A First Church of Christ Scientist property in Miami was purchased for $6.25 million by a subsidiary of QueensFort Capital that plans to convert the space into restaurants, the seller’s agent CBRE said in a release.
The property includes a neoclassical, 12,000-seat sanctuary, built in 1926 and considered an architecturally significant landmark, and an adjacent 3,000-seat reading room. The buyer, Reading Partners LLC, will convert the property into a pair of high-end restaurants, according to the web site of QueensFort Capital, a real estate investment and development group with $6.5 billion in assets under management.
After several years on the market, interest in the property “surged” when Malaysian casino company Genting Group announced Resort World Miami, slated for a few blocks away on the former Miami Herald site.
“Plans to redevelop Miami’s arts and entertainment district are a driving factor behind the interest in the property,” Clarissa V. Willis, a CBRE associate, was quoted as saying in the release.
Four bidders offered more than the asking price. – Emily Schmall