Time Century Holdings closed on a $23.6 million construction loan to begin the first phase of its renovation of a downtown Miami building.
The property at 1 Northeast First Street, previously known as Metro Mall, is slated to go through a $50 million renovation that is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022. City National Bank is the lender, according to a release.
In the first phase, Time Century, led by Yair Levy, will renovate the wholesale retail space that encompasses the basement, ground floor, mezzanine and second floors of the building, now called Time Century Jewelry Center.
The developer will renovate the four stories of office space beginning later this year or early next year, according to Dan Deutsch, managing director of Time Century. Architect Kobi Karp is designing the project.
The building is within a four-block jewelry district that is home to more than 500 jewelry stores that generate more than $1 billion in sales annually, according to the release. Across the street is the historic Seybold Building, a centerpiece of the jewelry district.
Time Century Jewelry Center’s wholesale retail space is more than 60 percent preleased. Remaining retail space ranges from 500 square feet to 2,000 square feet with rental rates ranging from $65 per square foot to $150 per square foot, according to the release.
Tenants will include Markaled, a Istanbul-based jewelry store, which is taking 1,500 square feet, Deutsch said. Isis Pellegrino of Time Century is handling leasing in house, Deutsch said.
The gut renovation of the building will include glass storefronts, a three-story atrium with new escalators, and valet parking.
“We are injecting lightning into a dead area,” Deutsch said, referring to downtown Miami’s historic area. “We’re coming in, we’re spending a lot of money, and we’re building out a building that will soon house all the major jewelers in Miami.”
Time Century paid $14.5 million for the 225,000-square-foot building in 2018, records show. It was built in 1926.
Developer and investor Moishe Mana has spent more than $350 million assembling properties in the Flagler District of downtown Miami. Mana recently broke ground on the Nikola Tesla Innovation Hub, a 136,000-square-foot office and retail building at 155 South Miami Avenue.
Earlier this year, Silicon Valley investor Plug and Play announced it plans to open an office within Mana’s district.