A familiar face spent $2.3M on a Gables retail space. He’s banking on the future
The rise of Plaza Coral Gables, the largest mixed-use project in Gables history, has motivated one real estate investor to buy more commercial real estate in the neighborhood. He dropped $2.3 million on a former dry cleaners location with a long-term plan for redevelopment.
Bill Kerdyk, Jr. bought the 4,850-square-foot former home of upscale Rey’s Cleaners at 2619 Ponce de Leon Blvd. in late December. (In case you missed it, Rey’s moved around the corner to Andalusia Avenue.)
Kerdyk, the former vice mayor emeritus of Coral Gables and president of the family-owned, Coral Gables-based Kerdyk Real Estate, said will spend about $100,000 on renovations and, for now, lease the space to a new retail tenant.
Kerdyk owns three other buildings to the south, north and behind the 2619 building, giving him a total 11,600 square feet on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. The three-to-five year plan calls for total redevelopment of the sites as a high rise project. The area is zoned for up to 16 floors based on bonuses and adjustments awarded by the city.
“The building is located south of Miracle Mile on Ponce de Leon Blvd. The economic center of Coral Gables is shifting from north of Miracle Mile to south of Miracle Mile. The main reason for this shift is the Plaza mixed-use project,” Kerdyk wrote by email.
The $600 million Plaza project, also on Ponce, comprises a Loews hotel with 242 rooms, 164 apartments and lofts, 160,000 square feet of retail, 445,000 square feet of office space and 2,000 parking spaces. It is expected to be completed by May 2021.
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Kerdyk Real Estate was established in 1926. The real estate investment firm owns and manages several commercial and residential real estate throughout South Florida.
