CBRE arranged the sale of 550 Biltmore, a trophyquality office building located in Miami-Dade County’s prestigious Coral Gables. The 86.4% leased, Class A, 160,000-square-foot office building combines an exclusive address with exquisite finishes and a sterling rent roll within one of Miami’s most sought-after submarkets. Representing the seller, CBRE generated tremendous interest in the project from a number of the nation’s leading investment firms as well as new-to-market private international buyers. This is the second significant Coral Gables office property to trade in 2014 in Coral Gables. The other, also brokered by CBRE, was Douglas Entrance, which traded for just over $100 million in March.
“While Coral Gables always draws significant investor interest, 550 Biltmore surpassed the norm. We believe that’s attributable to factors including: the high quality of the building itself, an increased demand by both domestic and off-shore capital for trophy properties and an overall improvement in the office market fundamentals,” explains Christian R. Lee, CBRE Vice Chairman. “Miami has experienced tremendous leasing activity in recent years, with absorption coming from both new-to-market tenants, as well as existing Miamibased tenants expanding. During this time, Coral Gables has seen its vacancy drop from more than 20% at its peak in 2010 to only 14% today. Meanwhile, this has put significant upwards pressure on rents.”
The Class A building was constructed in 1986 by Miami developer Al Sakolsky, incorporating exquisite finishes inclusive of Italian travertine sidewalks and burled walnut elevators. The 16-story building has an Energy Star rating of “94” and benefits from an excellent physical plant, having been institutionally owned and maintained since 2004 – current ownership has invested $4 million in capital improvements. 550 Biltmore is anchored by UBS, which occupies more than 40,000 square feet and has just reaffirmed its commitment to the building with a long-term lease extension. CBRE Press Release
“550 Biltmore’s iconic, pyramid-shaped design affords its tenants with a plethora of outdoor terraces from which to enjoy the sublime Coral Gables cityscape of world-class golf courses, historical Mediterranean revival buildings, magnificent fountained plazas, a vibrant commercial core, and a lush and verdant landscape that crystallizes the ‘City Beautiful’ movement that drove the City’s design and incorporation nearly 100 years ago,” added José Lobón, CBRE Senior Associate.
The Miami-based CBRE team representing the seller included Christian Lee, Vice Chairman, and José Lobón, Senior Associate, with CBRE Capital Markets, Institutional Properties; and Charles Foschini, Vice Chairman, and Chris Apone, First Vice President, with CBRE Debt & Structured Finance. Brian Gale, Principal, and Ryan Holtzman, Director of Leasing with Taylor & Mathis, assisted the CBRE team with market leasing.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2013 revenue). The Company has approximately 44,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through approximately 350 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
