Rubells expand their Allapattah art space with $11M industrial building purchase

Tenant Rex Discount Wholesale Grocers relocated to a warehouse in Miami

Mera and Don Rubell in front of 1090 Northwest 23rd Street in Allapattah (SVN Commercial Realty, Rubell Museum, iStock)
Mera and Don Rubell in front of 1090 Northwest 23rd Street in Allapattah (SVN Commercial Realty, Rubell Museum, iStock)

The Rubell family, well-known art collectors in Miami who run the Rubell Museum, expanded their Allapattah art and cultural space portfolio, paying $10.7 million for an industrial building.

Through an affiliate, they bought the former headquarters for Rex Discount Wholesale Grocers at 1090 Northwest 23rd Street from Carrera Family Investments, according to the broker’s news release.

Joel Kattan and Anthony Peragine of SVN Commercial Realty brokered the deal.

The Carrera family, who own and run Rex Discount, moved their warehouse to 3690 Northwest 62nd Street in Miami. They had paid $4.5 million for the Allapattah facility in 2016, records show.

The 45,711-square-foot building is on 1.5 acres, property records show. It was constructed in 1946, according to real estate data aggregator PropertyShark.

Husband-and-wife Don and Mera Rubell started buying art in 1964 and now make the collection publicly available along with their son, Jason Rubell, according to the Rubell Museum’s website.

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In recent years, the family has made Allapattah for their exhibition site, repurposing warehouses into art space. In 2019, they moved their Rubell Museum from Wynwood to a 100,000-square-foot space at 1100 Northwest 23rd Street.

They also own the almost 29,000-square-foot warehouse at 1000 Northwest 23rd Street, paying $5.4 million for the facility in July 2021.

The Rubells, through a spokesperson, said they plan to use the new warehouse to “expand cultural resources in the community.”

The family also owns the 100-key Albion Hotel at 1650 James Avenue in South Beach.

Allapattah is a redeveloping and quickly gentrifying neighborhood, with much of the redevelopment focused on adaptive reuse of warehouses.

Moishe Mana has accumulated property there, including paying $5 million for the industrial buildings at 2300 to 2340 Northwest Seventh Avenue and 3100 Northwest Seventh Avenue in October 2021.