Lincoln Road Business Improvement District Passes Resolution In Support Of Developer Michael Shvo’s Planned Office Projects

Further supporting the diversification of Miami Beach’s economy and activating Lincoln Road as a as a live-work-play district, the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District’s Executive Committee announced that it passed a resolution in support of developer Michael Shvo’s planned office projects.

The New York-based luxury developer filed plans to redevelop the iconic Lincoln Road clocktower building, as well as to build a new boutique office building on the 12,000-square-foot lot located at 1665 and 1667 Washington Ave.

The current clocktower building is one of the tallest buildings in Miami Beach and sits directly in front of SoundScape Park. Shvo’s plans include completely renovating the exterior of the building, the lobby, elevators, and clock display. Designed by Pritzker Prize architect Norman Foster, the new six-story office building proposed on Washington Ave. would be 68,794 square feet, including 21,423 square feet of office space on the top five floors, a 1,094-square-foot coffee shop on the ground floor, 58 parking spaces and a 5,450-square-foot amenity deck on the roof. The site currently has a 10,111-square-foot office and commercial building, which would be demolished, plus a parking lot.

“These proposed office projects signal the continued investment on the Lincoln Road District, which will further diversify and strengthen the Miami Beach economy,” said Lyle Stern, President of the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (BID) and President of Koniver Stern Group. “With the recent influx of tech and financial firms to Miami Beach, new office space will not only introduce new options for businesses moving into the City but also offer additional office space to accommodate existing companies officing in Miami Beach.”

With greater foot traffic (as recorded by analytics tool Placer.ai) than other Miami-Dade County lifestyle destinations, Lincoln Road ranks as the most-visited open-air destination in South Florida, reaching close to 8 million walking visits over the past year – higher than other Miami Design District with 4.1 million, Brickell City Centre with 3.9 million, and Wynwood’s Second Avenue with 3.7 million. Additionally, Miami Beach recorded the second highest asking rate increase in Miami, fueled by Eighteen Sunset, with rates north of $120 psf and asking rates averaging almost $70 psf.

Aside from these proposed Class A office buildings by major developers such as Shvo, the Lincoln Road District is experiencing a major uptick in new activity with premier retail and restaurant brands continuing to choose Lincoln Road due to its iconic significance, arts and cultural offerings, dining, shopping, and entertainment.

Over the past 12 months, 16 new tenant openings have taken place on Lincoln Road, including 14 new-to-market operators, and another 12 stores are undergoing buildout. In October, Yoyoso, the global aesthetics life designer brand, opened its first Florida location occupying 5,600 square feet on the 1100 block, Barcelona-born women’s fashion retailer Mango opened a 4,628-square-foot space at 1036 Lincoln Road and West Elm, a modern furniture and home décor store that opened a 10,237-square-foot store. Lincoln Road’s flourishing dining scene is attracting popular national and international concepts soon to arrive, including Tacombi, Oro and Elixir, Andres Carne de Res (making its U.S. debut), and The Cheesecake Factory. While other top performing restaurants continue to draw visitors such as Chotto Matte, Juvia, TimeOut and Mila, who recently expanded its footprint due to demand from the market.

The Lincoln Road District and it’s surrounding neighborhoods have seen close to $4 billion of real estate and hospitality investment flocking to the surrounding area since the migration of businesses, people and capital to Miami began, including luxury hotel brands, luxury residential development, Class “A” office and boutique office development, and the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Miami Beach’s office market has been transformed into an oasis for corporate relocations, sparking a major office building development boom. This is coupled by decision-makers seeking a walkable lifestyle district when selecting their office space. In addition to Shvo’s proposed office buildings, other major projects he’s proposing in Miami Beach include the redevelopment of the oceanfront historic Raleigh Hotel and build a 44-unit luxury condo tower as well as two other neighboring hotels on Miami Beach.