New year, new leases: the first few days of 2016 have already seen companies sign some sizable leases in South Florida, including a trophy space at one of the upcoming Brickell City Centre office towers.
The Real Deal analyzed data from CoStar Group, a commercial real estate information company, to come up with some of the biggest deals signed so far this year:
Southern Wine and Spirits
The country’s largest booze distributor just signed a big industrial lease in West Palm Beach.
Miami-based Southern Wine and Spirits, which already operates in 35 states, agreed to rent 28,325 square feet of space of an upcoming five-building industrial park at 6800 Belvedere Road.
Cushman & Wakefield brokered the lease, which was valued at $225,000 annually, according to data from CoStar. The 352,771-square-foot development is being built by the McCraney Property Company, which expects to open the warehouses in July 2016. Southern will start occupying building five, the smallest one out of the park, in December this year.
The lease breaks down to about $7.94 per square foot, which is right in line with what CoStar quotes as the development’s asking rate.
Akerman LLP
Rendering of Brickell City Centre
News about law firm Akerman’s move to Brickell City Centre had broken months ago, but now the lease has officially been signed — and this time CoStar data could give a sneak peak into just how pricey it is.
Akerman inked a deal for 110,506 square feet of office space at the 12-story Three Brickell City Centre tower that’s under construction. That counts for about 80 percent of the 134,552-square-foot building, which developer Swire Properties originally planned to open as a wellness center. The offices will open in February 2016.
CoStar says the tax and operating expenses for the lease would cost $1.94 million a year alone, or roughly $17.60 per square foot. Asking rates at the building are $50 per square foot, but Akerman’s actual rent is unknown due to confidentiality agreements.
Akerman, which is rated as one of the U.S.’s top 100 law firms, is well known for its work in the real estate and finance industries.
The three-story office building at 400 North Congress Ave
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Florida’s environmental agency just sealed a deal for 28,792 square feet of office space in a West Palm Beach government building.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection leased about a third of the space at 400 North Congress Avenue for $619,000 per year. The three-story building measures 72,000 square feet and is also occupied by the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal. The landlord is Calidus Holdings, an investment company that focuses on commercial real estate.
The deal breaks down to $21.50 per square foot.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that law firm Akerman LLP signed a lease for $17.60 per square foot at Brickell City Centre. The firm’s actual lease rate is unknown due to a confidentiality agreement.