Prominent Chicago Developer John Buck Co. Making Miami Debut With 41-Story Tower

A new office and condo tower is planned for Downtown Miami as developers bet that the pandemic-era boom has reset the demand dynamics for the city. 

The John Buck Co., Florida Value Partners, BH Group and Pebb Enterprises have partnered on plans for a 41-story mixed-use tower named HUB Miami, which is slated to include 245K SF of office space below 306 residential condos, according to a release.

The joint venture is picking up the plan from Related Group, which first proposed the tower under the name Miami Station in late 2020 on a 1-acre lot at 525 Northwest Second Ave.

HUB Miami would be the first new Class-A office tower built in Downtown Miami in more than a decade, the developers said, and would mark Chicago-based John Buck Co.’s first Florida project. 

The tower, slated for construction a block from a Brightline station, would have its office space beginning on the eighth floor, sitting atop a parking garage, and condos starting on the 22nd floor. The fully furnished condos, which were originally planned as apartments in the Related proposal, would range from 394 SF studios to 1,046 SF two-bedroom units and start in the mid-$400K range. 

CBRE has been tapped to handle office leasing at the property, while OneWorld Properties is running sales for the condos.

“HUB Miami Residences will be a highly sought-after destination, offering future residents a prime location for those looking to embrace the vibrant lifestyle and endless opportunities that Downtown Miami has to offer,” OneWorld CEO Peggy Olin said in a statement. 

FVP, BH Group and Pebb, all based in South Florida, partnered with John Buck Co. to acquire the site in February for $39.5M. John Buck Co. is leading the venture and obtained a $19.8M mortgage from Centennial Bank to purchase the site, The Real Deal reported at the time.   

The seller was an entity controlled by Aventura-based developer Meyers Group, according to property records. Related Group had the property under contract when it submitted its proposal, but the deal never closed.  

Site work at the 1-acre property is expected to commence before the end of the year, and a nearby sales gallery has already opened. The tower, designed by Broward-based ODP Architects, is expected to deliver by 2027, Bloomberg reported.

Office floor plates are expected to range from 18K SF to 32K SF and are planned to be column-free. Tenants would have access to 15K SF of amenities, including a fitness center and tenant lounge. Condo residents would have dedicated amenities including their own fitness center with a spin room, spa and sauna, a resident lounge, and work-from-home space with video conference rooms and private phone booths. 

The HUB Miami proposal is the fifth office tower to advance in the last two months in Miami’s urban core. The developments would add 2M SF of office space from the Design District to Brickell. 

The largest of the planned projects is a 50-story, 750K SF office tower from Key International at 848 Brickell Ave. One Thousand Group is planning a 312K SF tower that would rise 636 feet in Midtown, and Abbhi Capital has plans for a 484K SF Arquitectonica-designed office tower that would be partnered with a 558-unit residential tower on the north side of Miami Worldcenter.  

A joint venture between Tricap, Integra Investments and Lndmrk Development has the smallest of the recently proposed plans, a 20-story, 199K SF office building in the Design District.

The developers are looking to build into an office market that has shown resilience as leasing activity descends from pandemic-era highs. 

The 588K SF of activity in the third quarter was in line with the first half of the year, which saw 1.1M SF of leasing activity, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Despite the steady deal flow, activity is down 39.8% year-over-year as the pandemic-era wave of new-to-market tenants recedes and Miami occupiers look for smaller footprints.

Vacancy, at 17.3% at the end of the third quarter, continues to decline despite the slowdown, and an expected wave of sublease availability hasn't materialized. That has kept upward pressure on rents, which were 8% higher at the end of the third quarter compared to the previous year despite only seeing a 0.7% increase from the prior quarter.    

“HUB Miami offers a unique approach to mixed-use development in South Florida by featuring Class-A office space to meet the demand of the city’s ever growing need for high-caliber office product,” Ryan Lovell, managing director of investments at John Buck Co., said in a statement.