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ZOM Living — in a joint venture partnership with Mattoni Group, Scout Capital and AEW Capital Management — has completed the of the first phase of MiLine Miami, a $400-million mixed-use development in Miami.

The three-phase, mixed-use development of MiLine Miami spans an 11.4-acre site with a mix of uses that will ultimately include 975 apartments and 23,000 square feet of retail space.

Phase one is a six-story midrise with 338 apartments and 4,600 square feet of retail space with a brewery and two restaurants. It has direct access Ludlam Trail, which is being redeveloped into a linear park that spans six, public-art adorned miles. The trail path will connect four parks, three waterways and two Metrorail stations.

The development’s second phase will comprise 337 apartments including 32 townhome units, and the third phase will deliver an additional 300 apartments and 18,000 square feet of retail space. MiLine Miami will also have 50,000 square feet of outdoor amenity space.

MIAMI — A joint venture between ZOM Living, Mattoni Group, Scout Capital and AEW Capital Management has completed the first phase of MiLine Miami, a mixed-use development in Miami spanning 11.4 acres. Phase I includes the delivery of a six-story, 338-unit apartment community, 4,600 square feet of retail space and 1,300 linear feet of the Ludlam Trail.

Apartments come in studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom options ranging from 580 to 1,700 square feet, and community amenities include a swimming pool and pool deck with cabanas, grilling area, Zen courtyard, fire pit, social room, fitness center, aqua lounge and coworking spaces. The retail space in Phase I houses Thorn, a local brewery by the founders of Lincoln’s Beard Brewing Co. The beer garden will be anchored by two restaurants to be announced soon.

Phase II of MiLine Miami will comprise 337 apartments — including 32 townhome units — and is slated to start construction by the end of the year. The third phase will deliver an additional 300 apartments and 18,000 square feet of retail space. The Ludlam Trail is being redeveloped into a linear park that spans six miles and connect four parks, three waterways, two Metrorail stations at Dadeland North and South and five schools.

Development of an adjacent park was a catalyst for the creation of this mixed-use neighborhood.

Multifamily housing developer ZOM Living, along with partners Mattoni Group and AEW Capital Management LP, have completed MiLine Miami’s first phase.

This initial portion of the mixed-use development in West Miami-Dade County features 338 midrise apartments, along with 4,600 square feet of retail space that incorporates a brewery, a beer garden and a pair of restaurants. Also included in Phase I is delivery of the first segment of the 6-mile Ludlam Trail linear park. Residents will benefit from direct access to this outdoor recreational amenity offering walking, biking and hiking.

Designed to include a total of three phases, MiLine Miami will eventually spread across an 11.4-acre site and feature 975 apartments and 23,000 square feet of retail space.

The six-story luxury apartment community offers studios, one- two- and three-bedroom apartments, ranging from 580 to 1,700 square feet in size. The lifestyle-driven amenity package at MiLine Miami includes a pool deck with cabanas and grilling areas.

Easy access

The location of MiLine Miami in the predominantly residential Glevnar Heights enclave 10 miles southwest of downtown Miami, is next to the expansive Tropical Park. Residents will enjoy convenient access to Miami attractions that include Dadeland Mall, the Shops at Sunset Place, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and the University of Miami, all located within a short drive of MiLine Miami. A number of primary thoroughfares, among them the Palmetto Expressway, U.S. 1 and Bird Road, link Glevnar Heights to the remainder of Miami-Dade County and points beyond. A broad array of plazas with diverse retail and restaurant options fill the northern portion of Glevnar Heights.

Earlier this year, ZOM Living sold Hazel SouthPark in Charlotte for $131 million.

It’s not every day that a city is born, but it happened Jan. 28, 2003, when Doral, Florida, was incorporated, becoming one of 34 municipalities in Miami-Dade County. That paved the way for Codina Partners to move forward with a grand-scale mixed-use project 1 mile from Miami International Airport and 12 miles from Downtown Miami. Called Downtown Doral, the project includes homes, schools, a government center, retail and, pivotally, restaurants.

Nineteen years later, the 250-acre project is two-thirds complete. It’s a residential and office community, but it’s the more than 70 retail stores, restaurants, bars and entertainment spaces — spanning 250,000 square feet and split roughly 45% non-food to 55% food — that people think of when they refer to Downtown Doral, according to JLL retail advisory senior vice president Rafael Romero, who handles business development, as well as landlord and tenant representation, throughout Florida.

