Thor Equities just paid $41.5 million for more than an entire block in Wynwood, a missing piece that gives it one square block and marks the largest deal ever in the red-hot Miami neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned.
New York-based Thor Equities, led by Joseph Sitt, bought 2800 Northwest Second Avenue, a 100,000-square-foot site running from Northwest 29th Street to Northwest 28th Street at Wynwood’s northern entrance. The corner site includes five existing buildings totaling 45,000 square feet, and also features 300 feet of frontage on Northwest Second Avenue and a 16,500-square-foot parking lot, a Thor spokesperson told TRD.
The property has development rights in excess of 600,000 square feet, and the plan for the site includes a mix of retail, residential, hotel and/or office uses, the spokesperson said.
The seller is Lehman Family Partnership Ltd., headed by Dennis J. Lehman, as trustee, according to public records. The entity had paid $200,000 for the parcels in 1995. The properties have been the 68-year home of Lehman Pipe & Plumbing Supply.
Bruce Koniver, principal of Koniver Stern Group brokered the deal, representing the seller. The firm was the only broker involved in the transaction. Koniver said he has known Lehman since 7th grade, and began marketing the property a few months ago.
“There was a hit list of potential buyers we reached out to, and fortunately enough Thor was on that list,” Koniver told TRD.
Thor’s latest purchase gives it the entire square block between Northwest Second Avenue and Northwest Third Avenue and between Northwest 28th Street and Northwest 29th Street. Its latest Wynwood purchase is adjacent to 2801 Northwest Third Avenue, a 105,000-square-foot, seven-parcel site that the real estate investment and development firm purchased from David Edelstein for $26.9 million in May.
The huge real estate investment firm, which has been expanding its holdings in Wynwood, also owns 2722 Northwest Second Avenue in Wynwood, as well as additional properties in the Design District and on Collins Avenue and Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
Wynwood, known for its artsy vibe, is a neighborhood transforming with new retail stores and restaurants. Among new retailers are Warby Parker, Illesteva and Marine Layer. New restaurants include Wynwood Diner and the Lunchbox. The area is also home to art galleries and one of the largest open-air street art installations in the world including Wynwood Walls, creative offices and showrooms.
The city of Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board recently approved a slate of changes to zoning and land use designations that would allow denser residential developments on roughly 205 acres in Wynwood. The recommendations must still be finalized by the city commission.
“The already burgeoning Wynwood Art District is primed for a mixed-use, residential rezoning that will spur further development, and accelerate its ongoing transformation from an underutilized industrial area into a true live-work-play community,” Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, said in a statement.