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Miami continues to show strong trends regarding flight-to-quality as both new-to-market and existing tenants seek new Class A and Trophy product space with focuses in Brickell, Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Wynwood submarkets. That is according to a recent quarterly report from JLL.

The report notes that Miami’s development pipeline remains robust–with some proposed projects stretching out to 2028–offering room for continued growth over the next five years. Many new plans and renderings are concentrated in Brickell and Wynwood, Miami’s most sought-after submarkets, the report says.

According to the report, this quarter, Miami recorded approximately 700,000 square feet of leasing activity, down -30.8% from 12 months prior.

“Though activity slowed relative to last year, this quarterly volume is only slightly less than pre-pandemic averages, signaling a return to normal, rather than a drop in demand,” the report says.

Overall, net absorption was positive this quarter, posting just shy of 60,000 square feet. Miami Beach, Wynwood and Aventura accounted for the bulk of positive absorption.

Unlike other Florida markets, office development remains robust in Miami, the report explains with nearly 220,000 square feet of new space delivered across two buildings – Eighteen Sunset (81% occupied), and 601 Miami in downtown, which remains vacant and available to lease. An additional 2 million square feet remains under construction, with 75% of new product located in Brickell and Wynwood. Miami Beach also remains an area of interest, the report notes, with three projects totaling over 288,000 square feet under development.

 

Source:  GlobeSt.

Over the past five years, major upgrades to quality of life in Aventura have set the stage for another decade of growth in residential and commercial properties, and a population increase as the quality of life rises again.

The city itself has committed to spending millions of dollars over the next five years on improvements. Nearly $3 million is going directly to local parks. Waterways Park, Veterans Park and Founders Park will undergo renovations which include new playground equipment, updated drainage, new turf and more.

Just over $4 million will be used for transportation improvements, such as road resurfacing, new pedestrian walkways and lighting, and improvements to improve traffic flow along major roadways. About 30-plus roads will be addressed, including Aventura Boulevard, Country Club Drive and more.

The city purchased 2 acres from the Gulfstream Park Racing Association last year on which to build the city’s first high school. The charter school of 800 students is scheduled to open in fall 2019 as Soffer Aventura High School.

Retail Expansion

A new three-story wing expansion has opened to the public at Aventura Mall. It adds restaurants, retail stores, art, an outdoor fountain and a 93-foot tall slide among other attractions (PHOTO CREDIT: MATIAS J. OCNER | File, Dec. 18, 2017)

Aventura Mall is creating a more immersive shopping experience. A three-level expansion wing facing the William Lehman Causeway has opened with a two-level Topshop, Zara and restaurants that include CVI.CHE 105 and Genuine Pizza, a casual restaurant by James Beard Award-winner Michael Schwartz. Another 11 stores and restaurants have opened or are coming, including International Smoke by Ayesha Curry and chef Michael Mina, Schutz Shoes, and Diveto Ristorante.

Topping them off is a 93-foot outdoor, spiral slide designed by Belgian artist Carsten Höller. The nine-story ride, which takes only 15 seconds, is free to anyone 50 inches or taller. The mall plans to add more interactive art installations in coming years.

Developer Seritage Growth Properties is building on the former Sears store site at Aventura Mall. The first phase will feature the ground-level development of 215,000 square feet of U.S. and international retailers, entertainment and dining in an open-air setting. An additional 100,000 square feet is planned on the 12.3 acre site that faces William Lehman Causeway and Biscayne Boulevard.

The rich and famous are taking note. NBA stars Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem celebrated the grand opening of the first 800 Degrees Woodfired Kitchen in Florida, in September. The 4,000-square-foot restaurant, which sits on 199th Street, seats 125 people and features a full bar.

Residential Construction

Just to the south, Turnberry Isle Miami kicked off a number of improvements late last year. Plans include a new 16-story luxury building, upgrades to the main lobby and resort facilities. The investment tops $175 million.

Aventura ParkSquare and Prive at Island Estates are bringing a city-within-a-city lifestyle to Aventura. Prive opened on a previously undeveloped island in January. The 150- unit project has 35,000 square feet of amenities between the two towers, plus outdoor amenities.

