Miami-Dade commercial land prices on the rise

The demand for viable development sites throughout Miami-Dade County is boosting the cost of commercially zoned land, Miami Today News reported.

Between January and April, 12 randomly selected sales comprising 51 acres averaged $1.3 million an acre, or $29.84 a square foot, according to an informal survey. Last year, 24 commercial land sales totaling 188 acres throughout the county showed an average price of just over $700,000 an acre, or about $16.07 a square foot, Patricia Birch, a property appraiser with Gallaher & Birch, told the publication.

Some of the recent sales include a 16,000-square-foot site on Northwest 36th Street near I-95 in Miami that sold for $1.92 million, or $120 a square foot. A parcel at 1000 Northwest Seventh Street in Miami sold for $37 a square foot, the report said. Parcels in Miami Beach and Coral Gables are also being assembled into larger tracts for new development.

Developers in Broward County, however, have to work harder to land multi-acre projects, as previously reported. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance is in talks with an existing business about converting nearby industrial space to what they need for additional employees. [Miami Today News] –Mark Maurer