Who said brick-and-mortar stores were dead? Five new retailers open in the Gables
The proximity to an upscale mall are drawing retailers to a recently completed condo building in Coral Gables.
Five service-oriented businesses have opened on the ground floor of Merrick Manor, the condominium building at 301 Altara Ave. The tenants — Anaïs Nails & Spa, Body Details, Elegance Beauty Salon, Sweat 440 and Trésoro — occupy a total of 8,338 square feet. Some opened as late as October and as recently as early December. All signed 10-year leases with five-year extension options, according to Merrick Manor developer and Astor Companies President Henry Torres.
The proximity to the upscale Shops at Merrick Park just around the corner drew tenants to the location.
“It’s near Merrick Park,” Manuela Engelmajer of Anaïs Nails & Spa said, “but I am not paying the prices of Merrick Park.”
Retailers pay $50 to $65 per square foot for rent, Torres said. Pricing depends on finishes and amenities.
Although store owners hope to draw foot traffic from the nearby retail enclave, Torres made a conscious effort to draw a diverse set of tenants to the building. “It’s important to have things in a building that services the building,” Torres said.
The goal: to serve the residents already living at the 10-story, 227-unit Merrick Manor and entice new ones. About 62% of the units are sold in the building, which opened in March. Units range from a one bedroom with one bathroom to a four bedroom with four bathrooms and a half bath. Prices start at $379,990 and go up to $2.5 million.
Merrick Manor retailers include:
▪ Anaïs Nails & Spam, offering spa services daily from a 1,130-square-foot space at Suite 103. Engelmajer also perates two other locations on Miami Beach.
▪ Body Details, specializings in laser hair removal, tattoo removal, skin rejuvenation and body sculpting. It occupies 1,579 square feet at Suite 101.
▪ Elegance Beauty Salon, which offers services for hair, nails, make-up and eyebrow threading at Suite 105. It occupies 1,115 square feet.
▪ Sweat 440, which expanded into Coral Gables with its latest 3,055-square-foot location at Suite 111. Its other locations are in Miami Beach, Brickell; another is planned for Doral. The facility offers 40-minute cross-training workouts and high-intensity interval training.
▪ The Downtown Miami-based jeweler Trésor opened at the 1,459-square-foot Suite 115 — a larger space than its soon-to-close 500-square-foot shop at the Seybold Building in downtown Miami. The store owner, Puja Bordia, comes from 18 generations of jewelers.
“The Gables is a very beautiful affluent area. We were thinking of Brickell City Centre or Aventura Mall but we live in Pinecrest and I did not want to waste time in traffic,” Bordia said. “When I saw this place, I knew that was it.”
Shop owners said business is lively thus far.
“Because this is the holiday season, we are very busy,” Bordia said. “We have some residents from the building, walk-ins and existing clients.”
Since opening in late October, Engelmajer said, “We have a lot of tenants from the building and people from the neighborhood. We are going. We are busy but not crazy busy.”
Retailers with locations elsewhere said they are seeing some familiar faces. “We’re doing well,” Cody Patrick of Sweat 440 said. “We have clients from our other locations coming here.”
Torres said he expects to divide the remaining 7,200 square feet of commercial space among four tenants; none has been signed. “I’d like to see a small, cozy bar, Cuban or organic restaurant concept,” he said.
