Blackstone signs multi-year lease for downtown tech office site
Blackstone is officially landing in downtown Miami.
The global finance giant announced it has signed a multi-year lease for its new in-house technology unit, which will occupy 41,000 square feet in the 2 MiamiCentral office building located at 700 NW First Ave. The firm expects to hire at least 200 employees; it could start taking over the space as soon as this summer.
Exact terms of the lease agreement were not disclosed.
2 MiamiCentral is part of the Brightline express train’s Miami terminal complex. Brightline parent group Florida East Coast Industries sold the retail, office and parking components of the development to San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties in May 2019 for $159.4 million. Current tenants include Carlton Fields, Ernst & Young and New Fortress Energy; the space is 98% leased.
“South Florida has long been a strategic focus for Shorenstein, and Blackstone’s commitment to 2 MiamiCentral is a testament to the property’s distinct features and desirable, transit-oriented location,” said Claude Esposito, vice president, Capital Transactions at Shorenstein, in a release.
The announcement cements Blackstone as the region’s leading heavyweight among firms and professionals who have or are considering moving to Miami.
“Miami is a vibrant city with a pipeline of top technology talent available from best in class university programs, as well as an experienced workforce that will enable us to diversify our talent pool and grow our technology team,” said John Stecher, Blackstone’s chief technology officer.
The news could also prove a jolt to Miami’s commercial office market, which saw vacancies surge amid the pandemic — and at 23.2%, downtown had the highest third-quarter vacancy rate outside the Biscayne Boulevard corridor, according to real estate group CBRE.
Blackstone has already held a job recruiting day, and is planning at least two more recruiting events in the coming months. Among the positions it is looking for: cybersecurity, enterprise and application support, and product management. Job openings can be found at blackstone.com.
Blackstone was represented by Alan Kleber and Ryan Nunes of JLL. Shorenstein was represented by Danet Linares of Blanca Commercial Real Estate with support from Andres del Corral and CEO Tere Blanca.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