A Foodie’s Paradise

Ana-Marie Codina Barlick — CEO of development, investment and property management firm Codina Partners — said her team has taken its time to find the right restaurateurs and chefs. They wanted a unique and varied offering so a visitor could have different cuisine every night.

Restaurants include tapas place Bulla Gastrobar; Dragonfly Izakaya & Fish Market, a combination restaurant and fish market with a sushi-centric menu; and Pisco y Nazca, a ceviche gastrobar with unique cocktails. Coming soon are DC Pie Co., a brick-oven, Brooklyn-style pizza joint by Lucali owner Dominic Cavagnuolo; Sports Grill, a Miami staple serving grilled wings; and a first Florida location for Texas eatery Sweet Paris Creperie & Cafe.  

The project has drawn prominent chefs like celebrity pastry chef Antonio Bachour, who opened Bachour restaurant and bar; and Eileen Andrade of Finka Table & Tap, who opened Barbakoa by Finka. New York City-based Mexican chef Julian Medina will open a 5,000-square-foot Mexican restaurant at Downtown Doral for his first South Florida outpost.

“It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood,” Andrade said of Doral. “It was important for our brand to reach a new neighborhood, something that we hadn’t tapped into before. Possibly the people in Doral wouldn’t necessarily go to West Kendall to our other locations, so it was important for me to tap into a new community and reach new followers.”

Before the area emerged officially as Downtown Doral, the food tenants it drew were small local operators like Venezuelan and Colombian chains and traditional U.S. chains like Wendy’s and Panera, according to Romero, who along with his JLL team is marketing roughly 30,000 square feet of retail in the latest phase of Century Homebuilders Group’s Midtown Doral project in Doral.

“Downtown Doral is particularly important,” Romero said. “What I think it proved early on was the ability to support real retail, real restaurants and entertainment, and it’s those components that have put it on the map to locals.”

Shop Till You Drop

When Maria Juncadella, managing principal of South Florida commercial brokerage Fairchild Partners, assumed the retail leasing assignment at Downtown Doral about two years ago, the retail portion of the project was 70% leased and another 10% was in the pipeline. Today, it’s 90% leased. She said most prospects the team considers are Florida restaurateurs and retailers that are new to Doral or looking to expand their Doral presences. The second-highest inquiry volume comes from outside Florida, followed by businesses from Latin America looking to establish Miami outposts.

Shops at Downtown Doral include the European-style TG Bridal boutique, Ballet Boutique dancewear, full-service boutique flower shop Doral Orchids Florals & Events and Skyros Sports, a sports apparel brand known for high-quality running gear and accessories. South Florida cigar lounge Smoke & Oak also recently signed a deal there.

Retail and restaurant asking rents at Downtown Doral start at $50 per square foot per year net of common area maintenance charges. Terms span five to 10 years, per a Codina spokeswoman. Meanwhile, retail sales have been ticking up there. At 21 stores that Codina has been tracking, sales have increased 40% from 2019 levels, the spokeswoman said. The tenants with the largest increases have been restaurants and experiential retail. “This is a primarily residential community, but the retail is the ultimate amenity,” Codina Barlick noted.

Doral Grows Up

Downtown Doral is a $1 billion, mixed-use infill development that stretches from Northwest 87th Avenue to Northwest 79th Avenue and from Northwest 54th Street to Northwest 41st Street. Conceptualized by Coral Gables, Florida-based Codina Partners in the early 2000s, the master-planned mixed-use community includes 1 million square feet of Class A office, 5,000 residential units, an elementary school, a middle and high school property, City Hall and public green spaces.

Codina Partners acquired the first part of the site, a suburban office park, in 2004. In 2016, Codina and Miami-based Lennar acquired an active golf course. Lennar is the developer of Urbana, a new home community within Downtown Doral. The entire Downtown Doral should be complete in about five years, Codina Barlick said.

The project has paved the way for other developments in Doral, which had a population of 75,874 as of April 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “It’s one of the largest concentrations of single-owner-controlled and developed residential [space] in Doral,” Romero said. Besides Midtown Doral, projects of note in Doral include the Doral Square retail and office development and CityPlace Doral, which offers retail, entertainment, dining and homes. And former President Donald Trump is looking to add a mixed-use development called Doral International Towers to Trump National Doral Golf Club, according to Commercial Observer.

