Lease roundup: Roman Jones opening restaurants on Miami River, Sweat440 coming to Miramar

There was a hunger for new leases in Miami during the week of July 21, 2023. Here’s a closer look.

Roman Jones | Miami River District 

Roman Jones plans three new restaurants in the Miami River District, adding to his existing neighborhood eateries Kiki on The River and Crust. 

An affiliate of the hospitality tycoon signed a ground lease for the 0.2-acre lot at 452 Northwest North River Drive, where he plans to open Middle Eastern concept Habibi in the fall, according to records and information provided by Jones in an email to The Real Deal. The entity that owns the site, which is directly west of Kiki on The River, is led by Lisa Karpawich. 

Jones also plans to restore the former 1930s Captain Tom’s riverfront restaurant into an over 20,000-square-foot high-end Italian eatery. Through an affiliate, Jones has a ground lease for the 0.2-acre site at 28 Northwest North River Drive. 

For his existing Crust restaurant, Jones signed a new lease for the site at 668 Northwest Fifth Street, after buying the business and Crust brand, he said in an email. 

The rest of the expansion was done through property purchases. Jones paid $5 million for the 0.2-acre Hernandez Body Shop lot at 666 Northwest Sixth Street, where he plans a Spanish seafood restaurant. 

He also paid $20 million for a four-story office building at 528 Northwest Seventh Avenue and inked a ground lease for the 0.3-acre vacant parcel immediately to the south and at 510 

Northwest Seventh Avenue. Plans for these properties are yet to be finalized. 

Christian Arrabal of AdviseCRE represented Jones in the deals. 

Kiki on The River is at 450 Northwest North River Drive, a site that Jones also has a ground lease on. His other restaurants include The Gramercy at 65 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables and El Santo at 1618 Southwest Eighth Street in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. 

Partygoers who frequented South Beach nightclubs in the 2000s also would recall that Jones operated Opium Garden at 136 Collins Avenue and Mansion at 1235 Washington Avenue. 

Sweat440, The Spot Barbershop | Manor at Miramar 

The Pérez family’s Related Group and Rockpoint pre-leased 7,400 square feet at their Manor at Miramar mixed-use project. 

Crema Gourmet Espresso Bar took 2,700 square feet; Sweat440 gym took 3,200 square feet; and The Spot Barbershop took 1,500 square feet at 1 Main Street, according to a news release from the developers and their broker. 

Jonathan Rosen of JLL represented the landlords. 

Coconut Grove-based Related and Boston-based Rockpoint are developing Manor at Miramar with an eight-story, 393-unit apartment building and retail. Roughly 17,600 square feet of retail space is up for grabs. 

Completion is expected this year. 

IWG’s Spaces | North Miami 

Co-working firm IWG’s Spaces brand opened an office near North Miami. 

IWG, which also is the parent company of Regus coworking provider, leased the entire 21,600-square-foot fourth floor at 11900 Biscayne Boulevard, according to the landlord’s broker. The building is in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County. 

Jorge Morales of Blue Box Real Estate represented the landlord. 

Auto dealer Ali Ahmed owns the eight-story, 287,000-square-foot building, having paid $39 million for it in March, records show. 

Led by Mark Dixon, IWG started under the Regus brand in Brussels in 1989. The firm is now based in Switzerland. 

UKG | Weston Pointe 

Tech firm UKG, or Ultimate Kronos Group, expanded its Florida headquarters. 

UKG leased nearly 155,000 square feet at 2250 North Commerce Parkway in the Weston Pointe campus in the Broward County city, according to the broker’s news release. The deal represents a renewal of its existing 155,000-square-foot office and an expansion by 14,000 square feet. 

Deanna Lobinsky was part of a Cushman & Wakefield team that represented the landlord. Another Cushman team led by John Boyle represented the tenant. 

UKG, which provides workforce and human resource management services, was formed following the 2020 merger between Ultimate Software Group and Kronos Incorporated. The firm has a dual headquarters in Weston and Lowell, Massachusetts. 

New York Life Real Estate Investors owns the four-building Weston Pointe, having paid $114.8 million for the property in 2016, records show. 

Yuly360 | Galleria Fort Lauderdale 

Clothing retailer Yuly360 moved to a bigger store at the Galleria Fort Lauderdale mall. 

Yuly360, founded by Yuly Van Brakel, now has a 2,000-square-foot space with 76 feet of window frontage, marking an expansion from its previous 1,100 square feet with 19 feet of window frontage, according to a news release from the mall. Galleria Fort Lauderdale is at 2414 East Sunrise Boulevard in the Broward County city. 

Yuly360 originally opened last year. 

New York-based Keystone-Florida Property Holding owns the Galleria Fort Lauderdale.