Douglas Elliman Takes Over Vector Group’s Office In Miami

Douglas Elliman is taking over Vector Group’s office lease in Miami’s Design District.

The brokerage will now occupy the entire 10th floor of the building at 4400 Biscayne Boulevard, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission first reported by the South Florida Business Journal. The office spans 12,400 square feet.

The extended agreement, effective Dec. 20, spans five years and requires Elliman to pay roughly $44,000 a month in rent for the first year with a 3.25 percent annual increase. The company also put down a security deposit of roughly $176,000.

Vector Group, Elliman’s former parent company, rented the space from Frost Real Estate Holdings, owned by Miami billionaire Dr. Phillip Frost, in September 2012. Frost holds an 8.5 percent stake in Elliman, making him the largest shareholder, according to data from Simply Wall St.

Elliman’s development marketing team formerly shared the space with Vector Group, though it relocated to the brokerage’s South Florida headquarters at 5555 Biscayne Boulevard about six years ago.

The brokerage’s new office space comes after two years of cost cuts, which targeted corporate sponsorships, personnel and expensive leases. Earlier this year, it ended a lease for its property management firm at 675 Third Avenue in Manhattan.

Elliman spun off from Vector Group in 2021, with two of its former executives, Howard Lorber and Richard Lampen, at the helm. The firm, which also owns cigarette company Liggett Vector Brands, announced its plans to sell to Japanese tobacco giant JT Group for $2.4 billion.

JT Group ousted Lorber and Lampen from their posts after the deal was announced, according to an October SEC filing. The two former executives also retired from their posts at Elliman earlier this year. Lorber was replaced by board member Michael Liebowitz.

Lorber, Elliman’s longtime chairman and CEO, abruptly stepped down in October, with the firm at the time announcing it was his choice to retire and not the result of a disagreement with the company. Days later, the Wall Street Journal reported Lorber’s departure came at the urging of the firm’s board of directors following an internal investigation into the company’s culture.

During the course of the inquiry, Lorber admitted to having intimate relationships with two brokers at Elliman.

Frost is the CEO and chairman of biotech company Opko Health and formerly owned a significant stake in Vector Group before its recent trade. He was charged by the SEC with multiple counts of securities fraud in 2018 in connection with an alleged penny stock fraud scheme. He has denied the allegations.