Retail site in heart of Miami’s Design District hits the market

A retail site in the heart of Miami’s Design District just hit the market, asking $8.6 million.

The 2,500-square-foot property at 64-66 Northeast 40th Street is owned by artist Enrique Mora, whose Mora Studio + Gallery occupies the existing 1,500-square-foot building. The asking price equates to $3,440 per square foot for the land and $5,733 per square foot for the building.

Records show Mora paid $72,500 for the site in 1993. The building was built in 1952.

Stacy Robins of Stacy Robins Companies has the listing.

Robins said Mora has been waiting for the right time to sell the property — when her brother Craig Robins’ plans for the district are coming to fruition. Her brother, who is president and CEO of Dacra, is spearheading the district’s transformation into a high-end shopping, dining and cultural hub.

The site, zoned commercial T5-0, allows a building of up to five stories. Stacy Robins said it is one of the only properties for sale in the heart of the district, and its best use is for a restaurant or retail store on the ground floor, with offices above it.

The property is the final piece in a square block owned by a combination of Redsky and JZ Capital, Dacra and the Gindi Family. Redsky and JZ are planning a Chad Oppenheim-designed mixed-use project with parking, retail and office space that will encompass the majority of the square block. Dacra is building a retail complex at the corner, and is also planning a boutique hotel across the street on the corner of Northeast 40th Street and Northeast First Avenue.

“The great thing about this property is it’s kind of good that it’s small because there are a lot of investors or owner-operators that can afford to spend $5 million to $10 million…,” she said. “The only people able to buy are these deep-pocketed, institutional investors, because the price points have been $12 million, $15 million, $20 million, $30 million, so there hasn’t been an opportunity for an owner-operator or a small investor to own there.”

Map of part of the Miami Design District and property owners, including the listed property

The Design District — broadly defined as the area from Biscayne Boulevard to North Miami Avenue, and from the north side of 36th Street to 42nd Street, with the center the Paseo Ponti and First Avenue — is undergoing a multimillion-square-foot revamp that will ultimately include more than 120 stores and at least 15 eateries in the neighborhood by the end of 2018, Craig Robins has said.

The district will essentially double in size in December, when compared to the area most people consider the district to be today, Robins told The Real Deal last week. Paradise Plaza, the Institute of Contemporary Art and stores including the House of Creed and Gucci will be open. New restaurants are also in the works, including ABC Kitchen, Joel Robuchon’s four dining spots: L’Atelier, La Boutique, Le Sushi and Le Bar; as will Brad Kilgore’s Ember and Kaido. Stacy Robins said a “hot new restaurant” is also planned for the corner of Northeast 39th Street and Northeast First Avenue, but she declined to provide details.