Scott Sherman still remembers when landlords could get top dollar asking rents for retail and restaurant spaces on Lincoln Road, the outdoor pedestrian mall in Miami Beach.
“Eight years ago, rents got ridiculous,” Sherman, who leads Miami-based Torose Equities, told The Real Deal. “They went from $150 to $300-plus a foot. Restaurants fled, national brands downsized and the street lost its energy.”
Sherman, who was among the landlords steering the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District in the 2010s, returned to the street last year after nearly a decade, paying $10.4 million for a two-story building at 910 Lincoln Road that’s leased to AllSaints, a clothing store.
“I’ve always believed in the street,” he said. “The pandemic and inflated rents reset everything. For the first time in years, the street’s affordable enough for creative operators to come back.”
Once Miami Beach’s most famous pedestrian strip, Lincoln Road has spent the better part of the early 2020s trying to recover its footing. High rents, changing consumer tastes and the pandemic all gutted a corridor once teeming with national retailers and high-end restaurants. Now, some investors and commercial brokers are banking on the idea that a refreshed mix of restaurants, experiential tenants and lower rent expectations can again raise Lincoln Road’s profile.
Sherman and other Lincoln Road experts see recent trades, such as retail and hospitality investor Robert Rivani buying a building on the street (the former The Lincoln Theatre) that’s leased to H&M and other tenants, as the beginning of a long-overdue rebound.
“I think now is a good time to be getting in,” Sherman said. “And I think we’re gonna see it turn the corner and continue to get better over the next couple of years.”
Retailers run
Lincoln Road’s tumble as one of South Florida’s prime retail streets began in 2016, when asking rental rates peaked at around $325 a square foot, according to David Abrams of the commercial brokerage Masonre.
“It took a hard nosedive right before Covid,” he said. “At the same time, Brickell, Design District, Wynwood — places where retail didn’t really exist — started popping up. Tenants looking at the beach decided to go to these other neighborhoods.”
Brickell, Wynwood and the Design District are areas that have more people, more traffic, more density and more opportunities for top brands, noted Lyle Stern, CEO of Miami Beach-based Vertical Real Estate and president of the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District.
“Lincoln Road certainly had its fair share of national tenants, and still has some,” Stern said. “But one of the biggest issues is the perception of what Lincoln Road was. While some lament the Lincoln Road of yesteryear, the street is actually doing well.”
For instance, the occupancy rate on Lincoln Road is averaging 77 percent, and asking rents are around $150 to $225 a square foot, making the outdoor pedestrian mall competitive with such indoor malls as Brickell City Centre, Aventura Mall and Dadeland Mall, according to Stern.
“The issue isn’t vacancy,” he said. “The universe of tenants that want to be on Lincoln Road is pretty significant. Some are national. Some are international. Some are regional and some have anywhere from one to three stores in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties.”
Stern said that Miami Beach’s own transformation is helping drive the rebound. “The wealth in this community has grown massively,” he said. “Between Lincoln Road and Faena, there’s $4 billion worth of development underway — the Shore Club, the Raleigh, the Aman, the Ritz expansion. And the Grand Hyatt convention hotel [currently under construction] will change everything. It will bring year-round customers to restaurants and shops.”
Lower rents, new reality
Sherman, Abrams, and Stern all agree that the key is balancing a good mix of local and national retailers and restaurants. “The old model — national tenants overpaying for exposure — doesn’t work here anymore,” Sherman said. “The real story is smaller, independent operators coming back in at rents they can handle.”
Stern calls the current asking rent range “healthy” compared to the frothy pre-Covid years. “We’re competitive again,” he said. “And unlike Brickell or Aventura, Lincoln Road is still the only true pedestrian high street in South Florida. People want to walk, dine and linger. That’s the advantage.”
Lessons from the boom-and-bust cycle are fueling smarter deals this time around, according to Abrams. “When you remove the greed and reset expectations, you can plan for the long term,” he said. “It’s not about flipping a building — it’s about curating the right mix.”
In some cases, he added, retailers are opting to buy spaces on Lincoln Road because of the value. Abrams represented Danny Harris and Marco DeGeorge, the founders of Beverly Hills-based Alo Yoga, in their $17 million purchase of the former Walgreens at 100 Lincoln Road. Harris and DeGeorge are converting the space into a flagship store and private wellness club.
Robert Rivani’s investment is also a boost. In addition to buying 551 Lincoln Road, the building housing H&M, Rivani is in the middle of a $40 million renovation of a mixed-use office building at 1691 Michigan Avenue, which is just off Lincoln Road. Over the summer, Rivani landed Playboy as a penthouse tenant under a 10-year lease. The iconic brand plans to relocate from Beverly Hills contingent on the city of Miami Beach providing $800,000 in incentives.
New tenants signal confidence in Lincoln Road’s recovery. “We’re starting to see real movement,” Abrams said. “Playboy moving its headquarters off Lincoln Road, Alo buying on the east end — those are dominoes falling in the right direction. The daytime population is coming back.”
For Stephen DeMeo, a broker with Lee & Associates, the fix isn’t just about cheaper leases — it’s about creativity. “Lincoln Road’s lost its rhythm,” he said. “You can’t fill it with stale apparel retailers and expect excitement. It needs activation — pop-up stores, rooftop events, wellness studios [and] cultural tie-ins.”
The future is experiential, not transactional, DeMeo argues. “People want something to do, not just something to buy,” he said. “Maybe it’s a rooftop pickleball club, daily markets or a music series. Landlords should get flexible —short-term deals, percentage rents, anything that keeps the block alive.”
DeMeo points to Rivani’s building, where Playboy is planning a club and lounge, as examples of the vibe shift. “That kind of tenant brings cachet and curiosity, which Lincoln Road needs,” DeMeo said. “The street has to feel like a scene again.”
