Apple Signs 42K SF Deal For New Office Space In Miami
Apple is poised to open a new office in Coral Gables nearly three years after the big tech firm began looking for space in Miami.
Apple signed a 42K SF lease on the 11th and 12th floors of the north tower of the Plaza Coral Gables, according to a Cushman & Wakefield office market report provided to Bisnow.
The deal comes after reports in late April 2021 that the tech firm was looking for as much as 50K SF in Miami.
Apple didn’t respond to Bisnow’s request for comment. Blanca Commercial Real Estate handles leasing at the property, while CBRE represented Apple in the lease, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Blanca CEO Tere Blanca and a CBRE spokesperson declined to comment.
The Plaza Coral Gables is a recently completed mixed-use project at 2811 Ponce de Leon Blvd. that has 455K SF of office space across two towers, a 242-key Loews hotel, 170 residences and 165K SF of retail space.
The Plaza finished construction a little over two years ago. It was built by Agave Holdings, a development group that includes the family behind the Jose Cuervo spirits business.
Apple was reportedly in the market for office space in 2021, choosing between The Plaza, 545 Wyn in Wynwood and an undisclosed building in Downtown Miami, Commercial Observer reported at the time.
Apple’s lease was the second-largest new deal of the first quarter, behind a 62K SF lease from Key Point Academy at 1501 Biscayne Blvd., the former Omni Mall where Key Point is planning to relocate its school.
The Plaza's office component was nearly fully leased back in October, when Blanca announced the property’s north tower had landed six new tenants totaling 65K SF. A LoopNet listing for the property lists 26K SF of available space priced between $70 per SF and $75 per SF.
The asking rates are a roughly 35% premium on the $55.25 per SF that Class-A office space in Coral Gables averaged at the end of the first quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Asking rates across all of Miami-Dade County average $60.28 per SF.
Coral Gables has seen its profile rise as an office market as local tenants and some new-to-market firms opt for its moderate prices over buzzier Miami office markets like Brickell, where a flurry of pandemic-era activity has pushed asking rates to $102.39 per SF for Class-A space.
The neighborhood saw 119K SF of leasing activity in the first quarter, second behind only the area surrounding Miami International Airport in activity and accounting for around 25% of all deals, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Apple’s office lease follows reports that it will open a 19K SF retail location at Miami Worldcenter in a freestanding space that’s under construction. The store would be Apple’s sixth in Miami-Dade County.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez had pitched the city as a tech hub at the height of the pandemic. The city has attracted some high-profile and well-established tech firms but has lagged behind in attracting tech startups and suffered setbacks, especially amid the crash in cryptocurrency businesses last year.
Microsoft leased 50K SF at the under-construction office tower 830 Brickell in September 2021, the largest lease for a tech firm establishing a presence in the market.
Creative firms have been expanding into the market, including Sony Music’s 45K SF lease at 545 Wyn, which will consolidate its other South Florida offices, Spotify's 20K SF lease in 2020 and Live Nation's 8K SF deal, both in Wynwood.