Family Is the Driving Force

In recent times, Doral has seen rapid growth, offering new residences and dynamic retail. Indeed, according to the city of Doral’s website, Florida International University’s Metropolitan Center Doral named it the fastest-growing city in Florida and 11th in the country.

Juncadella, the broker handling Downtown Doral’s retail leasing, said Doral is a former “sleepy” suburban area, in which Codina Partners created a “work-live-play-learn community.” She added that Codina Partners has curated the retail to ensure it remains a family-friendly destination, “which is not easy because a lot of the businesses that have survived and done well have to do with bars and more adult-type of places.”

Romero gives Codina Partners props for developing a project that the whole family can enjoy. “Downtown Doral has done an exceptional job of creating a retail environment that is very, very family friendly,” he said.

CBRE has arranged $66.8 million in financing for the development of Century Town Center, a new mixed-use project in the Doral submarket of Miami, FL.

Marcos Minaya and Amy Julian with CBRE represented the borrower, a partnership between Century Asset Management (Century Homebuilders Group and Constructora Conconcreto) and an affiliate of the Mattoni Group. The loan was provided by Pacific West Bank.

“Century Town Center sits the heart of Doral and will feature two residential buildings with 326 units and structured parking, a state-of-the-art clubhouse and approximately 35,700 square feet of retail and restaurants,” described Minaya. The property is a few miles away from Miami International Airport.

Century Town Center, which has an expected completion date of 2024, will be located within the Midtown Doral master planned community known as Midtown Doral. When fully developed, Midtown Doral will include residential, business, recreational and retail uses.

Two six-story buildings will have a total of 326 units

A group of developers scored a $66.8 million construction loan for an apartment project at Midtown Doral.

Sergio Pino’s Coral Gables-based Century Homebuilders is partnering with Ricardo Caporal’s Mattoni Group and Colombian construction giant Conconcreto to build a pair of six-story buildings with a total of 326 units. The development will be directly north of the existing Midtown Doral condo complex, according to Mattoni Group.

Construction is already underway at the 3.8-acre site on the southeast corner of Northwest 107th Avenue and Northwest 82nd Street, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, Caporal said. Pacific Western Bank provided the construction financing.

The project will have 36 studios with 547 square feet; 138 one-bedroom apartments, ranging from 625 square feet to 773 square feet; 131 two-bedroom units, ranging from 890 square feet to 980 square feet; and 21 three-bedroom units with 1,220 square feet, according to Mattoni.

This is the first part of a two-phase development. In total, the development trio plans 675 units, meaning the second phase will be 349 units, although it is yet to be decided whether they will be condos or rentals, Pino said.

Amenities for both project phases will include retail and restaurant space, two garages and a three-story clubhouse spanning roughly 47,000 square feet with a gym, spa and event space on the third floor, he said. The clubhouse will serve the new buildings and the existing condos.

Miami-based Mattoni Group, founded in 2009, is a private equity real estate investor, according to its website. Conconcreto, which has offices in Medellín, Bogotá and Barranquilla, is a construction engineering firm led by CEO Juan Luis Aristizabal Velez, according to its website. Conconcreto is both an investment partner and the general contractor in the apartment project, Pino said.

Century Homebuilders developed the four-building Midtown Doral with 537 condo units and two garages, Pino said. All of the condos were sold out.

When the project began in 2014, the plan was for all condos, which worked well for the first four buildings. They were completed and sold at a time of a strong Venezeulan buyer pool, with some of the units selling for more than $750,000, Pino said.

The market has since changed, prompting the switch to apartments for the next two buildings.

“There’s not a market in Doral for high-end condominium units, so we shifted to what the market is asking for, which is rentals,” Pino said.

Doral, once a residential community with industrial real estate, has morphed in recent years into a mecca for mixed-use development.

Codina Partners, based in Coral Gables and led by Armando Codina and Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, is the master developer of the 250-acre Downtown Doral, which includes offices, retail and apartments.

Jorge Pérez’s Related Group, Shoma Group and PGIM Real Estate Investors opened the master-planned, mixed-use CityPlace Doral on 55 acres about five years ago. It includes 250,000 square feet of retail space with more than 40 dining, shopping and entertainment venues, according to the project’s website.

CityPlace also has several apartment towers, with the development trio selling The Flats, a two-tower complex at 3555 Northwest 83rd Avenue, for $100 million in 2020.

