News broke last month that Playboy was trading Beverly Hills for the Magic City, but now the once-iconic brand is looking to sweeten the deal.
Playboy Enterprises International, led by CEO Ben Kohn, wants $800,000 in incentives from the city of Miami Beach, and could pull out of its lease for the 20,000-square-foot penthouse floor at Robert Rivani’s Rivani office building at 1691 Washington Avenue if the city commission votes against the company’s request, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
The outlet referenced the lease agreement with Rivani, which was recently filed along with Playboy’s quarterly earnings report.
The incentive request is based on Miami Beach’s Job Creation Incentive Program (JCIP), an initiative that awards new-to-market and growing companies per-employee incentives. New market entrants are eligible for up to $60,000 per year for four years, but the Miami Beach City Commission can vote to waive the cap for applicants. Playboy, which has around 250 employees, has applied for $200,000 per year for four years, the outlet reported.
If the incentives are not awarded by Dec. 31, Playboy can terminate its lease. Rivani can also choose to grant the incentives in the form of a $200,000 per year rent abatement for four years. If he decides against it, Playboy can move forward with termination.
Rivani bought the seven-story mixed-use building formerly known as The Lincoln for $62.5 million last year. He is currently in the process of a $40 million renovation of the building. The filing revealed additional details about his lease terms with Playboy, including that the brand is set to pay $2.1 million in first year’s rent. The base rent will increase 3 percent annually, and the final year of the lease rent will be nearly $2.9 million. The lease can also be extended by five years two times.
The brand’s relocation plans extend far beyond the 10-year lease it signed with Rivani. It is also planning a content studio, a private Playboy Club with a restaurant and communal spaces inspired by the Playboy Mansion. The company expects to create 75 full-time jobs with an average annual wage of $175,000, the outlet reported.
–– Kate Hinsche
