Related Group shifts condo plan to office building in Miami Beach
The Related Group scrapped its plan for a condo project on Terminal Island in Miami Beach and instead submitted a proposal for an office building.
The Miami-based developer, through affiliate Miami Beach Port LLC, owns 3.71 acres at 120 MacArthur Causeway. Terminal Island is located on the eastbound side of the MacArthur Causeway, near the U.S. Coast Guard station. The developer acquired the property for $9.94 million in 2013.
Related Group first proposed a condo there in 2017. It amended the plans in 2019 to a 90-unit condo, although that would require acquiring a neighboring site from the city in exchange for constructing a building for Miami Beach’s vehicle fleet.
Over the past year, the Related Group focused more on apartment rentals and mixed-use projects in South Florida and hasn’t launched a new condo project. Most experts believe there’s an over-supply of new condos in Miami and Miami Beach.
The Related Group now has a new plan.
One Island Park would have about 160,000 square feet of offices. It would not utilize the neighboring city property.
“A large number of businesses, in the Northeast and elsewhere, are demonstrating considerable interest in South Florida and this is a one-of-a-kind location ideal for family offices, private equity firms, hedge funds, or even a corporation seeking a stand-alone corporate campus,” said Related Group Executive VP Jon Paul Perez. “It has always been our goal to develop properties the community can be proud of, and we feel this modified proposal not only addresses a need, but also the scale and context of the neighborhood.”
One Island Park would rise four stories, or 40 feet. It would have 256 parking spaces. There would also be seven marina slips and an outdoor seating area with a restaurant along the water. It was designed by Arquitectonica.
Related Group will need approval from both the Planning Board and the Design Review Board. No public hearings are currently scheduled for the project.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many companies to lay off employees, including office workers, the office market in Miami Beach was in solid shape in the first quarter. According to CBRE, it had a 9% vacancy rate for Class A office space with an average asking rate of $49.22 per square foot. There was 136,430 square feet of offices under construction, mostly a building by Starwood Capital Group.
Few office buildings in Miami Beach are directly on the water like One Island Park would be.
Article originally appeared in the South Florida Business Journal.
