Developer Valerio Morabito is planning his first project in Wynwood.
His Morabito Properties paid $9.3 million for the building at 2143 Northwest First Avenue, according to Tony Cho, president and CEO of Metro 1. Cho and Andres Nava, his vice president, brokered the sale. The two-story, 26,388-square-foot building sold for over $350 per square foot.
Morabito told The Real Deal he signed a long-term lease with a co-working tenant that will take the entire building. He declined to identify the tenant. Morabito expects to begin demolition early next year and secure a full permit for the adaptive re-use project in the spring.
The property is in the southeast quadrant of Wynwood, and it’s zoned T5-O within the Neighborhood Revitalization District. Morabito said that he could redevelop the site in the long run.
Cho said the area had been neglected in the past, but the southeast portion of the artsy neighborhood is starting to see new development, including Wynwood Square, which is under construction, and the planned Arlo Wynwood hotel.
Records show 2143 Realty LLC sold the building to Morabito Properties. The seller paid $5.7 million for the property in 2013.
Morabito Properties is working on plans for a 41-unit condo development called Onda in Bay Harbor Islands with its partner Ugo Colombo. Morabito and Colombo also partnered on the development of Beach House 8, a boutique waterfront condo building on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.