South Florida roundup

Lincoln Road block sells

In one of the largest real estate deals in Miami-Dade history, a full block of Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road traded for $370 million last month. The buyer was Amancio Ortega, the Spanish fashion billionaire who founded Zara and the world’s fourth richest person.

A partnership led by commercial real estate investors and developers Michael Comras and Jonathan Fryd sold the four properties that run from 1001 Lincoln Road through 1035 Lincoln Road, home to newly built stores leased to Gap, Intermix, Athleta, Apple and a planned location for Nike slated to open in 2016.

The sellers assembled the properties in 1999, paying a total of about $12 million. They started leasing space to national retailers, helping to spearhead the transformation of the pedestrian promenade, where rents have skyrocketed to about $300 per square foot.

Ortega is founder of the fashion empire Inditex, which also includes Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius and other brands. Forbes ranks the 79-year-old as the world’s fourth richest person, pegging his wealth at $70.2 billion.

Previously, the largest sale on Lincoln Road was a six-property portfolio that traded last year for $342 million.

A rendering of Skyrise Miami

Top court win for SkyRise

A ruling by the Florida Supreme Court in favor of Jeff Berkowitz’s SkyRise Miami project could put an end to the remaining legal challenges aimed at stopping the 1,000-foot observation tower from breaking ground.

The court denied city commission candidate Grace Solares’ request to reconsider a state Court of Appeals ruling that tossed out her lawsuit against the city of Miami. The suit was filed  shortly before residents approved SkyRise in August 2014.

The complaint claimed that Miami officials violated the city charter by entering into a new long term lease with General Growth Properties — the owners of Bayside Marketplace where SkyRise will be built— without seeking competitive bids.

In May, the appeals court ruled Solares lacked the standing to sue the city and that citizens can’t use the courts to enforce local charters unless they can demonstrate they have a personal stake in the matter.

If built, SkyRise Miami will be the tallest building in Florida and will serve as a theme park attraction with base-jumping and a flight simulator.

The Chevron gas station at 1800 Alton Road

Gas station sells for $7M

Taking a page from Manhattan developers’ books, a Chevron gas station in Miami Beach was sold to a firm with plans to turn the property into a retail development with a parking garage.

The station is on a half-acre lot at the corner of Alton Road and 18th Street near the Sunset Harbour neighborhood. Larry’s Service Center sold the station for $7.3 million to an affiliate of Saber Real Estate Advisors, a development company with offices in New York and South Florida.