One Sotheby’s Proposes News Coral Gables Headquarters

One Sotheby’s International Realty is looking to build a new headquarters in Coral Gables.

The brokerage submitted a proposal to the Coral Gables Development Review Committee for a 31,420-square-foot mixed-use building at 1501 and 1505 Sunset Drive.

One Sunset LLC, a Florida entity managed by One Sotheby’s President Daniel de la Vega, proposes a six-story building with 20,300 square feet of offices, 8,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a rooftop amenity deck. The proposed project also includes 81 parking spaces spread across floors two, three and four.

“Everyone drives right by that area,” said De la Vega, noting that its proximity to Coral Gables’ wealthy neighborhoods made him keen on the site. One Sotheby’s is currently headquartered at 3250 Mary Street in Coconut Grove.

The Coral Gables review committee is scheduled to vote on the project on Friday.

De la Vega’s application estimates the project will cost $7 million. Coral Gables-based Hamed Rodriguez Architects is designing the building.

De la Vega’s entity dropped $4 million on the development site in 2021, property records show. The proposed project involves demolishing two existing office buildings, built in 1946 and 1947, according to records. The buildings span just 7,500 square feet, a fraction of the brokerage’s planned project’s size.

When completed, the building will house One Sotheby’s headquarters as well as its Coral Gables branch office. De la Vega said it is too soon to say if One Sotheby’s would be vacating its Coconut Grove office.

The brokerage will only be using one floor of office space in the proposed building and leasing out the rest, de la Vega said. “We do have to work on some pre-leasing,” he said.

The firm is already in talks with food and beverage operators to turn the commercial space into a high-end restaurant, de la Vega said. The rooftop will be used for events like happy hours with agents, he added.

One Sotheby’s has been in a growth mode for the past year. In April, it acquired Podium Realty Group, a Miami-based brokerage specializing in Brazilian buyers. Last summer it snapped up brokerages in Brevard County and Vero Beach, expanding up Florida’s east coast.