Owners/Tenants: Now Who's in Charge?
More than any time in the past six years, Downtown Miami’s office market has a more level playing field, JLL SVP Don Cartwright tells us. (Landlords no longer have to play blindfolded or hopping on one square foot.)
As the local economy has improved and more jobs created, the tenant’s market has slowly evaporated, says Don, here with colleague Nicole Vassilaros. For tenants that prefer premium views in the Class-A buildings, landlords have the advantage. Since there’s a larger supply of not-quite-Class-A space, tenants searching there still have leverage, though less than recent years.
Don and Nichole recently repped Southeast Financial Center in law firm McDonald Hopkins' expansion by 9k SF (total 12k SF). The 1.2M SF, Class-A Southeast Financial Center is a hive of law firms—26 in all—and Don has seen a resurgence among Miami professional service firms. (Don't cut someone in line at the office cafeteria or 26 lawyers will be there to file suit.) Jeb Bush Jr. repped McDonald Hopkins.
Suburban office owners are benefiting from the strengthened fundamentals, too. Flagler VP-asset solutions group Cary Cohen tells us he's seeing increased investor demand and tenant interest. He recently repped the seller of the 28k SF Lakeside Office Park Buildings 1 & 3 in Kendall. He tells us it drew several bidders, with Lakeside Property Holdings winning out. Within two weeks, he adds, the new owners expect to achieve 100% occupancy.
