Bon appétit: Investor buys Wynwood site with plans to lure Montreal restaurant

WYN Realty, led by Philip Kakon, bought the warehouse at 271 Northwest 23rd Street with plans to convert it to restaurant space

271 Northwest 23rd Street in Wynwood, Canadian flag
271 Northwest 23rd Street in Wynwood, Canadian flag

A Canadian investor just purchased a Wynwood warehouse with hopes of bringing in a hip, new Montreal-style restaurant to the artsy Miami neighborhood.

WYN Realty, led by Philip Kakon, bought the 3,717-square-foot mixed-used warehouse at 271 Northwest 23rd Street for $3 million. The sale equates to $807 per square foot. The building sits right across the street from Moishe Mana’s massive Mana Wynwood development. 

Kakon plans to bring some of Montreal’s “vibe and nightlife” to Wynwood by bringing a restaurant to the area that “mimics the style of the greater Montreal,” according to a release. The purchase will be WYN Realty’s first acquisition in Miami.

Jon Kotler, owner and CEO of Realmont Group, part of KW Elite Properties, represented the buyer. He said WYN Realty is a big investor in Montreal and is looking to expand further in the Wynwood market. He could not disclose the opening date or the name of the restaurant.

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Montreal is known for its eclectic food scene with restaurants such as David McMillan’s Joe Beef and Normand Laprise’s Toqué!

The Colliers’ International South Florida team of Mitash Kripalani, Gerard Yetming and Julian Zuniga represented the sellers — husband and wife Fahd and Kiran Mumtaz. The Mumtazes, who own the New York firm Adnet Advertising Agency, paid $2.9 million for the warehouse in 2016, which they then leased to Acoustic Architects, a tech firm that installs automation systems.

Kripalani said the site was initially marketed for redevelopment and received interest from both Latin American and domestic buyers in the property. He said the site still represents a strong redevelopment opportunity in the future.

There is currently 2.3 million square feet of space under construction in Wynwood, according to the release. The area has an additional 3.3 million square feet of proposed retail, office, multifamily and hotel developments. In the last 24 months, there were $2.03 billion commercial sales in area, according to the release.