New York department store chain buys Design District property

The E.G. Cody building in Miami’s Design District was acquired by a major New York-based department store chain for $16 million.

Jerry Cody and Eduardo Gonzalez, co-founders of the home furnishings company that operates a showroom at the 80 Northeast 40th Street building, sold the property in a transaction recorded on Tuesday, according to Miami-Dade County records. Cody and Gonzalez, as general partners of CGI Studio, owned the 8,025 square foot building for nearly 32 years before Tuesday’s sale. They paid $525,000 for the property.

Miami DD 80 Blue is the buyer. The New York company is tied to Century 21 Department Stores. Century 21 co-owner Isaac Gindi is identified in state corporate records as Miami DD’s managing member.

Bank Hapoalim gave Miami DD an $8 million mortgage for the purchase.

Metro 1 founder and CEO Tony Cho and Metro 1 Commercial executive vice president Tony Arellano represented CGI Studio. Whitehall Realty Advisors brokers Devlin Marinoff and David Spitz represented Miami DD in the $1,993 per square foot acquisition. — Eric Kalis