The Allen Morris Company is shifting its attention to Coconut Grove, where the development firm is planning a mixed-use office and condo project with a streetscape and park component.
Coral Gables-based Allen Morris plans to move its headquarters to the development, The Real Deal has learned.
The company, led by its namesake Chairman and CEO W. Allen Morris and President Spencer Morris, is partnering with the Espinosa family that owns the assemblage, anchored by their Coconut Grove Laundry & Cleaners at 3101 Grand Avenue. Morris declined to disclose the financial terms of the joint venture.
The project will cover the 1.7-acre property at the intersection of Grand and Florida avenues and Matildra Street in downtown Coconut Grove. It will include a five-story office building with 100,000 square feet of offices; and a three-story condo building with about 20 units. Together the buildings will have about 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a rooftop restaurant.
“The company was headquartered for the first 40 years on Brickell Avenue, and moved to Coral Gables in 2002,” Spencer Morris told TRD, calling it “a new direction for the company.”
Coconut Grove has caught the attention of a number of developers and companies that have moved their headquarters to the Miami neighborhood or have long called it home. Related Group, Arquitectonica, Terra, Mast Capital and One Sotheby’s are all based in Coconut Grove. Home and condo prices have also shot up, in part due to its proximity to a handful of private schools and the waterfront. Near the Allen Morris-Espinosa project, developer Isaac Kodsi last year acquired a stalled luxury condo project that he relaunched as Arbor Residences.
Allen Morris will keep its family office in Coral Gables, Spencer Morris said.
Oppenheim Architecture is designing the Coconut Grove project with Naturalficial’s Andres Arcila designing the landscaping, according to a press release.
A representative for the Espinosa family said in a statement that their desire was to leave “a meaningful and lasting legacy” with the project in Coconut Grove, where they’ve operated their business for more than 60 years.
Allen Morris is proposing a revamp of the Kirk Munroe Park, which the condo component will overlook. The developer would manage and fund public improvements to the park and Fuller Street, which will require city approval.
Spencer Morris said the joint venture will present an updated design to the neighborhood in a few weeks.
“The city has been collecting feedback as to what they’d like to see in the park,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’ll build what the community wants.”
The park agreement would go before the city commission, likely in January, a source said.
Together with the park and the Fuller Street improvements, the project totals about 5 acres.
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The retail space, which will include stores and restaurants, will spill into the project’s central courtyard. Coconut Grove Laundry & Cleaners will open a new space in the building, Morris said. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of next year. It would be completed by the end of 2027.
One Sotheby’s International Realty will lead sales of the condos, where prices will range from about $2.5 million to $8 million. Vertical Real Estate’s Daniel Cardenas and Michael Sullivan will lead retail leasing, according to the release. Cushman & Wakefield’s Ryan Holtzman, Andrew Trench and Brian Gale will handle office leasing. Allen Morris will take about 15,000 square feet of office space.