Israeli firm and local partner buy out Centro’s retail condo for $2.7M

Gil Blutrich of the Israel-based Mishorim Development Group and his local partner Shai Ben Ami just paid $2.675 million for the retail space at Centro, a newly built condo tower in downtown Miami.

The partners announced Tuesday that they purchased the 4,350-square-foot commercial condo on the 37-story tower’s ground floor and are now marketing the space to potential tenants.

Newgard Development Group, which built Centro, was the seller. Blutrich and Ben Ami’s price breaks down to $615 per square foot.

This marks the partnership’s first deal in Miami. The two said they are looking for other investment opportunities in the city’s central business district.

Ben Ami of Sterling Equity Realty has brokered several deals in Miami’s downtown area over the past year, including representing developer Moishe Mana and Canadian investor Danny Lavy.

Blutrich is the CEO of Mishorim, a publicly traded company headquartered in Israel that’s a major property owner in its home country as well as in Canada. In the United States, Mishorim notably owns the Hyatt Regency Cleveland, the Terrace at Florida Mall in Orlando, and the University Place shopping plaza in Huntsville, Alabama.

The firm’s latest acquisition, Centro’s retail condo, is located at 151 Southeast First Street. It’s housed in an entirely parkingless condo building: Newgard sacrificed a traditional parking podium in favor of more sellable square feet and reduced construction costs, thanks to a Miami 21 waiver. Newgard began turning over units to their owners in late July. — Sean Stewart-Muniz