Check out South Florida’s biggest office leases of 2022

In most U.S. markets, 2022 was far from a boon for offices.

Subleases piled up in California, as tech companies looked to downsize. Facebook parent Meta is spending over $3 billion to shrink its footprint across the U.S. In New York, developers and public officials are increasingly warming to the idea of office-to-residential conversions.

South Florida is not most U.S. markets.

The tri-county region has experienced an upswing in leases since late 2020, as Florida’s loose Covid restrictions and lack of state income tax attracted tenants. And any doubts about South Florida’s role as an office mecca were dispelled when billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin announced last year that he was moving his Citadel and Citadel Securities’ headquarters from Chicago to Miami.

In the leasing blitz, a clear winner emerged: 830 Brickell.

The 55-story tower under construction at 830 Brickell Plaza scored four of the 10 biggest leases last year and commanded record rents of over $100 per square foot, with some hitting $150 a square foot. When developers Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group and Jonathan Goldstein’s Cain International complete the building this year, it will be fully leased.

Tenants who couldn’t snag space at 830 Brickell will soon have another option: Swire Properties and Stephen Ross’ Related Companies are planning a nearly 1,000-foot-tall tower a block away at 700 Brickell Avenue. Yet, the project, dubbed One Brickell City Centre, won’t be delivered for some time, with construction starting this year.

In the meantime, check out South Florida’s 10 biggest office leases of 2022:

Jazwares renews in Plantation

Toy manufacturer Jazwares’ massive lease in Plantation tops our ranking.

Jazwares, based in Sunrise and led by founder and CEO Judd Zebersky, renewed its 134,000-square-foot lease at 7850 Southwest Sixth Court in the Southpointe office campus.

Newton, Massachusetts-based RMR Group owns the building through an affiliate, according to records. The publicly traded firm is an alternative asset manager that has $37.3 billion of assets under management across property types, its website shows. Adam Portnoy is CEO.

Law firms on law firms

Brickell’s official moniker as Miami’s financial district stems from its reputation as a hub for wealth management and investment firms. Yet, Brickell proved it’s also a magnet for law firms.

Case in point: Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s biggest law firm by revenue, leased 115,000 square feet at 830 Brickell, marking the biggest new-to-market deal in Miami last year.

Kirkland & Ellis, which was founded in Chicago in 1909, will take six floors at the building.

At least three other law firms leased offices at the tower, including Winston & Strawn, which took 35,000 square feet, and Baker McKenzie, which took 18,000 square feet.

To find out the other law firm opening at the tower, you’ll have to keep reading our ranking.

DHL opts to stay in Plantation

German logistics company DHL also didn’t want to bid adieu to its Plantation digs.

DHL renewed its lease at 1210 South Pine Island Road in the Cornerstone Corporate Center. DHL occupies nearly 110,000 square feet. A subsidiary of Deutsche Post, DHL provides courier, express mail and package delivery services.

The building is part of AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust’s portfolio, with PNC Bank serving as trustee, according to records.

ADT downsizes Boca HQ

Security services firm ADT kept its headquarters at The Park at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, though it shrunk its space.

ADT renewed its lease at 1501 Yamato Road, taking 104,000 square feet. The publicly traded firm’s headquarters previously spanned 140,000 square feet, according to a March filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

West Palm Beach-based Tortoise Properties and Boca Raton-based Pebb Enterprises own the property. They paid $42 million for the two-building complex that includes ADT’s office in 2018.

830 Brickell scores again

Santander Bank took 95,000 square feet at 830 Brickell.

The bank is a subsidiary of Spain’s Santander Group, a multinational financial services firm with headquarters in both Madrid and Santander.

No. 5 on our list is … you guessed it: 830 Brickell

Griffin’s Citadel inked a long-term lease for roughly 95,000 square feet, although some reports have pegged it closer to 90,000 square feet.

Griffin has scooped up prime Brickell real estate, including a waterfront site for a record $363 million where Citadel’s headquarters is expected to rise.

The 830 Brickell space, along with Citadel’s expansion of its existing office at 200 South Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami, is expected to serve the firm until the shift to a permanent headquarters is complete.

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Medical researcher inks in Airport West submarket

Evolution Research Group took space at Lennar Corporate Center in west Miami-Dade County.

The New Providence, N.J.-based medical research firm leased 76,000 square feet at 700 Northwest 107th Avenue, part of the four-building office complex in the Airport West submarket.

Yoav Merary, through an affiliate, owns the campus, according to records. Merary is founder and managing partner of Hollywood-based Naya USA Investment & Management, which buys and manages commercial and residential properties, according to the company’s website.

Property manager bets on Plantation

FirstService Residential will move its Southeast regional headquarters to Plantation Corporate Center in April.

The Toronto-based property management firm leased 65,400 square feet at 1601 Southwest 80th Terrace in Plantation. Its current regional headquarters is at 2950-3000 North 28th Terrace in Hollywood.

FirstService, founded in 1989, offers services to homeowners associations, cooperatives and mixed-use rental properties, among others. It’s led by David Diestel.

The company was on the move last year, as it also inked an 11,000-square-foot lease for office space at Yamato Office Center II at 999 Yamato Road in Boca Raton.

IP Capital Partners and Westport Capital Partners, through an affiliate, bought the two-building Plantation Corporate Center for $43 million in 2018.

Enhance Health leases in Sunrise

Health insurance agency Enhance Health took 62,000 square feet at 1550 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise. This was a sublease.

Brookdale Group paid $80.3 million for this and three other Sunrise office buildings in 2019.

Another law firm at 830 Brickell

Sidley Austin is the fourth law firm that inked a lease to open at 830 Brickell.

The Chicago-based firm took 57,000 square feet on three floors at the future tower.

Source: TRD analysis of brokerage data, as provided by CoStar, Colliers South Florida and news clippings.