Lease roundup: Downtown Miami’s Citigroup Center, Hollo family’s 1101 Brickell land tenants

Fowler White Burnett, Pescanova, Scotiabank, more | downtown Miami 

Law firm Fowler White Burnett will move its office to downtown Miami from the city’s Brickell neighborhood.  

The firm is one of two tenants that leased at the 34-story Citigroup Center at 201 South Biscayne Boulevard. 

Citigroup Center’s ownership team announced that a law firm leased 18,800 square feet at the tower and seafood company Pescanova leased 2,500 square feet. 

The news release didn’t provide the name of the law firm, and Citigroup Center’s landlords and lease brokers declined to disclose the name. But sources told The Real Deal the law firm moving is Fowler White Burnett. It is now at 1395 Brickell Avenue. 

The law firm will move in March, and Pescanova already opened its office

Citigroup Center also scored four lease renewals: Medical practice management company Olios Health renewed for 2,300 square feet; The Bank of Nova Scotia, which operates as Scotiabank, renewed for 3,300 square feet; and Italian café Gualt’s renewed for 644 square feet, according to the release. The fourth renewal was by an unidentified government agency for 11,300 square feet. 

Steven Hurwitz and Doug Okun of JLL represent the landlord. Jake Freeman of Colliers represented Pescanova, and Grant Killingsworth and Merrill Carr of CBRE represented the law firm that took 18,800 square feet. Stephania Stefanelli of Douglas Elliman represented Olios Health, Stephen Rutchik of Colliers represented Scotiabank, and Vivian Gonzalez of Colliers represented Gualt’s. Thomas Haughton of CBRE represented the unidentified government agency. 

The leases come on the heels of law firm Rottenstreich Farley Bronstein Fisher Potter Hodas opening a 6,900-square-foot office at Citigroup Center this year. The firm, led by Richard I. Segal and Zachary Potter, was formed last year through the merger of New York-based Rottenstreich Farley Bronstein and West Palm Beach-based Fisher Potter Hodas. 

CP Group, Monarch Alternative Capital and Tourmaline Capital Partners own the 810,000-square-foot Citigroup Center. CP bought the tower for $262.5 million in 2012, and Monarch and Tourmaline bought out Townsend Group’s ownership interest in the building in 2021 for over $300 million.

Thrive Networks, World Trade Corporation | Brickell 

The Hollo family’s Florida East Coast Realty scored five leases at 1101 Brickell. 

IT company Thrive Networks leased 1,100 square feet; United Parks & Resorts leased 3,100 square feet; and the Moroccan Consulate leased 6,500 square feet, according to the landlord’s news release. The 19-story building is at 1101 Brickell Avenue in Miami’s Brickell Financial District.  

The World Trade Corporation, a consumer products and brands investment and development firm, opened a 740-square-foot office; and language school American English Academy opened in a 1,800-square-foot space. 

Adam Bernstein of JLL represented Thrive, Alex Joch of Realty Hub represented World Trade Corporation, and Natalia Betancur of Casa Florida Group represented American English Academy. Sam Singer of Vertical Real Estate represented United Parks & Resorts, and Shary Thur of Thur Retail represented the Moroccan Consulate. 

Ana Paula and Kevin Gonzalez of Colliers represented the landlord. 

Bausch + Lomb | Miami Beach 

Eye health products company Bausch + Lomb opened an office in Miami Beach. 

The publicly traded American-Canadian corporation leased about 8,300 square feet on the fifth floor at Starwood Capital Group’s headquarters building at 2340 Collins Avenue, according to the tenant’s spokesperson. Bausch + Lomb moved into the office in March. 

Kevin Gonzalez and Stephen Rutchik of Colliers, as well as Brandon Charnas of Current Real Estate Advisors, represented the tenant. 

The firm, which has its international headquarters in Vaughan, Ontario, and its U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, New Jersey, makes and sells eye surgery products, contact lenses and eye care medicine, its website says. 

Bausch + Lomb’s Miami Beach office is in line with the South Florida trend of company executives first buying a home and then opening an office. Last year, Bausch + Lomb CEO Brent Saunders and his wife, model Daniela Botero Correa, bought Cher’s former mansion at 64 La Gorce Circle in Miami Beach for $35.4 million. 

Bausch + Lomb moved into the 2340 Collins Avenue office space previously leased by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also called a16z. Led by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, a16z had leased the space in 2022 as part of a larger overhaul that included switching to a cloud-based headquarters.

Starwood, led by billionaire Barry Sternlicht, and Miami-based Integra Investments completed development of the seven-story Collins Avenue building in 2021.

Scavolini, Bienal | Dania Beach 

The Design Center of the Americas, owned by financially embattled Cohen Brothers Realty, scored two tenants. 

Scavolini, which sells custom-made Italian kitchens, bathrooms and closets, will open at the Design Center in Dania Beach in the fall; and Bienal, which also offers custom-made interior furniture, will open by year-end, according to a Design Center news release. 

The Design Center, or DCOTA, is an 800,000-square-foot showroom and office complex at 1855 Griffin Road. In March, Fortress filed a UCC foreclosure against several of Cohen Brothers’ properties, including DCOTA. The properties are collateral for a $534 million loan from Fortress. As of June, Cohen Brothers had managed to stave off the foreclosure. 

Jetset Pilates | Weston 

Jetset Pilates continues its South Florida expansion. 

Franchisees MariaLuisa Di Giovanni and Roberto Ricciuti will open a 1,900-square-foot studio early next year at Weston Town Center at 1675 Market Street in Weston, according to a Jetset news release. 

An entity led by Barry Belmont, Anthony Shippam and Steven Harner owns the Weston Town Center, records show. 

La Birra Bar | Oakland Park 

La Birra Bar, known for its burgers, is expanding to Broward County. 

The restaurant will open on Aug. 21 at 2031 East Oakland Park Boulevard in Oakland Park, according to the tenant’s news release.

La Birra Bar also is at 14831 Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach and at 250 Northwest 24th Street in Miami’s Wynwood, according to the restaurant’s website. Outposts also are on tap in Doral and Weston. 

Records show an entity led by Dan Deitchman owns the Oakland Park building. Deitchman is principal at Oakland Park-based real estate investment and development firm Newrock Partners. 

The square footage La Birra Bar leased wasn’t immediately provided. 

Gaby by Call me Gaby | Aventura Mall 

Italian restaurant Gaby by Call me Gaby will open on Thursday at Aventura Mall. 

The restaurant, owned by Cathy and Anthony Arrighi, leased 3,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space where it can accommodate 130 guests, according to the tenant’s spokesperson. 

Gaby by Call me Gaby also has an outpost in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood. 

Turnberry Associates, led by Jackie Soffer, and Simon Property Group, led by David Simon, own Aventura Mall at 19501 Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura.