A Hidden Lot Under Macy’s Miami Beach hits the market

While the sale of the lot is another sign of Macy’s overall decline, the newly opened up Miami Beach property brings great opportunity. The large lot is leased to Macy’s, and while Macy’s has another 32 years on the lease, the property is already set for sale and the owners expect to bring in more than $20 million in the trade.

The massive 50,000-square-foot lot is zoned CD-3. According to the listing brokers, Alejandro D’Alba and Scott Sandelin, the zone means the property can be developed into 137,000 square feet and up to 75 feet tall. The lot is located at 1675 Meridian Avenue and a call for offers is set at the end of February 2018.

The property is in a prime location, only two blocks away from the Miami Beach Convention Center and just a block from Lincoln Road. With a total of 98,610 square feet, the Macy’s building is one of the biggest available spaces in the area. It is also the only space that will work for a national “big box” store. The property was quietly put on the market two years ago and caught the attention of competing large chain stores: Old Navy and Nordstrom Rack. At that time the leasehold was estimated to bring in over $80 million during the sales process.

While making no indication Macy’s would be closing its Miami Beach location, it did announce earlier this month that it was closing down a location in historic downtown Miami. This, tied in with several other closures across the nation, does not bode well for Macy’s future. A Macy’s spokesperson declined to elaborate on their plans for the Miami Beach Location.

The building, built in 1953, was the former home of the Burdines. Burdines merged with Federated Department Stores, which at the time also owned several department stores, such as Macy’s and Bloomingdales. This merge happened in 1956. By the year 2005, the Federated Department Stores bought all its Burdines stores under the Macy’s brand. The owner is not revealed in records, just the leaseholder.

A leading contender for the property is rumored to be Steph Bittel of Terranova Corp. Terranova Corp is an owner of several retail properties and happens to own several of the surrounding properties. Bittel developed the next door location into a new retail building anchored by Marshalls. They also developed the property across the street into an Anthropologie location. In addition, Bittel sold two office building locations in the area in 2016 for a $49 million dollar profit.

The listing brokers, Sandelin and D’Alba stated they have met with Terranova but have not elaborated further on the state of the deal.