Century Homebuilders Group broke ground on the second phase of the Midtown Doral mixed-use project thanks to a $66.8 million construction loan.

Pacific Western Bank granted the mortgage to Century Town Center 1 LLC, a partnership between Century Homebuilders, Mattoni Group and Constructora Conconcreto. It covers the 3.8-acre site at the southeast corner of Northwest 107th Avenue and Northwest 82nd Street. It’s directly north of the first phase of Midtown Doral. CBRE’s Marcus Minaya and Amy Julian helped the borrower secure the loan.

Conconcreto Construction in Coral Gables recently filed notice with Miami-Dade County that it started work on the project. It will be called Century Towne Place.

The site was approved for 326 residential units in eight stories and 35,700 square feet of commercial space. The clubhouse would total 47,000 square feet in three stories, including a large fitness center, a spa with a steam room and sauna, a rooftop pool deck, and a banquet hall.

Doral-based Pascual, Perez, Kiliddjian & Associates is the architect of the project.

A third phase of the project is planned for later on a site located just north of the second phase.

In addition, the developer agreed to donate about 50 acres nearby to the city for use as a passive wetland park. That was in exchange for more density at Midtown Doral.

Apartment rents have been climbing throughout Miami-Dade County, and Doral has some of the highest rental rates in the area. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the county and has one of the largest concentrations of offices and industrial parks.

Yes, the weather is amazing, and yes, she loves how peacocks roam around her neighborhood. But, a main reason that Danielle Zighelboim ’13 has settled in Miami and has no plans to leave is the many entrepreneurial-minded people she knows there.

Zighelboim moved to Miami just two days after her graduation from Babson College, as she and her brother were starting Coconut Cartel, a premium Latin rum brand. She soon found others launching ventures, many of them hanging out in co-working spaces and warehouses and trying to make their way in a place where landing a traditional job at a big company wasn’t necessarily possible.

“Miami was always just a party town. We didn’t really have an industry outside of hospitality. If you wanted to be here, you had to pave your own way,” Zighelboim says. “I always felt that Miami had so much opportunity for those who wanted to make it for themselves.”

That’s exactly what Zighelboim and her fellow entrepreneurs did. They grew their ventures while forming a community that continues to have each other’s backs.

“This is a small town. Somehow, we all still end up in the same rooms or connected by mutual friends,” she says. “I love this, because starting a business is really hard and lonely, and what has made it better has been working alongside peers who are living their dreams and building their companies. We give feedback to each other, we share resources, and we really do help each other with no strings attached.”

Deep Babson Ties

That can-do, we’re-in-this-together entrepreneurial spirit is a hallmark of Miami, a booming, sun-kissed city with deep ties to Babson. A large number of alumni make their home in the area, and the College’s popular Miami location offers a variety of educational programs, including a Blended Learning MBA. The latest installment of Babson Connect Worldwide—the premier entrepreneurship summit and a signature College event—was planned for Miami in February until the pandemic’s omicron surge forced a postponement to a future date.

In conversations and over emails, Babson alumni in Miami describe why the region is such a great place to start and grow a business. They mention the weather, of course, and the stunning surroundings. They also discuss the area’s burgeoning tech scene, its cultural amenities, its status as a gateway to Latin America, and its favorable tax policy. “It’s very pro-business,” says Ricardo Caporal ’00, president and founder of the Mattoni Group, a private equity real estate company. “You put more money in your pocket here as an entrepreneur.”

Most of all, they mention the city’s people, who are a diverse, energetic, and dedicated group. Zighelboim is happy to have so many of them in her life. “We started alongside so many other incredible entrepreneurs who now, years later, have built this city into the world city it is today,” she says. “Miami is just getting started, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else besides here, with the same crew.”

A Rich Diversity

Wake up in Miami, and the day can feel filled with possibility. “Every day, I open my window, and it is an amazing day,” says Diego Lowenstein ’89, P’21 ’22. “You wake up happy every day. The weather allows it.”

Lowenstein knows Miami well. His family’s business, Lionstone Development, was founded by his grandfather and has been doing business in South Florida since 1966, the year it bought its first hotel in Miami Beach.

Back then, Miami was a pleasant but sleepy tourist town, and through the years, Lowenstein has witnessed its struggles and triumphs. The 1980s were a particularly tough time. “Those were the Scarface days, the ‘Miami Vice’ days. There were drugs and shootings,” says Lowenstein, the  CEO of Lionstone, the developer, owner, and manager of hospitality and residential properties. “It was an amazing destination that went sour. There wasn’t a lot of organic investment.”

