Shula Burger, La Boulangerie and others sign leases at Pinecrest Shops

Shula Burger, La Boulangerie, MD Now Urgent Care and KabCo Kitchens have signed leases at the Pinecrest Shops on South Dixie Highway, a newly developed shopping center at the former site of Gardner’s Market, The Real Deal has learned.

Shula Burger is completing the buildout of its 2,000-square-foot space at the 23,000-square-foot center, and is expected to open first, in February, Irma Figueroa, director of retail leasing and sales for Comras Company, told TRD. 

Figueroa handles leasing for the property’s owner, Comras President and CEO Michael Comras and attorney Richard Wood.

As part of an assemblage of parcels, Comras told TRD two years ago that he bought a joint venture interest with Wood, whose family had owned the sites of  Gardner’s Market and True Value Hardware for several decades. Comras also paid $1.165 million for the Signs R Us site at 12305 South Dixie Highway in December 2012, and $1.6 million for the Malanga Cafe site at 12313 South Dixie Highway, according to Miami-Dade property records. The restaurant remains open.

By combining parcels, Comras had said he repositioned the property that faced Southwest 124th Street to now face both that street and the major artery of U.S. 1. Comras previously said that net asking rents ranged from $45 per square foot to $60 per square foot.

“We underwent a variance to add more restaurant opportunities and added a really nice area for outdoor seating,” Figueroa said Friday. “We completely remodeled the facade to look more Pinecrest-like, and increased the height of the parapets.”

In addition to Shula Burger, La Boulangerie, the French restaurant and bakery, is now building out its 2,200-square-foot space will open in a few months, Figueroa said.

MD Now Urgent Care has leased 6,000 square feet, and its buildout is now in permitting, Figueroa said. And KabCo Kitchens, a high-end kitchen showroom, has taken 1,800 square feet, and is completing the buildout.

Figueroa said three or for spaces totaling 8,000 square feet are still available for lease. “We’re turning over spaces,” she said, “and one of the tenants is about to open, and the following ones will open in the next couple of months.”