Design District house sells to art collector for $1.4M

The home at 120 Northeast 42nd Street and Maria Lazbal of Miami One Real Estate
The home at 120 Northeast 42nd Street and Maria Lazbal of Miami One Real Estate

A mid-century house in Miami’s Design District was just sold for $1.4 million to a Latin American art collector and developer, The Real Deal has learned. 

The home sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot directly next to Dacra’s planned Paradise Plaza, an upcoming addition to the burgeoning Design District that will feature luxury retail buildings and art installations.

Its last recorded sales price was $56,000 in 1981 — just 4 percent of what it traded for last week. The seller, Janet Dalmond, was represented by Jane St. Lawrence of Duffy Realty.

Juan Carlos Maldonado is the buyer. Maria Lazbal, who represented Maldonado in the sale, told TRD that he plans to redevelop the property at 120 Northeast 42nd Street. Though it’s too early to tell what will be built on the property, Maldonado is bringing a portfolio of geometric, contemporary and abstract art to the space through his portfolio from Art&Art.

Despite its rapid appreciation in price, almost $40,000 per year since the previous sale, Lazbal said it was still a great deal for the neighborhood. The closing equates to $233 per square foot, while other properties in the area have fetched prices than blow past $1,000 per square foot.

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Currently, it’s occupied by a small house — less 2,000 square feet — that was built in 1954.

“We want to work with the neighborhood to find what’s best for the Design District,” she told TRD.

Lazbal also works with Maldonado on his real estate projects under the company Blue Bay Investments. The two most recently renovated the Tides Inn, a boutique 1950s-era hotel in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

Left, the hotel as it stands now, and right, the hotel prior to its renovation

Left, the hotel as it stands now, and right, the hotel prior to its renovation.

The Design District is one of the hottest markets in Miami. Big-name developers from New York like Thor Equities and Red Sky Capital are amassing portfolios valued at more than $100 million, and Dacra developer Craig Robins is spearheading the neighborhood’s extensive transformation into an upscale retail destination.