Safra family sells Minotti building in Miami Design District

UPDATED, Feb. 21, 5:35 p.m.: The Safra family sold the Minotti building in the Miami Design District to DDC Group, led by Nader Hakakian and his son Daniel Hakakian.

DDC owns and operates the Minotti showrooms in New York and Miami, Daniel Hakakian said.

Property records show 3817 NE 2nd Owner LLC, an affiliate of New York-based J. Safra Real Estate, sold the 9,770-square-foot building at 3801 Northeast Second Avenue to JJ 3801 Realty LLC, which is controlled by Hakakian, for $15.5 million. The price equates to $1,586 per square foot.

Ross Mezzo of Encore Realty Advisors represented the buyer and seller. Attorney Tal Mor also worked on the deal.

Minotti, a high-end Italian furniture factory, has its showroom at the building, originally built in 1924 on a nearly 13,000-square-foot lot. Minotti opened in 2015. The property includes air rights for about 100,000 square feet of residential or office use. Hakakian said the company eventually plans to develop the site.

The property previously sold for $10.5 million in 2013.

The Safra family, with properties in New York, London and elsewhere around the world, sold its Republic National Bank of New York to HSBC for $10 billion in 1999. Last year, Safra’s real estate family office paid $23.5 million for a mixed-use Soho building.

The pace of property sales in the Design District has slowed in recent years.

Developer Craig Robins of Dacra has spearheaded the transformation of the district into a luxury shopping, dining and cultural destination, with dozens of designer boutiques including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Bulgari and Prada.

In all, Miami Design District Associates, a partnership between Dacra and L Catterton Real Estate, is developing 1 million square feet of space and has development rights to another 1.5 million to 2 million square feet on its remaining property, Robins has said.