Betting on retail revival

Miami entrepreneurs are seizing opportunity out of commercial real estate catastrophe. Nightclub owners, restaurateurs and merchants are trying to give downtown Miami a lift in the wake of the overbuilding that triggered the regional real estate collapse. Low rents and a steady increase in condo occupancy in the neighborhood may be the right formula for people like Brian Basti, who recently opened Ecco Pizzateca + Lounge on First Street. He said it will be a challenge to make the daytime lunch spot and nighttime lounge succeed, but that’s how an area revives.