Walnut Street Capital flips commercial property near Miami Design District

Walnut Street Capital just flipped two commercial properties near the Miami Design District for more than double the price the firm paid two years ago, clearing it a cool $1 million.

Fort Lauderdale-based Walnut Street sold the adjacent properties at 185 Northwest 45th Street and 4501 Northwest Second Avenue for $2.05 million, after buying the sites for $800,000 in April 2015.

In the interim, the firm paid more than $200,000 to buy out the lease of Food Check, a bodega-style grocery store, whose lease was to be up in 2028, Walnut Street Capital’s Arthur Bartholomew told The Real Deal. The sites include a 6,555-square-foot building and a 5,000-square-foot parking lot.

“The most complicated part was buying out the tenant’s lease,” Bartholomew said. The properties had been on the market since May 2016, asking $2.5 million.

The buyer is Arsenal Gunners LLC, led by personal injury attorney Robert Dixon. The price for the 14,400 square feet of land equates to $1,424 per square foot.

Dixon did not respond to a request for comment, but Bartholomew said he expects the attorney to renovate the space and move his law practice there from his current location on Biscayne Boulevard, or else open an additional office.

“He liked it because on Northwest Second Avenue you have an easy connection to Wynwood, and he lives in South Beach,” Bartholomew said.

Market rents are up to $15 per square foot to $25 per square foot triple net in the area, and it has recently attracted more retail tenants like Three Points Salon, he said. “The fact of getting this bodega off the street will be a turning point in the street,” he added.

A few blocks to the south and east, the Design District is in the midst of a transformation into a luxury shopping, dining and cultural destination, spearheaded by Robins. It will ultimately include more than 120 stores and at least 15 restaurants, as well as hotels, museums and other cultural offerings.