The 10 Biggest South Florida Office Sales And Leases Of The Decade

As we close out 2019, it's not just the end of a year, but the end of a decade.

Bisnow took a peek back at how South Florida's real estate market has changed since 2010, when we were in the midst of the Great Recession. The research team at Newmark Knight Frank rounded up the top 10 office sales and leases of the decade. 

Looking at the data, Newmark Knight Frank Executive Managing Director Steve Medwin said with Miami and South Florida growing in both population and tourism, any time a large office building comes on the market, it "attracts a lot of attention because it's a chance for big institutions to put a lot of money to work and place a bet in Miami. You don't see it very often."

The most expensive deal of the decade was the 2016 sale of Southeast Financial Center, a downtown tower home to many law firms, to an entity controlled by Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara clothing stores.

"A building like Southeast Financial, it's 1.1M SF," Medwin said. "I think it's the largest office building south of Atlanta. When it comes out on the market, it is heavily bid on and paid for. So you'll see the pricing going up a lot on a per-square-foot basis over the last 10 years for sure."

Overall, the top deals highlight the institutionalization of the market, Medwin said.

"It's the pool of buyers who have capital looking to place it, and when they have an opportunity to put out $100M, $200M, $500M, this is a great option for them," he said. "So we've seen the bigger sales, but they don't trade very often. It's not like like a condo, where you buy and sell every couple of years, typically five- to 10-year holds when they sell. So [these] won't be back on the market for a while."

Top Sales (determined by price):

1. Southeast Financial Center: 200 South Biscayne Blvd., Miami

Buyer: Ponte Gadea USA
Seller: J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Date: December 2016
Size: 1.1M SF
Price: $516.6M ($452 per SF)

2. Waterford & Blue Lagoon Portfolio: 5201-5301 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami

Buyer: Allianz RE of America
Seller: TIAA-CREF (now Nuveen)
Date: November 2015
Size: 914K SF
Price: $269.4M ($374 per SF)

3. Miami Center (Now Citigroup Center): 201 South Biscayne Blvd., Miami

Buyer: Crocker Partners
Seller: Sumitomo Corp.
Date: July 2012
Size: 803K SF
Price: $260M ($324 per SF)

4. 1111 Brickell: 1111 Brickell Ave., Miami

Buyer: Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co.
Seller: Prudential Real Estate Investors
Date: June 2018  
Size: 522K SF
Price: $248.5M ($476 per SF)

5. Phillips Point: 777 South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach

Buyer: AEW Capital
Seller: Prudential Real Estate Investors
Date: June 2015
Size: 423K SF
Price: $245.5M ($580 per SF)

6. The Landing @ MIA: 7200-7665 Corporate Center Drive, Miami

Buyer: Crocker Partners, Walton Street Capital
Seller: CBRE Global Investors  
Date: September 2018
Size: 1,050,700 SF
Price: $242.5M ($231 per SF)

7. Former Miami Herald HQ: 1 Herald Plaza, Miami

Buyer: Genting Group
Seller: The McClatchy Co. 
Date: May 2011
Size: 750K SF
Price: $236M ($315 per SF)

8. Miami Tower: 100 SE Second St., Miami

Buyer: Sumitomo Corp.
Seller: LaSalle Investment Management
Date: May 2016
Size: 632K SF
Price: $220M ($347 per SF)

9. Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre: 401 East Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale 

Buyer: RREEF
Seller: J.P. Morgan
Date: September 2016
Size: 408K SF
Price: $220M ($539 per SF)

9. Las Olas Centre: 350 and 450 Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale

Buyer: RREEF
Seller: USAA Real Estate
Date: May 2014
Size: 469K SF
Price: $204M ($435 per SF)

10. Office Depot HQ: 6600 North Military Trail, Boca Raton

Buyer: Equity Commonwealth
Seller: TIAA-CREF
Date: January 2011 
Size: 625K SF
Price: $171M ($274 per SF) 

As for office leasing, Medwin said WeWork shook up the market with big chunks of space in many Miami buildings, but after its failed IPO earlier this year, its footprint now appears unsteady.

"They signed the lease for most of the office space [at 830 Brickell] to get it going. I don't know what's going to happen," Medwin said. "I assume it's still going forward, but that's something that time will tell."

Burger King was bought three years ago by a private equity firm out of Brazil, 3G Capital, but still has a large presence in Miami, where it has long been headquartered. Spirit Airlines was based in single-story office space in the suburbs but is moving to a new, more traditional office building on the busier east side of Broward County.

"Most of the construction in South Florida in the central business district has been condos and apartments," Medwin said. "And I don't see that changing. We've seen some situations where people have bought office buildings and we believe their intents are to knock the building down for condos or apartments. So there's really a decrease of inventory in the office market. That would put pressure on rental rates to continue to go up. So that seems to be the way it's heading, at least in the near future."

Top Leases By Square Footage 

1. Dania Pointe: 181 South Bryan Road, Dania Beach

Tenant: Spirit Airlines
Landlord: Kimco Realty
Size: 500K SF
Period: Q4 2019

2. Plantation Pointe Office Park: 8000 West Sunrise Blvd., Plantation

Tenant: AmSurg/Sheridan Health Care
Landlord: Torburn Partnersy
Size: 220K SF
Period: Q1 2015

3. 830 Brickell Ave., Miami

Tenant: WeWork
Landlord: OKO Group and Cain International
Size: 167K SF
Period: Q1 2019

4. New Waterford at Blue Lagoon: 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami

Tenant: Lennar Corp.
Landlord: Franklin Street Properties
Size: 156K SF
Period: Q3 2019

5. Miami Center: 201 South Biscayne Blvd., Miami

Tenant: Citigroup
Landlord: Crocker Partners
Size: 151K SF
Period: Q2 2015

6. Wells Fargo Center: 333 Southest Second Ave., Miami 

Tenant: Wells Fargo
Landlord: MetLife
Size: 150,500 SF
Period: Q4 2010

7. 1 New Waterford at Blue Lagoon: 5707 Waterford Way, Miami

Tenant: Burger King Corp.
Landlord: The Hogan Group
Size: 150K SF
Period: Q1 2016

8. The Park at Broken Sound: 1501 Yamato Road, Boca Raton

Tenant: ADT Corp.
Landlord: Pebb Enterprises
Size: 150K SF
Period: Q4 2011

9. 1700 Plantation Pointe: 1700 North University Drive, Plantation

Tenant: Sunshine State Health
Landlord: Torburn Partners
Size: 145K SF
Period: Q3 2019

10. Miami Herald Building: 3511 Northwest 91st Ave., Doral

Tenant: Miami Herald Media Co.
Landlord: McClatchy Employee Credit Union
Size: 135K SF
Period: Q1 2012