The Optimum Tops Off In Coconut Grove, The Neighborhood's First New Class A Office Building In 25 Years

Optimum Development USA, a global real estate investor and developer, has officially announced that “The Optimum,” their new five-story luxury Class A office building in Coconut Grove, has officially topped off. Optimum Development and the tower’s general contractor, Grycon Construction, commemorated the occasion with a luncheon on Friday, June 1st for over 150 construction workers, engineers and other contractors involved, in celebration of the project’s momentum and Optimum’s commitment to enhance Coconut Grove’s revitalization. The milestone event featured remarks from from Mayor Francis Suarez, Optimum Development CEO Ricardo Tabet and Grycon Construction executive Eric Helitzer. 

“We’re extremely proud to celebrate this construction milestone and cannot be more pleased to be a part of the exciting citywide transformation underway in Coconut Grove,” said Ricardo Tabet, CEO of Optimum Development USA. “We look forward to delivering the area’s first new Class A office building in more than 25 years and welcoming our new tenants. The ideal location on Main Highway has proven to be a strong attraction to small and mid-size businesses, who appreciate the ease of access to all of Coconut Grove and close proximity to Coral Gables, Brickell, Key Biscayne and downtown. The Grove’s charm and pedestrian friendly streets and shops are luring a vibrant mix of professionals.”

The Optimum is a 5-story, class A office tower in the heart of the Grove. The Optimum is designed by Arquitectonica, who took cues from Coconut Grove lush folliage including raking the buildings’ facades in natural cement and wood to blend seamlessly into Coconut Grove. The 50,500 SF midrise luxury office development will entail 44,000 SF of office space and 6,500 SF of ground floor restaurant space which is expected to feature a high-end restaurant along with a rooftop lounge that offers dramatic, panoramic views of Biscayne Bay. Optimum Development USA paid $8.5 million for the assemblage in 2014 and has since taken a $21.5 million loan on the property. The Optimum is located at 3480 Main Highway in Coconut Grove and is expected to be completed later this year (2018).

Check-out PROFILEmiami's coverage of The Optimum's August 2017 groundbreaking

Check Out Metropica, The $1.5 Billion YOO & Oppenheim-Designed Upscale Mixed-Use Mega-Project Coming To Sunrise

Across from the Sawgrass Mall, one of the largest malls in the United States, developer Joseph Kavana's KGH International Development is building Metropica, the $1.5 billion mixed-use live-work-play mega-project in Sunrise's western corridor. The first residential tower bearing the namesake Metropica has already topped out at 28-stories in January 2018. The high-street retail project covers 65-acres with 8 residential towers and is designed by YOO Design Studio, Oppenheim Architecture, CI Design and EDSA. When complete Metropica will bring 2,250 residential condominiums to the area along with 650,000 SF of office space; 2 boutique hotels with 240 keys each; 485,000 SF of retail, culinary, entertainment; and designated green park space. Stores include Urban Outfitters; Anthropologie; an iPic movie theater; and Sugar Bowl, a home decor store.

The residential tower features residences that range from one-to-three-bedroom floor-plans that range from 740 SF to 1,379 SF start at $460,000 for one-bedrooms, $480,000 for two-bedrooms and $580,000 for three-bedrooms. There will also be a 1,900 SF+ penthouse series that start at $1.1 million. Condos feature spacious open floorplans with balconies, floor-to-ceiling windows, and custom-finished palettes and finishes. Amenities include a saltwater pool, theatre, a private screening room, a play room, tennis courts, and a clubroom. Residents will also have access to the Metropica beach club, tennis courts, a 24-hour fitness center, basketball court, soccer field, fitness & wellness facility, a spa, massage therapy rooms, and a steam room and sauna.

Metropica is expected to be completed in 2021.

