Playboy will take its ongoing makeover from Los Angeles to Miami Beach, as the once- iconic brand is moving its headquarters to Robert Rivani’s office building.
PLBY Group, the Los Angeles-based publicly traded company that owns Playboy magazine, its website and its trademarks, is moving its roughly 250-employee operation into a 20,000-square-foot penthouse office suite at the Rivani, a seven-story mixed-use building at 1691 Washington Avenue that is currently undergoing a $100 million renovation, a press release states.
Playboy signed a 10-year lease with a corporate guarantee, a spokesperson for Rivani said. Tony Jones with Cushman Wakefield represented Playboy, and Jeremy Hakala with Newmark represented the landlord. The new star tenant is expected to move in next year when the renovations are completed, the spokesperson said.
Rivani, founder of Miami-based Black Lion, bought a ground lease as well as the building, formerly known as The Lincoln, for $62.5 million last year. The land underneath is owned by the city of Miami Beach. Black Lion recently changed its name to Rivani, the release states.
As part of the move to Miami Beach, Playboy is also planning a content studio for its online creator network and a new members-only Playboy Club in Miami Beach “with a leading hospitality company,” the release states. Playboy did not comment on the name of its members-only club partner. The facility would feature a restaurant and a members-only space inspired by the Playboy Mansion, the former Los Angeles home of the brand’s late founder and longtime editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner, who died in 2017.
Since before Hefner’s death, Playboy has been in decline, a reflection of the overall decimation of the print magazine industry. PLBY Group ceased production of the monthly men’s lifestyle magazine, while the company has struggled to keep up with online competition from other adult content companies and streaming platforms such as OnlyFans. In February, Playboy published an annual edition of the magazine.
A majority of Playboy’s revenue is derived from brand licensing. In the second quarter, PLBY Group reported $28.1 million in total revenue, largely due to a 105 percent increase in licensing revenue, an earnings report states.
In recent months, Rivani has sold portions of its restaurant portfolio. In May, the firm sold a space at the SLS Lux Brickell leased to Gekkõ, a Japanese steakhouse owned by musician Bad Bunny and Miami Beach-based hospitality mogul David Grutman, and a space at Dua Miami Hotel leased to Mexican restaurant RosaNegra Miami. The combined sale price was $38.2 million.
In January, Rivani sold a commercial building in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood for $28.2 million. That property is leased to seafood restaurant Catch.
