A retail project will replace a strip of green in Brickell after a $6.5 million sale
Argentine investors are planning on building boutique retail on a triangle-shaped sliver of Brickell, bringing more density to Miami’s financial hub.
Six undisclosed families acquired 1101 S. Miami Ave. from developer Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group in late May, said Fabio Faerman, founder and CEO of Fortune International’s FA Commercial and one of the brokers representing the investors. CMC Group sold its one-story Brickell Flatiron sales center for $6.5 million after closing out sales last month.
One restaurant from Colombia, another from London and two from Mexico are inquiring after the site, Faerman said. Keeping the surrounding Raymond Jungles-designed landscaping, the tenant would demolish the existing building and construct a new standalone location. Some retail companies are also looking at the site, Faerman said.
The Argentine investors would decide on a tenant by late 2021, then construct the space and open by late 2023, Faerman said.
The pandemic caused havoc on retailers and restaurants in South Florida, causing hundreds to close.
The Argentine investors are banking on Brickell’s population to sustain demand for another retailer or restaurant, Faerman said. The area’s population is made up of office workers — including many digital nomads slow to return to Brickell’s offices — and an ever-growing residential community.
Brickell has a population of 52,000 residents, an increase from the area’s 26,000 dwellers in 2010, according to the Downtown Development Authority’s latest demographics report issued in 2018.
“Brickell is a magnet,” Faerman said. “Everybody wants to be here because they feel like they can walk and have excellent restaurants, ambience and they can shop.”
Even more retail is on the way to Brickell.
The waterfront Four Ambassadors condominium is adding the Brickell Bay Boardwalk, restaurants and retail space on the ground floor looking across at Brickell Key. Tenants committed to opening a space include Turkish entertainment company BySabri Group.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
