Aria Development Group has acquired a 7,310-square-foot, two-story residential apartment building for $5 million at 825 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach that it plans to convert into a flagship store, The Real Deal has learned.
Aria principals Joshua Benaim, Tim Gordon and David Arditi, in partnership with Wexford Capital and 13th Floor Investments, plan to raze the building and replace it with a Class-A, 10,000-square-foot-plus retail for a high-fashion tenant.
Aria, which Arditi told TRD is heavily vested in Miami Beach, is also developing the boutique 321 Ocean, a 21-unit condo in the South of Fifth neighborhood.
The developers recently obtained approval from Miami Beach’s Historic Preservation Board to tear down the 1966 structure on a site already zoned for multi-use. Neighbors include A/X Armani Exchange, Barneys New York, Nicole Miller and Kenneth Cole.
“Aria Development Group recognized the property’s potential for a ‘higher and better use’ in the shopping district,” said Miguel Alcivar, an associate with CBRE’s Private Capital Group who represented the property’s seller, FCI Miami Beach One, a Federated Companies affiliate.
“A lot of other properties on Collins Avenue are historic, so tenants have to restrict themselves to tight space with low ceilings, which isn’t optimal for retail. This was an opportunity to build something new,” Arditi said. –Emily Schmall