R&B Realty's The Gateway at Wynwood Launches Office Space Leasing, Gears Up To Break Ground

The New York-based R&B Realty has officially launched leasing at The Gateway at Wynwood, their new Class-A office building which is based at the intersection of Wynwood, Midtown and Miami Design District. Located at 2916 North Miami Avenue, the project is expected to become the first office building in Wynwood which has the capabilities of accommodating a major Class A tenant of scale. The Miami Urban Design Review Board issued a favorable recommendation following an October 2016 decision by the Miami Planning and Zoning Board granting R&B Realty's request to switch the property from multifamily to general commercial zoning in march 2017. The Gateway at Wynwood will feature over 420,000 SF of spacing including 200,000 SF of leasable Class A Office Space, 25,000 SF flexible floor plates, an on-site parking garage, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a private rooftop terrace, around-the-clock security, and 25,000 SF of prime street-level retail space. Site preparations have begun, financing is secured, and groundbreaking will take place in the next 3 months as R&B Realty is set to begin construction "on spec." R&B Realty is looking to take advantage of strong demand and limited inventory of office space over the past five years where Wynwood has seen average office rents rise from $22.70 to more than $40.00 per square-foot as vacancy rates have fallen to 6.7%. Leasing is being overseen by Stephen Rutchik of Colliers EVP. The Gateway at Wynwood is expected to be completed in 2019.

“Artsy, accessible and efficient, The Gateway at Wynwood is the office address of choice for both creative directors looking for a hip, trendy location – and CFOs focused on the bottom line,” said Aron Rosenberg, chairman of New York-based R&B Realty. “Our team is confident in the Miami market, and we’ve encountered significant pre-leasing demand among tenants eyeing a move into Wynwood who view our building as the only option for true Class-A users, leading us to begin development ‘on spec.’”

“As Miami becomes more urban and new commercial districts emerge, office users of all sizes are seeking out space in well-located neighborhoods with strong quality of life offerings, like Wynwood and Midtown,” says Stephen Rutchik, executive vice president with Colliers International. “Capable of accommodating major global brands and entrepreneurial firms alike, The Gateway at Wynwood is the only true Class-A building under development in one of Miami’s fastest-growing submarkets.”

Check Out WeWork Ponce de Leon, WeWork's New Coral Gables Location Which Opened Earlier This Year

WeWork continues to expand in Miami as the co-working office space mega-brand officially opened its fifth location in the Miami area earlier this year in Coral Gables (2018). Located at 2222 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, WeWork Ponce De Leon features 552 decks, 118 offices, 11 meeting rooms, 6 lounges, 10 nooks, 2 pantries, and 4 private phone rooms. The build-out was carried out by Lunch Money, WeWork's in-house design team. The co-working office space, which can be rented for private events, features a custom terrazzo bar in the main lounge with cold brew coffee and Kombucha on tap, 3rd floor terrace, 2 fruit water stations, and a cappuccino machine. Pricing for a Hot Desk starts at $345/mo. and Private Offices start at $690/mo. Other WeWork locations in Miami include Downtown Miami, South of Fifth, Lincoln Road, and Brickell City Centre.

3 MiamiCentral Completed & Welcomes Brightline, The Project’s First Office Tenant

Florida East Coast Industries has announced the completion of 3 MiamiCentral, its first mixed-use tower at MiamiCentral and has welcomed its first office tenant, Brightline. Brightline, the nation’s only privately funded inter-city, express passenger rail service, officially moved its corporate headquarters to 3 MiamiCentral; additionally, HNTB, a nationally recognized infrastructure solutions firm, recently signed a lease for its Miami office. 3 MiamiCentral rises 12-stories and features 96,000 SF of rentable Class A Office Space, 35,000 SF of rentable ground level retail space and is adjacent to the MiamiCentral transit station and Two MiamiCentral. 3 MiamiCentral a seven-story parking garage to supply ample parking for Brightline guests, visitors and office tenants. Brightline’s lease encompasses approximately 24,000 SF and HNTB’s lease spans approximately 18,000 SF. Multiple retail spaces make-up the ground floor where Einstein Bros. Bagels and a major grocer. Two MiamiCentral will feature 190,000 SF of Class A Office Space with tenants including Ernst & Young, Cisneros, Moss & Associates, Venevision International Enterprises, Fortress Investment Group, Florida EAst Coast Industries and Regus. Rental rates at Two MiamiCentral are around $33 to $35 SF triple net; and $29 SF at 3 MiamiCentral  

MiamiCentral, the highly anticipated hub for transportation, leisure and business, is a transformational, first-of-its-kind, transit-oriented development, spanning six Downtown Miami city blocks. It serves as the southern terminus for Brightline, the new inter-city, express passenger rail service that opened between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale on January 13. The system will extend to Miami in the coming months and will ultimately connect to the Orlando International Airport. MiamiCentral will also provide connectivity to all forms of transit in Miami-Dade County, including Metromover, Metrorail and soon, Tri-Rail.

