801 Lincoln Road
Photo by Terranova
The $139 million sale of three Lincoln Road buildings caps a banner year for the popular South Beach retail destination.
With Tuesday's purchase of buildings at 719, 801 and 826 Lincoln Road by Terranova Corp. and Acadia Realty Trust, the pedestrian mall has had the two most expensive retail transactions of 2012 in South Florida. The buying groups in both sales included institutional investors from New York: Acadia and Vornado Realty Trust, which paid $132 million for 1100 Lincoln Road in July.
The latest sale of 719, 801 and 826 Lincoln was first reported by the Miami Herald. Terranova chairman Stephen Bittel confirmed the acquisition in a phone interview Wednesday. The transaction has not been recorded by Miami-Dade County.
"Acadia and Vornado represent the most sophisticated professional capital in the United States and world," Bittel said. "It's a real vote of confidence in the future growth of the street when the smartest and richest guys in the real estate world are targeting Lincoln Road."
Calls to Acadia executive vice president and chief investment officer Joel Braun were not returned by deadline.
The 1100 Lincoln complex is home to Regal Cinemas and Banana Republic and includes a 298-space parking garage.
In July, another New York investor, RC Lincoln Road Holdings LLC, paid $16 million for the Van Dyke Building at 846 Lincoln Road. The RC stands for Richard Chera, an executive at family-run Crown Acquisitions Inc.
Lincoln Road also has had an active year on the leasing front. Notable national retailers who signed leases in the area over the past 12 months include fashion retailers Lacoste and Gap, which is having a two-story, 29,000-square-foot store constructed to replace its existing 1001 Lincoln Road building after signing a long-term lease there in July. H&M and Forever 21 opened new Lincoln Road stores this year after signing leases in 2011.
"The rental rates on Lincoln Road have been skyrocketing to in excess of $250 a foot," according to Howard Taft, senior managing director at Miami-based Aztec Group.
"There is a lot of upside in the existing rents, which is probably the motivation [for Terranova and Acadia] paying top dollar" for the 719, 801 and 826 Lincoln buildings, Taft said.
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