MIAMI—There’s plenty of talk about South Florida’s luxuryretail scene lately, especially with the retail components ofBrickell City Centre and Miami World Center coming online while rents continue rising on Lincoln Road. That’s the backdrop for a 10-year lease on Palm Beach’s iconic Worth Avenue.
Italian luxury fashion retailer MaxMara will occupy about 2,000 square feet on Worth Avenue. MaxMara will move a few doors down to 206 Worth Avenue, also known as the freestanding Ferragamo building. MaxMara’s new retailstore will operate alongside premium high-street retailers such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino, and Van Cleef & Arpels.
JLL vice president Scott Sheron and vice chairman of Retail Services New York Bob Gibson represented the landlord, Ferragamo. The tenant self-represented in the transaction. MaxMara expects to open on or before the Worth Avenue high season kicks off on Nov. 1, 2015.
“Worth Avenue is among the best shopping districts in the world, right up there with Fifth Avenue, The Avenue des Champs Elysees, Rodeo Drive and Bond Street, so MaxMara is a great fit with the existing super-luxury tenants in the building,” says Sheron. “As the South Florida economy improves, we expect premium level retailing to further expand in Palm Beach.”
With Miami retail booming, some investors are heading north. Franklin Street just completed the sale of two open-air retail centers in Fort Lauderdale for a combined price of just under $12.4 million.
“Multi-tenant, unanchored retail centers are in high demand right now from investors,” Franklin Street’s regional managing partner Greg Matus, tells GlobeSt.com. “The cost of capital is very competitive and retail rents are on the rise in South Florida creating ideal conditions for trading activity.”
But when it comes to luxury retail, Worth Avenue and Los Olas aside, Miami is winning much of the investor and tenant attention. Miami is edging in on Los Angeles.
“Miami is now the third-biggest market after New York and L.A. for luxury retail,” David Forbes, a partner at Forbes Company, an owner and developer of iconic regional shopping centers and co-developer of Miami Worldcenter’s mall, recently said at the University of Miami Real Estate Impact Conference 2015.“There is enough room for all these projects not just to open but to be successful.”
Indeed, it seems there’s also enough room for the Miami Design District. Last October, Miami Design District got an infusion of capital that could help visionary Craig Robins execute his plans for the neighborhood dedicated to fashion, design, art, architecture and dining experiences.
“The Miami Design District has emerged in the past few years as a leading player in the global market of luxury retail development, reinventing the model for creating neighborhoods,” says Ben Ashkenazy, CEO of AAC. “We made a strategic investment because we believe this will be among the most innovative and valuable retail projects in the world.”
