While brokers say the Miami office leasing market has generally seen
more activity in 2011, it’s investments that have been the area’s
driving force on the sales side, while landlords are still dealing with
much of a tenant’s market in leasing. Several large sales highlighted the second quarter outside of Miami,
from the sale of the CityPlace
Office Tower for $126.5 million to that of Boca Raton’s 1200
Corporate Place for $15.2 million. But Miami’s market has shown
improvement. [more]

Doral’s One Park Square office building has signed two new retail tenants, according to Blanca Commercial Real Estate, which brokered the deals. One is Orlando Hair Salon & Spa, which signed a lease for 2,078 square feet, and the other is a lease by Mediterranean restaurant Harvest Delights, which will take 4,441 square feet at One Park Square, which recently saw Harley Davidson relocate its Latin American headquarters to the building. According to CEO Tere Blanca, the building is now 60 percent leased, part of a trend of increased activity in Doral. One Park Square is located at 3470 NW 82nd Avenue. TRD
[more]

The Massachusetts-based New Boston Fund has purchased the One Park
Square office tower in Doral after lender Regions Bank agreed to a
discounted payoff on a $54 million mortgage. The price was not disclosed
by New Boston, which purchased the property from an affiliate of Shoma
Development. The property, which is 281,623 square feet, is the only part
of Park Square completed by Shoma, and is 11 percent leased. The
11-story building is close to the Palmetto Expressway and Miami
International Airport. [SFBJ]

[more]

When Tere Blanca resigned as senior managing director and branch manager of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida to start her own firm earlier this year, some questioned the wisdom of her timing.

Then others saw the writing on the wall. Within weeks, Cushman & Wakefield began eliminating executive positions from its ranks.

Less than eight months after Blanca left Cushman & Wakefield, the commercial real estate entrepreneur has picked up two of Miami’s premier listings — 1450 Brickell in Downtown Miami and One Park Square at Doral. Both listings were previously with Cushman & Wakefield.

Indeed, while many larger brokerages are struggling — CB Richard Ellis lost $6.6 million in the second quarter of 2009 — Blanca Commercial Real Estate appears better able to adapt to changing market conditions. Boutique firms like Blanca don’t have the debt that larger institutional players may have. [more]

Blanca Commercial Real Estate, the Miami-based commercial real estate
brokerage and advisory firm founded by Tere Blanca, senior managing
director with Cushman & Wakefield, has been named the exclusive
leasing agent for One Park Square at Doral. The new Class-A,
281,000-square-foot office building is located in Doral’s central
business district, Park Square at Doral, a 51-acre mixed-use
development that includes office, retail, hotel and multi-family
residential properties. Darryl Robinson, Principal of Oak Hill
Advisors, will work with Blanca on daily operations. TRD [more]