Zach Vella expands Miami portfolio with Wynwood retail purchase

Zach Vella is boosting his reach in Miami after acquiring a four-building portfolio in Wynwood.

An affiliate of Vella’s eponymous Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm bought a restaurant currently leased to Barteco at 282-292 Northwest 25th Street, and an empty space previously leased to Dogfish Head Brewery at 325-339 Northwest 24th Street, according to Tony Arellano and Devlin Marinoff with Dwntwn Realty Advisors, who brokered the transaction.

Vella Group paid $12.3 million for the four buildings combined into two storefronts, Arellano said. An affiliate of New York-based East End Capita listed the property last year with an asking price of $14.9 million, according to an offering, indicating the buyer scored a discount of around 17 percent. 

The buyer also obtained an $8.2 million fixed-rate mortgage from Seattle-based Fairview Asset Management, said Jame Murad with New York-based Ripco Real Estate. Murad and Ripco’s Adam Hakim arranged the financing.

“It’s a great asset on one of the best blocks in Wynwood,” Murad said. “The borrower has a great business plan. There’s a ton of new development going on in Wynwood so there’s a lot of upside in the market.” 

East End bought the properties as part of a larger portfolio acquisition for $23.5 million in 2014, records show. Three years later, it sold the four buildings to another East End affiliate for $5.2 million. 

In 2023, the portfolio generated a net cash flow of $545,327 that is expected to grow by 12 percent in the 10th year of the new ownership to $1.8 million once the vacant storefront is leased to a new tenant, according to the offering. 

The site is approved for a small building with 23 residential units or 26 hotel rooms. The new owner could also develop a new office building, per the offering. 

A representative for Vella Group did not respond to requests for comment. 

In 2022, Vella dipped his toes in Miami by acquiring a 33 percent stake in a Miami River mixed-use project being developed by Miami developer Avra Jain and Robert Zangrillo, CEO of Dragon Global Management.