great,” said Abood, a 30-year veteran of South Florida commercial real estate.

An added bonus: co-working spaces typically offer short-term leases or require no leases at all.  Short-term and month-to-month leases are traits shared by an ancestor of the co-working space: the serviced “executive suite” office model. In the 1980s, companies such as Regus started opening executive suite offices in Miami-Dade that provided separate businesses a shared secretary and a conference room. Unlike the new generation of co-working spaces, tenants in executive suites (which continue to operate in Miami) tend to keep to themselves. “They aren’t looking for collaboration,” Abood said.

Büro Miami features open areas as well as private suites.

Büro Miami features open areas as well as private suites.

Michael Feinstein, CEO of the Büro Group, said his company was the first to bring the collaborative co-working space model to Miami (Abood said that if Büro wasn’t the first, they were certainly one of the first). Feinstein said he had spent a lot of time in coffee shops when he worked as a resort development consultant back in 2009. Then inspiration struck.

“We had not seen anyone actually [create] a shared work environment, so we went about doing it ourselves,” said Feinstein, who started Büro in Midtown Miami in 2010 with the help of friends, family and  later on, an investment from G3 Capital.

Büro now provides space for more than 100 companies (The Real Deal South Florida is a temporary tenant). The company operates in a second, 10,000-square-foot location in Sunset Harbour in Miami Beach, and Feinstein doubled his office space in Midtown Miami from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet last year. They are also opening additional spaces in the Coppertone building in the Miami Modern Historic District and the Engle Building in Coconut Grove.

Pipeline is growing, too. This summer they will open a Coral Gables office, which will include specialized services for lawyers, Houdard said. Pipeline is also planning to build an 80,000-square-foot space in Miami’s Little Haiti area. They also operate in Philadelphia.

Pipeline and Büro are seeing increased competition in the market, and not just from behemoths like WeWork. In Little Haiti, Urbana Atlantic Group and Conway Commercial Real Estate just finished converting a 26,000-square-foot office building, once used as a BellSouth headquarters, into MADE at the Citadel, a co-working space that offers shared work space in addition to a shared workshop area for artists.

“We are just opening our doors now and about 40 percent of our office space is already accounted for,” said Timothy Conway, managing director of Conway Commercial Real Estate. “And we have not done much marketing, if any.”

Another shared office space entity, The Lab Miami in Wynwood, just celebrated its two-year anniversary. Its managing director Tamara Wendt said co-working spaces are proliferating because they’re attractive to young professionals.  “Millennials and tech startups are drawn to co-working spaces because it’s a low barrier to entry and low cost for office space,” explained Wendt.

Wendt and other sources estimate that there are 15 to 20 shared offices ventures operating in Miami-Dade. Companies providing shared office spaces are still a relatively new concept in the area and are not yet specifically tracked. Wendt noted that the growth of shared offices is not just local or national — it’s a global phenomenon. “Co-working spaces are doing well around the world,” she said. “It’s a very fast-growing segment.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Developer Plans Live/Work Lofts And Boat Storage Project On Miami River

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A group of developers is preparing a plan for live/work loft units and a boat storage facility with a marina along the Miami River.

Chapman Ducote on a Delta Powerboats yacht.

Chapman Ducote on a Delta Powerboats yacht.

Chapman Ducote, the managing member of the development group, said he’s planning two buildings at 600 N.W. Seventh Ave. One would be a dry stack for boat storage attached to a high-end marina. The other building would have live/work lofts with high ceilings and a modern look, in addition to some retail, he said. While the size of the buildings aren’t finalized, Ducote said the mixed-use building would be eight to 12 stories tall.

“There is a beautiful neighborhood on the other side of the canal from us and we want to be in tune with what works in the neighborhood,” Ducote said. “We will remove a boat yard that isn’t very pretty and replace it with a nice modern building.”

Miami Boat Storage, an Aventura-based partnership between AL US Investments, Quillpoint Capital Investments and Ducote, recently bought the 47,152-square-foot lot for $3.65 million to save it from foreclosure. Ducote is also the president and CEO of Miami Beach-based credit card processing firm Merchant Services LTD, a professional racer on the American Le Mans series, and a major investor Delta Powerboats, a Swedish company that builds yachts fully out of carbon fiber.

“The live/work concept, particularly in other cities, is starting to work and get some legs behind it,” Ducote said. “You have residential and office in the same dwelling with a wall separating the two.”

 

Source: SFBJ

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A Peek At Downtown Miami’s Future Skyline

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Miami’s Downtown Development Authority has released a video that provides a glimpse of what the skyline will look like when the current crop of construction projects have been completed.

The video helps to visualize the massing of Miami’s evolving skyline by showing buildings that are both proposed and under construction. Buildings where construction is underway are represented in blue, while planned and proposed towers are represented in green and purple, respectively.

It doesn’t include every project, and isn’t exact about height. Fast-rising Edgewater is mostly ignored. It also doesn’t show detailed renderings, as Brickell Magazine did last year.

Below is the Miami DDA video rendering:

 

 

Source: The Next Miami

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Miami Beach Sea Level Rise Conference Targets Future Developments

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It’s up to developers and city officials to protect projects in Miami Beach from the threat of global sea level rise, architect Reinaldo Borges warned an audience gathered inside a conference room at the W South Beach on Thursday.

“Developers need to change their perspective,” Borges said. “They go in with a short-term investment mentality. That mindset has to change.”

