A local developer landed a $70 million construction loan for a retail and office development in Aventura amid a hot commercial leasing market and a slow development pipeline.
Miami-based Ocean Bank provided the financing to Centtral Aventura LLC, managed by Jacobo Cababie Dichi of Aventura, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The 1.55-acre project site at 20955 Biscayne Boulevard is just south of the Broward County line, between Aventura Mall and the Village at Gulfstream Park shopping center in Hallandale Beach.
The nine-story building will span 142,000 square feet, including 63,400 square feet of office. The rest is slated for retail, restaurant and fitness center uses. Jaxi Builders is the general contractor, and the development is already under construction.
Aventura paid $13 million for the property in 2020, acquiring it from a funeral service provider. The developer first submitted plans for the site in 2021, later revising them before moving forward.
The project adds new office and storefront space along a busy stretch of Biscayne Boulevard, in one of Northeast Miami-Dade’s most active commercial corridors.
The retail vacancy rate in Miami-Dade County dropped to 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, according to Colliers. That plus a slowing development pipeline has created demand for investors.
The biggest retail sale in the fourth quarter was Aventura Mall owners Turnberry Associates and Simon Property Group’s $131 million purchase of the former Esplanade Aventura shopping center, at 19505 Biscayne Boulevard, which has been rebranded the Abbey at Aventura.
Retail development hit a post-pandemic peak in South Florida last year, when construction completions outpaced starts. About 765,500 square feet of retail space is under construction in the fourth quarter across Miami-Dade, according to Colliers.
Meanwhile, Aventura has a low office vacancy rate compared to the rest of the country, at 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter, according to Savill’s. Office space is less expensive in the suburb, at an average of $54.35 per square foot, compared to averages of over $110 per square foot in Miami Beach and almost $89 per square foot in Brickell.
— Rachel Stone
