Verizon will move its offices to the Waterford Business District near Miami International Airport, after selling its headquarters near Doral.
The telecommunications firm leased 51,500 square feet at 5200 Waterford District Drive, where it will move in July of next year, according to a news release from the landlords’ brokers.
The deal is the biggest office lease so far this year in South Florida, the brokers say.
Nuveen Real Estate, led by Mike Sales, and Pimco Prime Real Estate, led by François Trausch, own the Waterford Business District in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
Juan Ruiz and Andres del Corral of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented the landlords. John Marshall and Josh Kuriloff of Cushman & Wakefield represented Verizon.
Verizon is now at 9700 Northwest 112th Avenue in unincorporated Miami-Dade, near Doral. In August, TracFone Wireless, a subsidiary of New York-based Verizon, sold the 144,000-square-foot building to industrial real estate firm Prologis for $54.5 million.
It’s unclear whether Verizon and its affiliates occupy the entire building. If so, the new lease would mark a downsizing. The tenants listed at the building are Verizon, TracFone affiliate SafeLink Wireless and Verizon affiliate Straight Talk.
The Waterford Business District’s tenants include Subway, which leased 64,300 square feet in 2021; and engineering firm HNTB, which leased 26,000 square feet in 2023.
South Florida’s office leasing has experienced a boost in recent months. Miami-Dade County’s net absorption climbed 319,100 square feet in the fourth quarter of last year, year-over-year, according to a Colliers report.
Still, the influx of out-of-state firms has slowed from the new-to-market boom from late 2020 through 2022, experts say.
Among recent office leases, Amazon leased 50,300 square feet at the Wynwood Plaza mixed-use project at 95 Northwest 29th Street in Miami. Also, cybersecurity firm Varonis leased 17,900 square feet at 801 Brickell in Miami, which is now listed as the company’s headquarters.