South Florida retail landlords boosted their asking rents during the fourth quarter of last year, while investors continued scooping up shopping centers, especially properties anchored by Publix grocery stores, a recent report shows.
Yet, restaurants and the big box sector felt the effects of national chains filing for bankruptcy last year. More than 95 companies closed 211 sites in South Florida, according to Colliers. Restaurants had the highest turnover with 70 closures and nearly 100 new openings.
“Despite this turnover, vacancy rates in the tri-county area remained stable,” Colliers’ report states. “Additionally, over 180 companies announced openings in South Florida in 2024, contributing to 241 total new store openings.”
Shopping centers remained the most stable asset class for buyers in the retail market. Publix, the Lakeland, Florida-based grocery chain led by CEO Kevin Murphy, continued its buying spree for retail properties anchored by its stores by dropping $40 million for a North Miami shopping center at the end of the year.
Also in December, Kitson & Partners, led by CEO Sydney Kitson, sold Plaza del Mar, a Publix-anchored shopping center in Manalapan for $37 million to Short Hills, New Jersey-based Garden Commercial.
Another fourth quarter shopping center deal involved Boca Raton-based investor Yevgeniy Yermakov buying the Whole Foods-anchored Boynton Beach Marketplace in Palm Beach County for $49.2 million. And Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles paid $27.6 million for a non-grocery-store-anchored shopping center in Wilton Manors.
New York-based Seritage Growth Properties, led by Andrea Olshan, sold another shuttered Sears store in South Florida during the fourth quarter. Jon Samuel, an original developer of Midtown Miami, bought the closed Sears store at Broward Mall in Fort Lauderdale for $28 million.
Miami-Dade County
Retail landlords in Miami-Dade County raised the average asking rent to $45.72 a square foot in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to $43.47 a square foot during the same period of 2023, the report shows. Tenant demand is also outpacing supply, resulting in the county’s vacancy rate dropping to 2.7 percent in the last quarter of 2024, compared to 3.1 percent during the same period of the previous year.
Presidente Supermarket signed the largest lease in the fourth quarter of 2024, moving into a 26,767-square-foot store at Palmetto Lakes Shopping Center near Miami Lakes. Among restaurants, Japanese temaki restaurant Nami Nori opened its first Florida outpost in the Miami Design District in the fourth quarter.
Broward County
In Broward County, retail landlords slightly increased the average asking rent to $27.84 a square foot during the last quarter of 2024 compared to $27.49 a square foot during the same period of the previous year, Colliers found. The slowdown in rent growth is attributable to a vacancy rate that rose to 4.2 percent, compared to 3.7 percent, year-over-year.
Painted Trees Boutiques signed the largest lease during the fourth quarter, taking 37,000 square feet at Countryside Shops, a retail plaza near Pembroke Pines. Another notable signing involved Apple doubling the size of its store in the Galleria at Fort Lauderdale mall to 12,000 square feet. And Sunness Supper Club, a new dining concept by restaurateur Michael Stanley, leased a 6,000-square-foot space in Fort Lauderdale.
Palm Beach County
Like its counterparts in Miami-Dade and Broward, Palm Beach County retail landlords jacked up the average asking rent to $29.44 a square foot during the fourth quarter of last year, compared to $28.73 a square foot during the same period of the previous year. The vacancy rate rose to 3.9 percent, compared to 3.4 percent, year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, EOS Fitness signed the biggest lease for 50,000 square feet at Catalina Center, a retail plaza in Boynton Beach. Euroland Grocery, a Deerfield Beach-based supermarket chain, took 30,000 square feet at Commons at Royal Palm in Royal Palm Beach. And among notable food and beverage leases signed in Palm Beach County, Carmela Coffee took 1,800 square feet at 319 Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach.