With the limited amount of quality commercial space remaining in Brickell, Red Phone Booth has signed a new lease for 4,516 square feet of retail space at 1010 Brickell Avenue in Miami. The 1920’s prohibition-era themed speakeasy restaurant, bar, and cigar lounge currently has locations in Atlanta, Texas, and Tennessee. This will be the company’s first franchise location. 

Jonathan Rosen, Director of Colliers South Florida’s Retail Services team, represented the new franchisee owner of Red Phone Booth, Johnny Weber, in negotiating the lease valued at around $4 million. Rafael Romero and Katie Fernandes Espinoza at JLL represented the landlord, Mattoni Group. 

“1010 Brickell was a perfect fit for Red Phone Booth due to its central location to Brickell’s critical mass and its proximity to Brickell’s most successful restaurants and bars,” said Rosen. “The space is slightly hidden, which will nicely complement Red Phone Booth’s ’speakeasy’ feel and adds another exciting attraction to the vibrant Brickell nightlife scene.”

Red Phone Booth joins a plethora of restauranteurs relocating or expanding their concepts to the South Florida region. Restaurants were initially lured by looser COVID-restrictions over the past two years, but now opportunity abounds with continued mass in-migration. In Brickell alone, the population is expected to grow to 39,200 over the next five years, an increase of 15 percent. The popularity of Brickell’s retail market is demonstrated by a restaurant space vacancy rate that compressed 150 basis points to 10.8 percent in the past year.

“We are actively exploring new markets, and at the top of our list are Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Naples and Tampa. We will consider other markets with strong office, hotel, and residential density in South Florida as well. A lease agreement in Palm Beach Gardens is being finalized,” said Weber. 

Slated to open at the end of summer 2022, guests will enter the genuine prohibition-era themed experience after securing a secret code and dialing it into a restored antique London-style red phone booth at the entrance. Red Phone Booth first launched its flagship location in Atlanta in 2016 and it quickly became a city favorite for its unique atmosphere, cocktails, delicious food and exceptional cigars. The concept was inspired by co-owner Stephen de Haan, whose grandfather held secret legendary lake house parties during the Prohibition Era. 

With plans for further expansion in the South Florida market, Red Phone Booth has retained Jonathan Rosen at Colliers to assist in their active search for more locations.

Miami, is London calling? Or is it the past?

A London-style red phone booth will soon be arriving in Brickell, offering a gateway to the 1920s.

Red Phone Booth, a high-end bar and restaurant modeled after a prohibition-era speakeasy, inked a 10-year lease to occupy 4,516 square feet lease at 1010 Brickell Avenue. An anachronistic red phone booth will be stationed at the entrance, and guests will be let into the establishment by dialing a phone number. 

Rest assured. The code is “just meant to add to the experience. It’s not meant to keep people out,” said Colliers’ Jonathan Rosen, who represented the tenant. Nearby condominiums and hotels with concierge services will have the number on hand for interested patrons, the broker explained. A $300 annual membership, which grants priority for reservations, will also solve any entry queries. 

The concept comes from Atlanta, the brainchild of restaurateur Stephen de Haan. Franchisor Johnny Weber is bringing the establishment to Florida, where he’s looking to open 10 outposts over the next two years. 

Markets at the top of the list are Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Naples and Tampa. A lease agreement in Palm Beach Gardens is being “finalized,” Weber said, though he declined to say in which development.  

The pair chose Brickell as the Red Phone Booth’s first Florida location to brand the chain as an upscale experience. “We’re surrounded by the market’s top Class A office, high-end residential buildings and hotels. A lot of C-suite executives come and bring their clients,” Rosen said. The Brickell outpost is expected to open this upcoming summer.

The Red Phone Booth deal brings the ground-floor retail of 1010 Brickell Avenue to “100 percent leased,” said JLL’s Rafael Romero, who represented the landlord, Mattoni Group, in the deal. Other retail tenants in the building include pizzeria DC Pie and Crema Gourmet Espresso Bar.

The 50-story residential building is located adjacent to the Tenth Street Promenade Metromover Station. Asking rent for the tower’s retail component stands at $65 triple-net a square foot, per Romero. 

Katie Fernandez Espinosa and Malina Huynh from JLL also assisted Mattoni Group.