A decade ago, investor Michael Comras achieved the deal of his career, selling a full block on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road shopping promenade for $370 million. At the time, the transaction, which included leases with Apple and Nike and rents north of $300 a square foot, was the second-largest real estate sale in Miami-Dade County’s history.
This year, Comras notched another major deal on the strip — only this time, as a buyer, nabbing a steep discount along the 700 block connecting to North Lincoln Lane. The investor purchased another portfolio for about half of what it traded for over a decade ago.
While he won’t comment on the pending deal, sources told Commercial Observer that the investor is under contract to buy another assemblage for about half of what it traded for over a decade ago.
The trend illustrates Lincoln Road’s trajectory. Once the beating heart of the Miami area shopping scene, the retail street today is a shadow of its former self. Over the past decades, vacancies have risen. Beloved establishments have shuttered. And new malls have popped up elsewhere, creating increased competition for luring shoppers and retailers alike.
But, even as real estate prices fall, Lincoln Road may be turning a corner. The City of Miami Beach and some property owners are spending tens of millions of dollars to upgrade and beautify the street, while new, buzzy operators are setting up shop.
Peppered with mostly low-rise Art Deco and MiMo-style buildings, Lincoln Road runs all across South Beach, from Biscayne Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1910s, Carl Fisher, one of Miami Beach’s forefathers, developed it as a luxury shopping and dining corridor. Decades later, Morris Lapidus, the town’s pre-eminent midcentury architect who designed the famed Fontainebleau Hotel, turned the road into a pedestrian plaza.
By the aughts and early 2010s, Lincoln Road had become the place to be. The road boasted the right mix of big-box chains, such as clothing retailers Gap and American Apparel, alongside local operations, including the Books & Books store, the Sushi Samba restaurant and the Van Dyke Cafe. The street’s location near the beach only added to the appeal.
“Once upon a time, I used to go to Lincoln Road, and I would spend the whole day there,” said Felix Bendersky, a Miami retail broker and the principal owner of F+B Hospitality Leasing. “It really did have some of the coolest bars, coffee shops and breakfast places.”
Over time, Lincoln Road became a victim of its success. As its popularity grew, so did the value of its real estate. In 2014, Morgan Stanley purchased six buildings in a deal that valued the portfolio at $342 million. The following year, Comras superseded that transaction with the $370 million sale to Zara’s billionaire founder, Amancio Ortega.
But, even as real estate prices fall, Lincoln Road may be turning a corner. The City of Miami Beach and some property owners are spending tens of millions of dollars to upgrade and beautify the street, while new, buzzy operators are setting up shop.
Peppered with mostly low-rise Art Deco and MiMo-style buildings, Lincoln Road runs all across South Beach, from Biscayne Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1910s, Carl Fisher, one of Miami Beach’s forefathers, developed it as a luxury shopping and dining corridor. Decades later, Morris Lapidus, the town’s pre-eminent midcentury architect who designed the famed Fontainebleau Hotel, turned the road into a pedestrian plaza.
By the aughts and early 2010s, Lincoln Road had become the place to be. The road boasted the right mix of big-box chains, such as clothing retailers Gap and American Apparel, alongside local operations, including the Books & Books store, the Sushi Samba restaurant and the Van Dyke Cafe. The street’s location near the beach only added to the appeal.
“Once upon a time, I used to go to Lincoln Road, and I would spend the whole day there,” said Felix Bendersky, a Miami retail broker and the principal owner of F+B Hospitality Leasing. “It really did have some of the coolest bars, coffee shops and breakfast places.”
Over time, Lincoln Road became a victim of its success. As its popularity grew, so did the value of its real estate. In 2014, Morgan Stanley purchased six buildings in a deal that valued the portfolio at $342 million. The following year, Comras superseded that transaction with the $370 million sale to Zara’s billionaire founder, Amancio Ortega.
Julia Echikson, Commercial Observer
Read more here: Commercial Observer
