Amazon is getting closer to signing an office lease at the Wynwood Plaza project that’s under construction in Miami.
The e-commerce behemoth is in advanced talks to take about 75,000 square feet at the development, with the final space still being determined, possibly ranging from 60,000 square feet to 80,000 square feet, Commercial Observer reported, citing anonymous sources. One of the sources said Amazon is still scouting other possibilities.
Amazon said last year that it’s looking to open a 50,000-square-foot office in Miami-Dade County. The company has had employees in a WeWork outpost in Coral Gables since 2022.
Founder Jeff Bezos also has personally homed in on Miami-Dade, announcing last fall that he was moving here from Seattle. Since then, Bezos has spent a total of $237 million for three residential properties in Indian Creek Village.
Bezos has a net worth of $208.6 billion, making him the world’s third richest person, according to Forbes.
A partnership among Oak Row Equities, L&L Holding Company, Shorenstein Properties and Marcelo Claure’s Miami-based Claure Group is developing Wynwood Plaza at 95 Northwest 29th Street in Miami. The project will consist of a 12-story, 266,000-square-foot office building, a 509-unit luxury apartment building, 32,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor retail space, and a 26,000-square-foot public plaza.
Last year, Bank OZK provided a $215 million construction loan for Wynwood Plaza. It is expected to be completed next year.
Amazon didn’t return a request for comment. Oak Row and L&L declined to comment.
Amazon’s prospective lease in Wynwood adds fuel to a four-year push to make Miami a tech hub. Boosters even rechristened the city “Silicon Valley of the South.”
Venture capital and tech companies signed leases starting in late 2020, but data from CompStak showed that tech company leasing actually slowed between 2021 and last year. In one of the more prominent leases this year, Apple took about 42,000 square feet at The Plaza at Coral Gables, at 2811 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, and also leased a one-story, 15,000-square-foot building that’s under construction at Miami Worldcenter.
––– Lidia Dinkova