Miami Retail's Especially Hot
In the Miami-Dade retail market, Berkowitz Development Group prez Michael Berkowitz tells us he's seeing not only increasing demand for retail space, but major retailers competing for the highest-quality retail space they can get, plus cotenancy, plus high visibility. (Gucci vs. Prada in a back alley brawl, we're selling tickets.) "Only a few of years ago, if a tenant left, it might take a year or two to fill that space," Michael says. "Now we have one restaurant space that's vacant and there's three restaurants who want to take it. That's a nice position to be in, and we aren't alone in being in that position in Miami."
Michael and VP David Singer recently repped the landlord of Kendall Village Center in two leases, including an expansion, at for a total of 17k SF to national retailers Chuck E. Cheese and Claire's. To accommodate the restaurant's growth and a renovation, they developed a relocation plan for accessory retailer Claire's within the building. (Now people can get funky jewelry without being hassled by the Whack-a-Mole crowd.) The transactions maintain occupancy at the open-air shopping at 98%. With population growth, new residential options in the immediate area, and well above average sales/SF, Chuck E. Cheese's was anxious to expand, Michael says.
