Clockwise from left: Downtown Miami, William Holly, Danet Linares and Steven Hurwitz

The last two years saw more than 2 million square feet of new office space hit a market that was merely trying to scrape its way out of the downturn.

But, buoyed by a tenant’s market, that new space is rapidly being absorbed, with a rippling effect on the rest of the city and the region.

“We’ve seen the same trend that we saw toward the second half of last year, which is a positive trend, with new tenants coming to town,” said Christian Driussi, vice president and general manager at Brickell Bay Office Tower. “My feeling is that the market already kind of bottomed out, and is in a slow process of recovery.” [more]

Brickell Bay Office Tower

While much has been made of the surge of Latin American homebuyers in Miami, that inflow has started to spill over into the commercial market. Many South Americans, drawn to Miami for second homes, whether a house or a condominium unit, are now beginning to move portions of their home businesses to Miami offices, looking to begin with small spaces and get a feel for the market. “We’ve been seeing a lot of Brazilians,” said Christian Driussi, vice president and general manager at Brickell Bay Office Tower. “They started purchasing some condo units, and then wanted to open a business here in Miami.” [more]

Building green office buildings is no longer a vanity project for developers — it’s becoming a required standard, as The Real Deal reported in January. Miami’s 600 Brickell has green features from heat-repelling “skin” to energy-efficient internal mechanics. “It’s unbelievable how much the world has changed in three years,” said Wiliam Holly, who developed Miami Green in Coral Gables in 2008 and is now at Cushman and Wakefield. “At the time everybody was laughing. Now many national and international brokers are saying that in the very near future you will not be considered a Class A building if you aren’t green, if you’re not LEED-certified.” [Miami Herald]
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After leaving his eponymous firm last month, Holly Real Estate, Miami real estate power broker William Holly returned to Cushman & Wakefield — after a 12-year absence — as an executive director. Holly Real Estate was a general real estate services company, including development and brokerage, and had a particular focus on green development. The full-service company developed several environmentally-friendly buildings across Miami, highlighted by Miami Green at the edge of Coral Gables. Holly talked to The Real Deal about his first two weeks on the job, what he learned in his 12-year hiatus from Cushman and the strength of the Airport West office market.
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A combination of increased renewals, foreign investment and expansion plans by law firms and insurance companies is helping South Florida’s office market pull out of the recession.

Brokers say they’ve been seeing more deals in the first part of the year, especially in the Miami market, which had more than 2.1 million square feet of new office space come online last year, led by new towers 1450 Brickell and Wells Fargo Financial Center. A third, 600 Brickell, is on track for an August opening. 3 Comments

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William Holly, a longtime veteran in the South Florida real estate market, has returned to Cushman & Wakefield as an executive director. Holly was previously the chairman and CEO at Holly Real Estate, a firm he founded in 2002. “I am eager to build on the connections and relationships I’ve formed in my 20 years in the real estate industry, and leverage the full-service platform and global capabilities that Cushman & Wakefield offers,” Holly said in a statement. Holly, who is a founding shareholder of Coral Gables Trust, began his career at Codina Bush. TRD 1 Comment

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Miami-Dade County will auction the Miami Green Tower 1 LLC’s 120,000-square-foot building at 3140 SW 38 Avenue on July 14. iStar Tara won the foreclosure action against Holly last week, with the loan amount plus interest and fees totaling $38.9 million. The tower was intended to be Miami’s first LEED-certified office high-rise. Holly’s real estate holdings have been increasingly in trouble, with this action the 13th filed against Holly. [SFBJ] 1 Comment

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A recent foreclosure lawsuit against Holly Real Estate’s headquarters marks another stage in the company’s downward spiral, a collapse precipitated by massive litigation against CEO William Holly. Branch Banking & Trust filed a $3.3 million foreclosure lawsuit against Holly, his real estate company, Minnie Minorca, and business partner Robert McCammon earlier this month over the company’s 10,760-square-foot building at 370 Minorca Avenue in Coral Gables. The property was purchased in 2006 for $3.5 million. Several recent projects have been caught in the credit crunch and market collapse, triggering at least 13 lawsuits against the top executive and 2007 recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. [SFBJ]

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