Simkins buys more land in Miami’s Overtown

A company tied to Michael Simkins purchased more than a dozen parcels in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood from the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency.

Overtown Associates LLC, led by Miami real estate investor Simkins, bought 13 parcels near 226 Northwest 10th Street for $5.19 million, records show. The properties total 72,252 square feet, equating to a price of $71 per square foot.

Simkins co-founded Innovate Development Group. He is planning to develop a 10-acre Miami Innovation District in Park West, just west of Miami Worldcenter. The project’s plans include 3.85 million square feet of office space and 2.4 million square feet of residential space, according to Innovate Miami’s website. Simkins is also a partner at James Beard award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurant in Overtown.

Simkins did not immediately return a request for comment.

Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA is one of three community redevelopment agencies within the municipal boundaries of the city of Miami.

Overtown is a historic African American community and is the second oldest neighborhood in Miami. Property values are rising there and investors are buying up older properties due to the neighborhood’s proximity to downtown Miami and Wynwood, as well as much of the area’s designation as an Opportunity Zone.

The Swerdlow Group and Terra are proposing to build a mixed-use project with affordable and market-rate housing and retail space in Overtown. The project, Block 55, will have 556 apartments, including 402 market-rate units and 154 affordable senior housing units, and roughly 350,000 square feet of Class A retail space, anchored by Target.

In December, Sarkis Izmirlian, the billionaire, one-time developer of Baha Mar in the Bahamas, paid $6.6 million for an Overtown convenience store with a lot totaling 25,906 square feet at 295 Northwest 20th Street.