Sold: Celebrity hangout of the ’40s, ’50s on Biscayne Boulevard

A former Miami restaurant and social club that hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Lucille Ball has sold for $1.2 million, or about $330 per square foot. 

Casa Santino

The property, at 10905 Biscayne Boulevard, was the site of Casa Santino, brokers Jonathan Molano and Fabio Faerman of FA Commercial Advisors/Fortune International Realty told The Real Deal. It was reportedly a popular hangout for celebrities in the 1940s and 1950s.

The 8,909-square-foot property was last on the market for $1.45 million. It includes a 3,644-square-foot building, which was constructed in 1948. Miami-Dade County records show the property, which is zoned for retail, last sold for $95,000 in 1973.

Calibrin Corp., led by Santino Cascio, sold the property to Asaf Horesh, county records show. According to his LinkedIn profile, Horesh is a principal at Vintage Investment Partners, an Israel-based fund manager.

If sold for the land, it traded for $135 per square foot. The sale closed on Dec. 15.

Molano said he has seen per square foot prices in the area nearly double over the last eight months. The corner parcel is surrounded by a planned Fiat dealership in a neighborhood that is between North Miami and Miami Shores. It’s also across the street from La Fontana shops, a new retail development that will include a Dunkin’ Donuts and UFC Gym.

Biscayne Boulevard is in the midst of a commercial resurgence. Bay Harbor Islands developer Taubco flipped a development site on the boulevard and 111th Street for $16 million in July. A few blocks north of that, an investment group led by Nancy Karp paid $2.7 million for a commercial building with plans to renovate the property – Molano and Faerman brokered that deal as well.