“We are excited to have recently relocated Brightline’s new headquarters to 3 MiamiCentral, which is an important component of MiamiCentral and strategically located in Historic Overtown,” said Patrick Goddard, Brightline’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “Downtown Miami continues to transform into a vibrant community, and the addition of this new urban development and passenger rail system will be critical as the city continues to develop.”

“MiamiCentral is set to raise the bar for future office environments and 3 MiamiCentral is the first new standard,” said Daniel Quintana, vice president of development for Florida East Coast Industries. “From the variety of integrated transit options to the desired lifestyle offerings just one elevator ride from the offices, the built-in amenities that come with working at MiamiCentral are truly immeasurable.”

Check Out Miami Worldcenter & Miami Innovation District's Pitch To Transform Downtown Miami Into Amazon's HQ2 Supercampus

Miami Worldcenter and Miami Innovation District have teamed up to offer Amazon a massive opportunity in Downtown Miami's Park West neighborhood for their highly anticipated HQ2. Last week Amazon narrowed the potential cities down to 20 finalists, who are competing to to secure an expected 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment. The Miami Worldcenter and Miami Innovation District's pitch is already shovel ready with buildings already under construction regardless of the outcome of Amazon's choice. The proposal is one of eight offered to Amazon in Miami-Dade including 3 within city limits. Other highlights include high zoning density which offers a live, work, play opportunity as well as over 23 million SF of office, residential, retail and hotel space already in the works. Additionally, as the proposed site is within Overtown Community Redevelopment Area boundaries, the projects would be eligible for Tax Increment Financing which could exceed over $1 billion in value.

Miami Worldcenter will feature a 500,000 SF Hines office tower which is expected to break ground Q2 2018, a currently under construction Marriott Marquis Hotel with 1,800 keys, 500,000 square feet convention space . MiamiCentral will feature retail, office, residential and transit. Museum Park features the Frost Museum of Science, Perez Art Museum and luxurious residential towers such as Zaha Hadid's One Thousand Museum, Ten Museum Park and Marquis. The Arsht Center for Performing Arts is also nearby. The campus would also have strong transit connectivity, with four different rail services including the Brightline high speed rail service connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando; the Tri-Rail to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, Metromover through Downtown and Brickell; and the Metrorail, including airport access. Highways include easy access I-95 via 395. 

McKENZIE Reveals Tribe, The Newly Completed Transformation Of Overtown's Historic New Providence Lodge Into Co-Working Space

McKENZIE, a boutique design, build and custom fabrication firm, has transformed the historical New Providence Lodge building in Overtown into Tribe Urban Innovation Lab and Cowork, a new co-working space that will primarily focus on serving local, African American youth. Tribe will be an innovation hub focused on serving local African American youth along with the greater South Florida entrepreneur community. The historical New Providence Lodge building, located at 937 NW 3rd Avenue, once housed a Freemason chapter during the Jim Crow era and is owned by real estate giant Michael Simkins. Tribe is owned by Felecia Hatcher and Derick Pearson who are both successful entrepreneurs working to provide opportunities for African Americans to thrive in the tech industry. Simkins partnered with Tribe to successfully obtain a City of Miami CRA grant to commission McKENZIE to design and build-out the space. In addition to office space, Tribe will house Code Fever and BlackTech Week, two nonprofit organizations founded by Hatcher and Pearson that help build and diversify startup ecosystems and support African American entrepreneurs, as well as several black-owned businesses. 

