Mastercard Renews Miami Office Lease

801 Brickell. Image courtesy of Nuveen Real Estate

Nuveen Real Estate has signed Mastercard International to a 53,700-square-foot lease renewal at 801 Brickell in Miami, ensuring that the global payment technology solutions company stays put at the iconic 415,000-square-foot building that has been its home since 1986.

With the assistance of Colliers South Florida, landlord Nuveen negotiated a long-term agreement with Mastercard at the premier property.

Standing 28 stories above the center of the city’s Brickell financial district, 801 Brickell first opened its doors in 1984. Nuveen has owned the prestigious tower since acquiring it in 2002, when the asset was known as One Brickell Square and Nuveen was operating as TIAA-CREF.

Since taking on ownership, Nuveen has maintained the luster of the impressive Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed property with regular improvements. As a result, the building has been able to sustain a roster of long-standing tenants like Mastercard and a solid occupancy level. Today, even in the challenging pandemic-era office market, 801 Brickell is 88 percent leased.

“801 Brickell is able to retain tenants for long periods of time by continuing to invest in the building to ensure it accommodates the evolving needs of tenants and their employees,” Stephen Rutchik, executive managing director with Colliers, told Commercial Property Executive.

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Rutchik points to 801 Brickell’s new tenant lounge and conference center, which are in the process of being completed, as are a new fitness center and renovated lobby, all of which are part of a multimillion-dollar property transformation program. The renovation comes on the heels of the recently completed refurbishment of the striking exterior, where touches of pale green glass, white marble, stainless steel and a ground-level oculus window combine to create a dazzling façade.

“The continued investment has allowed 801 Brickell to maintain its status as a true Class A building located on ‘main and main’ on Brickell, affording its tenants the best amenities that Brickell has to offer,” Rutchik added. Tom Farmer, managing director with Colliers, joined Rutchik in the representation of Nuveen in the lease transaction with Mastercard. Tony Jones, executive managing director with Cushman & Wakefield, represented the tenant.

High-end wins

Miami’s office sector ended 2021 on the upswing. New leasing activity totaled more than 2.7 million square feet for the year, marking a 115 percent increase over 2020 and a 6 percent increase over the pre-pandemic days of 2019, according to a fourth quarter 2021 report by Cushman & Wakefield. Additionally, the flight to quality trend persisted, with Class A space accounting for 1.8 million square feet of the new leasing activity, marking the highest annual amount on record in the last 15 years.

The Brickell submarket fared particularly well in 2021, and its good fortune has gone unchanged year-to-date. “Demand continues to exceed supply, resulting in increasing occupancy levels and rental rates, which we forecast to continue through 2022,” Rutchik noted.