Miami Design District becoming an international destination
Bisnow // July 14, 2022
By Alex Gratereaux
The Design District is a high-end retail mainstay with more than 120 luxury stores including Givenchy, Prada, Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton in addition to exclusive restaurants and art galleries. Many are headquarter flagships representing the first of their brand in Miami.
“What makes the Miami Design District master plan such an ambitious undertaking is that so many of the top fashion retailers are constructing new stores in an urban environment simultaneously,” Amicon Construction CEO Adam Mopsick previously told Bisnow.
“The result of the influx of new and unique retailers will be a streetscape and a retail environment on par with some of the world’s top cities, and a stark contrast to a typical interior shopping mall.”
Helm Equities unveiled a proposal to develop Parterre 42, a 500K SF high-rise with office and retail space in the epicenter of the Miami Design District.
The $300M project is being designed by Cookfox Architects, a design firm known for its biophilic aesthetic and for creating indoor-and-outdoor working spaces, according to Bloomberg.
Helm, an affiliate of New York City’s JEMB Realty Corp., purchased the site (4201 Northeast Second Ave.) in 2014 for $12.5M, Commercial Observer reported.
The project will provide 320K SF of Class-A office space and 80K SF of functional outdoor space. It will stretch over a 2-acre block between Northeast 42nd and 43rd streets and between Northeast Second and Fourth avenues and will intertwine private terraces with foliage.
The timing of this primarily office development tactically aligns with Q2 findings. The office vacancy rate has dropped across Miami to its lowest rate in two years as year-to-date absorption has already surpassed all of 2021, according to JLL. The brokerage noted the Wynwood-Design District area is particularly active for new leases, leading the metro with 11.3% absorption in Q2. It has the region's highest vacancy rate, at 32.4%, more than double Miami's average, but JLL said it expects that number to drop below 15% in the next six to nine months.
Direct asking rents in Wynwood-Design District averaged out to $70.08 per SF, well above the city's average. But the rest of the metro is also seeing increases.
“Overall asking rates soared to new heights in Q2 2022, averaging over $50.00 per SF for the first time in Miami’s history,” JLL said in its market analysis.
Emphasis on promoting a holistic, working experience through “environmentally responsive architecture” is a priority in Parterre 42, as part of a larger strategy to target new talent and out-of-town tenants in need of office and retail opportunities.
“The development represents an opportunity to create a workspace that supports wellness and regenerates the natural environment, while setting a new standard on how workplaces can support the holistic well-being of people, nature and community,” Rick Cook, the founding partner of Cookfox Architects, said in a statement.