Business leaders discuss sea level rise at the Miami Beach Community Resiliency Summit

Business leaders discuss sea level rise at the Miami Beach Community Resiliency Summit

Borges, a principal of Borges & Associates Architects, lamented that hotel projects his firm worked on like the Royal Palm Miami Beach and the Bentley Beach Hotel will be negatively impacted by sea level rise. Before new projects break ground, Borges suggested city officials find ways to provide developers with incentives if they build structures at a higher elevation.

The Miami-based architect was part of a panel of business community leaders at the Miami Beach Community Resiliency Summit Friday morning. Other speakers such as Wendy Kallergis, president and CEO of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, and Gabriole Van Bryce, a member of the association’s sustainable hospitality council, talked about successful efforts to convince builders and owners to make their properties greener.

“We have really helped hotels reduce the impact of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Van Bryce said. “We want to further reduce the effects of greenhouse emissions by promoting a cool roof initiative to place local gardens on rooftops.”

Al Roker, host and weatherman for NBC’s “Today Show,” kicked off the summit by providing attendees with a few cold hard facts about climate change. “In the next 50 years, Miami’s high tide will be five feet higher,” Roker said. “At the city’s 100th anniversary concert last night, I told the crowd, ‘I hope you’re enjoying this now because where you are standing now will be underwater one day.’”  The popular morning show personality also said the mainstream media made a mistake by coining the term “global warming,” instead of using “climate change.”

Following his presentation, Roker told The Real Deal that developers, city officials, and residents have to work together to address the real threat of climate change. “Everybody should be concerned,” Roker said. “Are buildings ready? Is the infrastructure ready? Those are all real concerns condo owners, private property owners, businesses and everybody should be concerned about.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Panorama Tower, Miami’s Tallest Tower, Is About To Go Vertical

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PanoramaTower2Foundation construction at developer Tibor Hollo’s Panorama Tower in Brickell, the future tallest tower in Miami, has reached ground level, and appears poised to go vertical any moment now.

About five months ago, they had just begun driving piles down for the foundations, when construction of the 822 foot tower had finally picked up after an agonizingly slow beginning.

 

Source: Curbed Miami

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Lights, Camera, Action: Local Leaders Break Ground On Miami Film Studio

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Local leaders broke ground Friday to make way for a new film and television studio in Miami.

Actually, it was more of a demolition ceremony than ground breaking.  A large piece of construction equipment began knocking down an old warehouse to make way for a television and movie production house While it may not be lights, camera, action just yet, the Florida Film & Television Center located at 50 NW 14 Street, is expected to be up and running within the next 15 months.

“The  film industry has always been an important component of the City of Miami’s cutting appeal,” said Mayor Tomas Regalado in a written statement. “The Florida Film & Television Center will continue to move the City forward in the film industry.”

“This will be the very seedling of a very large industry in Miami that will become an oak tree called the film industry,” said City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff at Thursday’s ceremonies. The new studio will house two 15,000 square feet film sound stages with 12,000 square feet of office space, editing suites and accessory rooms.

The lot is meant to hold productions of all sizes including major movies, television series, and independent films. “Domestic and international production companies want to be in Miami and this state-of-the-art facility will go a long way in securing Miami’s status as a top destination for film and television production,” said Commissioner Sarnoff.

EUE/Screen Gems Studios will design, build, operate and manage the studio, which is on a fast-track construction schedule, and expected to be operating within 15 months.  The company will receive some 12 million tax dollars from the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency to finance  construction of the studio.

It is money well spent, according to Omni CRA Director Pieter Bockweg. “From everything that we have researched and studied, the need for film studios is prime right now for this area,” Bockweg said.

Indeed, the groundbreaking comes just a day after a would be studio, set to be near Miami Gardens, won initial approval  for a $10 million grant from Miami-Dade property taxes, according to CBS4 Miami news partner, the Miami Herald.

The spokesman for Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told the paper, the proposed complex, named Miami Ocean Studios  is backed by Gimenez. His administration first recommended $5 million but then upped it to $10 million for the 900,000 square foot facility.

The production and entertainment complex would be on county land  that currently houses three charities — Arc of South Florida, His House, and Center for Family and Child Enrichment. As part of the plan, the county would give money and negotiate a lease for the land located at 20000 47th Ave.  Ocean studios would also have to provide suitable space for the charities on the property or in another spot.

At the ceremonies for the start of the Miami project Thursday, EUE/Screen Gems President Chris Cooney said the message is simple:  Television and movie producers hire lots of people at high salaries and spend lots of money. “They spend the second they hit the ground in the area,” Cooney told CBS4’s Gary Nelson.  “Whether it’s lumber, dry cleaning, caterers, the whole community benefits from that.”

EUE/Screen Gems has a successful track record of operating production houses in New York, Wilmington, NC and Atlanta, GA.  There is a growing trend of producers eschewing high costs in California, and taking their projects to the East and South.

Miami dangled a carrot in front of the production company:  The building. “We provide the facility, they pay the rent, and they pay a management fee as well,” said Sarnoff.  “It’s a win-win for everyone.”

In addition, the company will pay the city 11% of its take.  The CRA’s Bockweg estimates taxpayers could be getting a half million dollars a year within the first few years of the studio’s operation.

Many Shows, True Lies, Scarface, Bad Boys 1 & 2, Bird Cage, CSI Miami and Scarface, to name a few, have been set in Miami but, with the exception of a few scenes, shot and produced in California studios. The last product to be shot and produced entirely in Miami was the now cancelled cable series Burn Notice.

 

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