Lease roundup: Sandals Resorts affiliate moving to Burger King’s former Miami HQ

Unique Vacations I Waterford Business District | Miami

Unique Vacations, an affiliate of Sandals Resorts, is moving and expanding to a new office at the Waterford Business District near Miami International Airport.

Unique Vacations signed a long-term lease for 53,119 square feet at the 5505 Waterford building, at 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive. It is moving from its previous space in the Glenvar Heights area near South Miami, according to a news release from the tenant’s broker.

Donna Abood and Joe Abood of Avison Young represented Unique Vacations. Gordon Messinger of CBRE represented the landlord, FSP Blue Lagoon Drive LLC.

FSP Blue Lagoon ties to Wakefield, Massachusetts-based Franklin Street Properties, an investor in infill and central business district office real estate, with a focus on the Sun Belt and the Mountain West. George Carter is CEO.

Unique Vacations is the marketing, public relations and advertising arm of Sandals.

The deal brings the 5505 Waterford building to fully leased, according to the release.

The majority of the 3 million-square-foot Waterford Business District, rebranded from its previous name of Waterford at Blue Lagoon, is owned by Nuveen Real Estate and Allianz Real Estate. They completed $20 million of renovations, including additions such as yoga classes and bike sharing.

In 2021, RealOp Investments paid $110.1 million for three office buildings at Waterford.

Polsinelli law firm I downtown Miami

Polsinelli moved its Miami office to two floors at 315 South Biscayne Boulevard, where Jorge Pérez’s Related Group’s headquarters was previously located.

The law firm leased 24,000 square feet at the downtown building, according to a Polsinelli news release.

The building overlooks the mouth of the Miami River and Brickell Key to the south.

Polsinelli opened its Miami office in 2019, growing from six attorneys at the time to more than 20 now, according to the release. The firm will design the space to suit the needs of a post-pandemic world, as well as to allow for collaborative workspaces.

In July 2021, Mexico City-based BEA Equities’ subsidiary Black Diamond Equities and Mexico-based partners paid $24.1 million for the four-story Biscayne Boulevard building.