Vacant Miami Retail Space? Good Luck Finding It.
Commercial Observer Discusses Miami Retail Market with Lee & Associate South Florida Principal, Stephen DeMeo
Why the Magic City has such low vacancy now for storefronts and restaurants
In Miami, even a retail miss can be a retail win. Take the Key Club.
The American bistro was on a busy corner in the heart of the coveted Coconut Grove neighborhood. The concept was also the brainchild of David Grutman, the king of Miami nightlife, who had launched culinary hot spots Swan and Komodo. Celebrities Lenny Kravitz and David Beckham attended the Key Club’s opening in 2022. And, yet, the upscale grill abruptly closed in June.
But the 6,700-square-foot space did not stay vacant for long. Chop, a steakhouse concept hailing from Canada, snapped up Key Club’s lease, with plans to open in the coming months.
South Florida’s retail market is thriving. Vacancies have dropped to impressively low rates. New restaurant concepts, many of them from high-profile, out-of-town hospitality groups, are sprouting nearly every week. Landlords have taken advantage of the moment by raising rents, which has led to the closures of longtime operations. As rates climb, though, even some deep-pocketed groups have buckled and failed to live out their leases, costing property owners.
The pandemic served as an inflection point for South Florida’s retail market. But, unlike much of the world, which endured mass closures, the health crisis pushed vacancies down in South Florida. As the Sunshine State welcomed millions of new residents seeking fewer living restrictions, real estate prices skyrocketed, and multifamily properties became a prime asset class — to the detriment of retail.
Demand for housing far outpaced supply, just as land values, construction materials and labor costs were rising fast. In response, developers jettisoned plans for new retail complexes in favor of residential buildings. Others redeveloped their existing retail properties, some of which were covered in acres of surface parking lots, into housing.
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At the close of the third quarter of this year, Miami-Dade County’s retail vacancy rate hovered just below 3 percent, while those of Broward and Palm Beach counties were just under 4 percent, according to market data. Since 2021, the retail vacancy rates in all three counties have never exceeded 5 percent.
South Florida has remained a hot destination for new-to-market retail operators, even as much of the world reopened post-COVID-19. The region attracted wealthy Northerners, who make up the desired customer base for upscale restaurants. And, with billionaires like Ken Griffin moving hundreds of high-earning employees from his hedge fund and market maker to Miami from Chicago, many hospitality groups are banking on sustained growth.
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“If you wait until a retail space is vacant and there’s a sign on the window, you’re typically too late,” said Steve DeMeo, a retail leasing broker with Lee & Associates based in Delray Beach.
Over the past couple of months, DeMeo has been touring spaces for City Winery, a New York City-born wine bar concept with 12 locations nationwide. Its owner Michael Dorf wants to expand to South Florida. While DeMeo has a few locations “in the hopper,” his client has yet to sign a lease.
Retail operators are notoriously picky. “Especially in the restaurant business, the location and walking patterns mean the world to them,” DeMeo said. To land the perfect location, then, “some sit and wait,” he added.
On the flip side, landlords are taking advantage of the moment amid all the competition. “As those longtime leases expire, landlords double the rent,” DeMeo said. “Many restaurateurs are getting priced out.”
Several local favorites have closed in the past few months, including Old Greg’s Pizza in the Miami Design District, Kitchen in Coral Gables, Beaker & Gray in Wynwood, and Root & Bone in South Miami, to name just a few.
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About Lee & Associates South Florida
Lee & Associates South Florida is a fully vertical commercial real estate brokerage firm focused on industrial, office, retail, multifamily, investment and land sectors. Our dedicated team of professionals is led by Matthew Rotolante, CCIM, SIOR a 4th generation South Florida native in a family that has owned and operated commercial property here since 1928. Lee & Associates is the largest agent owned brokerage in the nation with Senior Agent’s ability to earn profit share resulting in the highest splits while still receiving full resources, support and leads from our national network. Our collaborative and cheerful culture allows for open communications throughout the company, fostering the sharing of information and best practices to better enable client decision making. The Lee & Associates’ robust national network that sold and leased over $115 Billion in the last 5 years offers clients a cross-market platform of expertise and deal opportunities across all asset specialties and representation roles. For the latest news from Lee & Associates South Florida, visit leesouthflorida.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, our company local news.
About Lee & Associates
Lee & Associates is a commercial real estate brokerage sales, leasing and management firm. Established in 1979, Lee & Associates has grown its service platform to include over 75 offices in the United States and Canada. Lee & Associates is the largest agent owned commercial real estate brokerage where agents get the greatest return for their efforts and hence are more committed and better enabled to provide superior results for their customers. For the latest news from Lee & Associates, visit lee-associates.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Link, our company blog.