The 7.4-acre Aventura ParkSquare at the corner of Waterways Boulevard and Northeast 207th Street consists of five buildings. They include a new luxury condominium with 131 residences; 100,000 square feet of Class A office space; 55,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space; a 45,000-square-foot medical center; a luxury senior living tower; and a 207-room Starwood Aloft Hotel.

Aloft is just one of several new hotels. The 233-room AC Hotel Miami Aventura north of the mall opened in July 2017. The 192-room Aventura Hilton Hotel, just to the south of the mall, will soon break ground.

 

Source: Miami Herald

The commercial real estate market outlook for Miami-Dade: Sunny, as long as more mass transit is on the horizon, said industry experts at the Building Owners and Managers Association of Miami-Dade’s 2017 Commercial Real Estate Outlook event.

In the office market, rents are at an all-time high in certain sub-markets, said Brian Gale, Cushman & Wakefield’s vice chairman of Brokerage Services who represents nearly 5 million square feet of office space in South Florida.

On Brickell, office space is hitting around $60 a square foot for Class A space; back in 2008 the high was in the upper $40s, said Gale, during the panel discussion at the East Miami in Brickell. Downtown Miami is just behind it, and Aventura and Airport West have also hit all-time highs, too, he said. Coral Gables presents a different story, he said. In 2007-08, rent in the trophy buildings was $46-$48 a square foot; today it’s the low $40s.

“For many years, Coral Gables was the darling of the office market. I would say it has a temporary black eye with less demand and blocks of spaces still existing. But Coral Gables also has the most to gain,” Gale said.

Gale sees the South Miami market as vaulting too, once new mass transit options fully kick in for the area.

“The traffic on Useless 1 is not getting any better. … Miami Beach needs to figure out a way to get light rail over there.” Gale said. “Rental rates will continue to increase in 2017. Looking further out, being a gateway city … there is no reason to believe we couldn’t be a $70 rental market in 2022.”

Growth in shared office spaces has exploded — for instance, WeWork recently leased 65,000 feet at Brickell City Centre and there are now more than 20 shared workspace centers in downtown Miami alone. Sometimes these shared office centers can act as an incubator for a building; when the companies grow out of the co-working space they take space on other floors, Gale said. In the broader office market, expect more smaller offices, with more open spaces and cubicle areas on the outside of the floor with the glass-walled offices in the center, he added.

In the industrial sector, with job growth projected to slow in 2017 and 2018, is that a concern with 1.8 million square feet coming online in 2017 and 1.4 million in 2018?

“That’s actually less than half of what we have seen in 2015 and 2016.” said JLL Managing Director Brian Smith, who led the team representing NBC Universal/Telemundo Enterprises in the record breaking lease of over 550,000 square feet for a world headquarters broadcast center in western Miami-Dade.

He said he looks more closely at population growth. In both the office and industrial markets, new-to-market tenants are pushing the records. The last three years have brought more than 700,000 square feet of new-to-market office tenants. But that’s more than the previous 15 years combined, Gale said.

The last two years saw 300,00 square feet of new-to-market industrial tenants, but this year it will be 2 million and perhaps 3 million square feet.

“John Deere, new names. We have quickly become one of the most important industrial markets on the globe,” said Smith. “Three large deals in the works may be the biggest ever, in addition to the NBCUniversal deal.”

To be sure, urbanization has transformed the retail landscape, with Miami’s downtown population now approaching 90,0000 people, a 30 percent increase since 2010, with an incredibly affluent demographic, said David Moret, president of Highline Real Estate Capital, which acquires and redevelops office and retail properties with capital partners.

Retail rents are in the stratosphere on Lincoln Road, surpassing $300 a square foot. They are hitting $200 in the Design District and Coconut Grove and Wynwood are flirting with $100 a foot, Moret said. How far will they go?

“I think we have gotten ahead of ourselves,” Moret said. “ I think there will be a reset. … We are already seeing resistance. We are seeing leasing volume way down on Lincoln Road.”

He sees the biggest impact coming from millennials, a group that will have the most spending power by 2017. This means tenant mix is more important than ever.

“Successful centers are going to be about creating experiences, to give people a reason to go there instead of click on their phone,” said Moret.

 

Source: Miami Herald