Miami Design District Owners Sell Development Sites for $20M – Commercial Observer

Lionheart Capital bought two parcels near the Miami Design District for $20 million, completing an assemblage and setting the stage for a mixed-use development.

Both sites are on opposite ends of a block just north of the luxury shopping district. The slightly larger lot, which spans 5,350 square feet at 4240 NE Second Avenue, is home to a single-story building leased to an IGK hair salon and one of Lionheart’s offices. The other site, at 4200 NE Second Avenue, spans 5,100 square feet and is vacant. 

The purchase gives Lionheart full control of the eastern part of the block, which totals about half an acre. In 2003, the development firm led by Ophir Sternberg, had purchased a 15,000-square-foot lot, nestled between the new acquisitions, for $710,000, according to property records.

Lionheart plans to erect a three-story, 65,000-square-foot office and retail development, according to the firm’s website. A representative for the company, which is best known for having developed the Ritz-Carlton condo complex in Miami Beach, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sellers — the ownership group of the Miami Design District that includes Craig Robins’ Dacra, the LVMH-backed private equity group L Catterton, and Brookfield Properties — are focusing their efforts elsewhere in the 18-block retail development. 

Late last year, an investor group led by Robins paid $166 million for a 15-building portfolio along Northeast 39th Street, with plans to add a mixed-use development that’s likely to include a hotel.

Earlier this year, Dacra proposed building a 20-story rental building on a half-acre lot, sandwiched between 36th Street and the Interstate 195 expressway.

Julia Echikson can be reached at [email protected].