Cervera Real Estate Ventures buys Hialeah shopping center, plans renovations

Seller originally planned to convert property into a medical center

3800 West 12th Avenue and Javier Cervera Jr. (Credit: Cervera Real Estate Ventures)
3800 West 12th Avenue and Javier Cervera Jr. (Credit: Cervera Real Estate Ventures)

Cervera R.E. Ventures is entering Hialeah’s hot commercial market.

The company just paid $11.3 million for a shopping center at 3800 West 12th Avenue, with plans to reposition and renovate the property, President Javier Cervera Jr. said. It’s the company’s first acquisition in the city.

The seller is an affiliate of Leon Medical Centers. Records show W 12th Ave Investment, led by Michael Shealy, bought the building in 2015 for $11 million. The seller originally intended to convert the property into a medical center, but plans fell through after it expanded one of its existing centers, Cervera said.

The 74,350-square-foot retail property traded hands for about $150 per square foot. It sold about 85 percent leased to a mix of restaurant tenants and some small medical offices. Other tenants include a dance studio, a karate studio, a beauty salon and a day care.

The two-story retail plaza, built in 1984, sits on nearly 3 acres of land along Ludlam Road. The shopping plaza is near the newly completed 226-unit multifamily complex at 3500 West Ninth Avenue, developed in partnership with CFH Group and the Cayon Group.

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Cervera’s company owns and manages a number of retail shopping centers, apartment buildings and warehouses throughout South Florida. He’s part of the Cervera family’s second generation, along with his sisters Alicia Cervera Lamadrid and Veronica Cervera Goeseke.

Cervera said the company plans to pick up more property in the area. It’s currently under contract to purchase a portfolio of industrial properties nearby for $2.6 million.

The area is hot with industrial activity, as investors and developers are capitalizing on its proximity to Miami International Airport.

Cervera R.E. Ventures is also under contract to sell a 1.42 acre stretch of land in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District for $30 million to MRR Development, a new firm led by Rotem Rosen, Jerry Rotonda and billionaire Anand Mahindra.