Auto dealer picks up North Miami office building for $39M

Auto dealer Ali Ahmed bought a North Miami office building for $39 million.

An entity managed by Ahmed, owner of Miami Lakes Automall and other dealerships across Florida, acquired Biscayne Centre at 11900 Biscayne Boulevard, according to a press release. 

Benjamin H. Silver and Charlie Manuel with CBRE represented both sides in the sale of the eight-story office building. Built in 1986, it spans roughly 156,500 square feet. The deal breaks down to $249 per square foot. 

The seller, an entity managed by Ami Shashoua, paid $793,200 for Biscayne Centre in 2012, according to records. In 2018, Shashoua’s entity took out a mortgage for $20 million with Valley National Bank. 

In December, CBRE listed the property with an asking price of $45 million. 

Shashoua recently renovated Biscayne Centre, and the building was 81 percent occupied at the time of sale, the release states. Tenants include medical marijuana dispensary The Flowery, shared spa workspace Studio Elements and the Florida Breast Cancer Coalition. A Lime Fresh Mexican Grill occupies the ground-floor retail space. 

In 2021, Ahmed paid a combined $20.7 million for the Wayne Akers Ford dealership and an adjacent truck rental site in Lake Worth. 

In another office deal this month, The Ward Law Group paid $21 million for a Miami Lakes office complex where the personal injury law firm plans to move its headquarters. The Kislak Organization sold the two-building property at 7900 Northwest 154th Street. 

Otherwise, South Florida office trades have been slow during the first three months of 2023. 

In January, Los Angeles-based Randall Realty Group bought an office and retail building in Palm Beach for $15 million. Randall plans to make the Mediterranean style property its East Coast headquarters. 

The same month, Boyd Watterson Asset Management paid $38.2 million for a Sunrise Veterans Affairs clinic.