1910-era building in downtown Miami hits market: $18M

Rendering of 39 Northeast First Avenue
Rendering of 39 Northeast First Avenue

A retail and office building in downtown Miami, built in 1910, has hit the market for $18 million.

The multi-tenant building, at 39 Northeast First Avenue, has 19,651 square feet of interior space on a 7,500-square-foot lot, according to property records. It is listed on CoStar as a redevelopment project. The price equates to $916 per square foot for the building or $2,400 per square foot for the land.

Records show the owners as Aaron Realty Corp., whose principal is Igal Haimov. Haimov owns jewelry stores in Miami and New York, said his son, Aaron Haimov, 17, who is handling the real estate business with his father. Records show Aaron Realty Corp. purchased the building for $3.18 million in 2007.

Aaron Haimov said his father’s Haimov watch line became very popular with celebrities a few years ago, worn by the likes of Kim Kardashian, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Lil Kim. Igal Haimov then became interested in real estate and started the new company.

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Renovations are now underway at the building at 39 Northeast First Avenue, and are set to be completed in a few weeks, Aaron Haimov said. The building could house about 10 tenants, and several leases are in the works, he said.

Downtown Miami is undergoing significant redevelopment. The county has funded part of a $13 million improvement plan for downtown’s Flagler Street that will include expanded sidewalks, more trees, new benches and bicycle racks. The beautification project broke ground earlier this year.

Investor Moishe Mana has spent more than $200 million assembling a large portfolio in the Flagler Street district. Other properties for sale in the district include the historic Walgreens building, currently home to La Epoca Department Store. Habitat Development Corp., led by the Alonso family, owns the property at 200 East Flagler Street. Its TDRs, also known as air rights, are also for sale.

And an assemblage of close to three-quarters of an acre, marketed as “the Gateway,” has just hit the market. The 32,200 square-foot property, at 200 West Flagler Street, includes mostly vacant land and parking lots, with small buildings that could be torn down. Its owners expect it to sell between $450 to $1,000 a square foot, or between $15 million and $32 million.