Witkoff buys South Beach restaurant building off Lincoln Road for $15M

New York-based developer and investor Witkoff bought a South Beach retail property off of Lincoln Road for $15.4 million.

Witkoff, led by Chair and CEO Steven Witkoff, bought the free-standing building at 1681 Lenox Avenue from an affiliate of New York-based real estate development, investment and management firm Marx Realty, according to records.

Alex Sharrin closed the deal on behalf of the seller, and Manny De Zárraga on behalf of the buyer. Both are of JLL.

Yard House, a modern American cuisine restaurant with a wide selection of tap beers, leases the property, including outdoor dining space.

The 14,952-square-foot, single-story building, constructed in 2014, is on 0.4 acres, property records show. Marx’s affiliate paid $3.4 million for the real estate in 2007.

Marx Realty, led by President and CEO Craig Deitelzweig, is the management, leasing and development subsidiary of Merchants’ National Properties, according to its website. Marx and Merchants’ have a portfolio spanning 67 properties across 17 states.

This is Witkoff’s latest South Florida investment, and comes on the heels of several retail sales in South Beach in recent months.

In July, Witkoff, along with Chicago-based Monroe Capital, paid $94 million for a Miami Worldcenter site in downtown Miami that was once slated for a hotel and expo center. Developer MDM Group scrapped its plan for a Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel, citing the hit convention tourism has taken from the pandemic.

Steven Witkoff also bought a vacant waterfront lot on Miami Beach’s North Bay Road for $8 million late last year.

In two South Beach retail deals in May, Alto Real Estate Funds bought a Lincoln Road building leased to Aerie lingerie store for $18.9 million, and Location Ventures bought a retail-office property on Washington Avenue for $20 million.