The Allapattah-based McKENZIE managed the design and construction of the adaptive reuse project transforming the two-story, 3,700 SF venue into a modern, open-design concept that promotes creativity and idea sharing. McKENZIE preserved many of the original design elements in honor of the building’s history. The original wood ceiling and steel beams were purposely left exposed to provide visual contrast to the collaborative workspace’s more clean and modern finishes. Tribe features design elements that are in tune with the evolving workplace and the needs of today’s entrepreneurial workforce. The multi-use space features seven offices, several conference rooms, classrooms, a library, common area, collaborative event and hangout spaces, maker lab, and a kitchen built by McKENZIE’s Craft division.
 
“Proper design is crucial for co-working spaces as today’s employees are looking for a work environment that’s vibrant, inspirational and dynamic, not your standard office space,” said MCKENZIE’s Design Officer Jose Ortez. “Our design of Tribe creates this atmosphere while maintaining a flexible work space that can evolve with time and continue to serve the local community for years to come.”

Miami Doubles Down As A Top 20 Finalist For Amazon HQ2

After PROFILEmiami first reported that Miami was a frontrunner for Amazon's now infamous HQ 2, Miami has now made the final cuts as Amazon has named the top 20 finalists. The cities are competing to to secure an expected 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment. The finalists are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Columbus (OH), Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Montgomery County (MD), Nashville, Newark, New York City, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh (NC), Toronto, Washington, D.C. Miami's application was submitted by the economic-development arms of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties although details of the bid have not been made public. 

Jeff Bezos lived in Miami for a period of time during his childhood and has an affinity for South Florida. Miami is an attractive city as it features a high quality of life, strong infrastructure growth, a growing educated workforce, strong job growth, etc. Quality of life has become a major factor when choosing a new headquarter location as both housing cost, livability and amenities play a major roll in a firm's ability to attract top-end talent. Miami has the low pricing when compared with other major cities without sacrificing the quality of life and the city features all of the amenities that highly paid and educated employees seek including top-tier restaurants, recreation and culture. The low cost with a high quality of life in Miami would make it easy for Amazon to attract top-end talent. Some factors that hurt Miami is the lack of public transportation and traffic congestion.

Florida East Coast Realty On Track To Begin Construction On KPF-Designed Supertall One Bayfront Plaza In Early 2019

Miami is set to get its first supertall in the fast emerging Downtown neighborhood, as Tibor Hollo's Florida East Coast Realty is gearing up to begin construction on the 1,049', 92-story, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF)-designed One Bayfront Plaza in 2019. Demolition of an existing office building on the current site is scheduled for the first half of 2019. The tower will reportedly be grandfathered into old Miami zoning codes, allowing Florida East Coast Realty to avoid the 30,000 SF floorplate limit under Miami 21 and build at 36,000 SF floorplates, making the office space more attractive compared to other offerings on the market. The 1,049' design by KPF maximized the height approved by the FAA. One Bayfront Plaza will feature 902 apartments, 200 hotel rooms, 532,000 SF of Class A Office Space, 103,959 SF of retail, pedestrian bridge to the metromover and 1,055 parking spaces. The residences and hotel will feature a sky recreation deck which will have 2 pools, one being for residents and one for hotel guests. There will also be another amenity deck on the 40th floor. One Bayfront Plaza is expected to be delivered in mid to late 2022. 

Swire Announces Brickell City Centre Office Space is 100% Leased

Swire has announced that Brickell City Centre's 260,000 SF of office space at Two and Three Brickell City Centre is now 100% leased. Each office tower rises 12 floors and was designed by Arquitectonica. The final two leases signed were by KPMG for 16,926 SF, which equates to a full floor, and Interaudi Bank, who leased 10,700 SF. With the office space 100% leased, Brickell City Centre can now focus on their retail offerings, which are 88% leased, and their residential condos, which are 72% sold. Swire will also embark on One Brickell City Centre which will be an 80-story tower with office space. 

“Completely leasing Brickell City Centre’s office space marks a celebratory milestone for Swire and we are honored to welcome financial institutions like Interaudi Bank and KPMG to Brickell City Centre,” said Kieran Bowers, president of Swire Properties Inc. “More importantly, the presence of these celebrated companies at the Centre is a further endorsement of Brickell’s status as a true international hub for business and its continued transformation into a destination to live, work and play.”