Does the arrival of the Vivienne Westwood brand on South Beach signal a retail revival for Collins Avenue?
A pair of Miami Beach retail brokers are banking on it, as they market six Art Deco commercial buildings along a six-block stretch of the city’s iconic street for roughly $50 million.
Jared Robins and Jordan Gimelstein with InHouse Commercial Sales are attempting to sell the properties as a package deal, but will accept offers for each one from interested buyers. The $6 million September purchase of a two-story storefront at 736 Collins Avenue by London-based fashion brand Vivienne Westwood is an encouraging sign that retailers are eyeing a South Beach comeback, the pair said.
“Jordan and I made it our mission to revitalize and bring back Collins Avenue,” Robins told The Real Deal. “We have assembled as many properties as possible.”
In addition to representing the sellers of the six properties, they are also in contact with owners of at least 10 other surrounding properties who are willing to accept offers, said Robins, whose father is Miami Beach developer Scott Robins. Ideally, an institutional investor would share their vision of reigniting Collins Avenue in South Beach into a high-end retail street.
Individually, the properties are listed at between $5 million to $20 million, according to the listings. The offerings include the building at 751 Collins Avenue, which was previously leased to Aldo Shoes; the building at 826 Collins Avenue, which was once home to a Levi’s store; and the building at 832 Collins Avenue, which was previously leased to a Barney’s New York Co-op store. The properties are all now vacant.
Another property is The Webster building at 1220 Collins Avenue, which is the headquarters of a Miami Beach-based fashion house of the same name.
“Our goal is to get someone to buy up the entire block, target owner-users or try to attract fashion brands to lease the spaces,” Robins said. “This whole strip between 6th and 12th streets is dormant.”
Many of the national retailers that lined Collins Avenue moved out in recent years due to the rise of more luxurious fashion districts in Brickell and the Miami Design District, as well as shockwaves in the retail sector created by the pandemic. In 2012, during Collins Avenue’s heyday, asking rents on Collins Avenue hit $200 per square foot, the memorandum states. Today, asking rents are hovering at about $50 to $80 a square foot.
But Robins and Gimelstein believe Collins Avenue can reach asking rents of $150 a square foot in three years if landlords can attract the right brands. They sense opportunity due to Vivienne Westwood’s acquisition of the building at 736 Collins, a deal they handled on behalf of the seller, Gimelstein said. Andres Nava with Metro 1 Commercial represented the fashion brand.
The duo also handled a recent deal that will add more high-end cachet to Collins Avenue, Gimelstein said. In June, they sold a retail building at 616 Collins Avenue that formerly housed a Tommy Hilfiger store for $5.9 million. The new owner is soon opening a private membership venue called Terrior Wine Club.
Robins and Gimelstein also noted the sale of a two-story building at 624 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach for $6 million last year. The buyers, Northeast investors Garfield and Rebecca Spencer, are planning to open a restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Richard Neat in the long-vacant space.
Collins Avenue between 6th and 12th streets is so well located,” Gimelstein said. “But most of the buildings are either vacant or leased on a month-to-month basis.”