Retail Poised for Exciting 2015
Aztec Group managing director Jason Shapiro tells us that next year's going to be a good one for retail development in South Florida (left, snapped with colleagues Jim Fried and Sean Harrington). Maybe not the kind of ongoing boom the region’s seeing in multifamily, but moderate growth sustained by a strengthening consumer base, and focused on infill locations because of geographic boundaries that are encouraging vertical development. Throw in improving tourism numbers, and that’ll mean more demand for retail.
Lenders are on board with the idea as well, Jason adds: “We’ll see more availability of financing for retail development." Aztec Group recently repped the borrower, a locally based retail investment group, of $27M in permanent financing for three South Florida shopping centers: the recently completed 75k SF Royal Gardens Plaza in Hialeah Gardens (pictured); the redevelopment of the former Hollywood Fashion Mall site in Hollywood, which will be anchored by a Walmart Supercenter; and the 120k SF Tamarac Square West Shopping Center, which will soon house a new Walmart Neighborhood Market. Jason, along with Jim and Sean, secured the financing on behalf of the borrower.
