Pollo Tropical in South Beach sells for nearly $5 million

A South Beach property that’s been home to a Pollo Tropical since 1994 sold for about $4.92 million on Monday — roughly the price of 616,000 chicken-and-rib platters at the popular, Latin American-style fast food joint.

The restaurant sits on a busy corner at 15th Street and Alton Road.

“It’s very visible and there’s a lot of walking traffic and cars going by because it’s on the way to Lincoln Road,” said Benjamin Silver, a broker whose team at Marcus & Millichap handled the sale.

The 15,700-square-foot lot is well suited for more extensive commercial or residential development, Silver said. But Pollo Tropical has 18 years left on its below-market-rate lease at the building.

The chicken restaurant pays about $22 dollars per square foot in rent — two to three times less than the going rate for that part of South Beach, according to Silver.

That means the buyer, a Latin American-based investor whom Silver did not have permission to name, will have to be patient.

“They’re buying it as a long-term play,” Silver said. “There’s significant upside in terms of the potential for increasing the rent or redeveloping the property.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Pollo Tropical in South Beach sells for nearly $5 million."