Axis in Brickell

There were a total of 1,000 sales in the first quarter of 2012 in downtown Miami in the first quarter, a 27 percent increase compared to the same period in 2011, according to a report from the Miami Downtown Development Authority. The average price of a Miami condominium rose to $371,084 in a 12-month period ending March 31, a 5.2 percent increase over the previous year. Downtown Miami’s rental market is also performing well, with leasing volume up slightly in the same period. [more]

Shoppes at Pinecrest

The Shoppes of Pinecrest retail center in southern Miami-Dade County has sold for $8.5 million, according to Marcus & Millichap, which represented seller Adler Dixie in the deal. The 12,271-square-foot property sold for an average price of $692 per square foot. Douglas Mandel, Kirk Olson and Drew Kristol had the exclusive listing for Adler Dixie since February. It is located at 9095 South Dixie Highway. Current tenants include Cold Stone Creamery, Starbucks, T-Mobile, GameStop and FedEx Office. — Alexander Britell

Miami’s residential prices showed strong increases for the fifth month in a row in April, with the median sales price of condominiums rising 30 percent compared to the same period in 2011, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The median sales price of single-family homes rose 8.2 percent year-over-year. [more]

Miami continues to be the strongest apartment market in South Florida, according to a second-quarter report from Marcus & Millichap. With plummeting vacancies and the “gradual restoration of rents to former peaks,” Miami-Dade County is leading the tri-county area, in large part due to increased tenant demand. Further expansion in service employment will help lead to a projected 60-basis-point decline in the vacancy rate this year to 4.1 percent. [more]

Prosecutors in New York have charged James Monahan on fraud charges for allegedly stealing $4.7 million from investors in a  Miami-based firm called BridgePoint Ventures, the New York Daily News reported. “The defendants’ alleged scheme was as effective as it was audacious,” said Janice Fedarcyk, director of the New York FBI. “Preying on the confidence of the investors, the defendants sold them on a real estate deal that never became a reality.” The deal reportedly involved a Dominican Republic project. [NYDN]

Fratelli Lyon

Italian eatery Fratelli Lyon, which has been in the Design District since 2008, has closed its doors, Miami.com reported. The restaurant will be replaced by MC Kitchen, the brainchild of chef Dena Marino, who briefly worked at Danny Devito’s eponymous Miami Beach restaurant. Fratelli’s Ken Lyon, who also heads a restaurant at Palm Beach’s Norton Museum of Art, will be leaving the space to continue his catering business, and reportedly is considering a new project at the Wolfsonian-FIU campus in downtown Miami. [Miami]

Two recently-opened downtown Miami eateries have closed their doors. DGB, (Damn Good Burger) along with seafood restaurant Mare Nostrum (The Romans’ term for the Mediterranean Sea) have shuttered. DGB opened in May 2011, while Mare Nostrum has been open for just a few months. “It is with much sadness that we must announce: effective immediately, DGB will no longer be operating,” the burger joint’s Web site said. Mare Nostrum included a 42-person kitchen and was helmed by Spanish chef Pedro Gallardo. [Eater]

Abandoned silo in Miami (source: abandonedfl.com)

The relatively modern city of Miami lacks most of what urban explorers typically flock to, catacombs, abandoned factories and subway tunnels. Nevertheless one group of adventurers has put Miami on the map for urban exploration with the website AbandonedFL.com, according to Miami New Times. [more]

The industrial vacancy rate in Miami fell to 7.5 percent in the first quarter, according to a report from ComReal Miami released today. That comes in comparison to the national rate, which stands at 9.3 percent. Another half-million square feet of warehouse space was positively absorbed in the first three months of 2012. [more]

Home prices in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall metropolitan area rose by 10.6 percent in March compared to the same period last year, according to a report from CoreLogic. Miami’s home price index, which includes distressed sales, also rose by 10.1 percent in February compared to February 2011. [more]