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.
