MetLife Inks 128 KSF Renewal at Miami Office Tower

Wells Fargo Center rises 47 stories in Miami’s CBD. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

MetLife Real Estate Investment has secured a 128,450-square-foot lease renewal at Wells Fargo Center in Miami, as law firm Greenberg Traurig committed to the same five-floor space for the next five years, according to the Commercial Observer. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction on behalf of the landlord.

A tenant at the building since 2010, Greenberg Traurig currently occupies the largest law office in the city. The renewal marks the largest office leasing deal in the Miami central business district in recent years, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

A Class A office tower in Miami’s CBD

A joint venture between MetLife and MDM Development built the Class A, 752,488-square-foot office building as the second phase of Metropolitan Miami, a $1 billion mixed-use project that also included two residential towers and an entertainment complex. In 2011, MetLife became the sole owner of the high-rise—known back then as Met 2—that had come online one year before.

Rising 47 stories at 333 SE Second Ave., Wells Fargo Center is Energy Star and LEED Gold certified and features a tenant lounge, fitness center, in-building dining and modern telecommunication systems. The owner invested $4 million in property renovations in 2018.

Wells Fargo Bank has been anchoring the building since 2010. Other tenants include Insight Global, GrayRobinson, Savills, Allertech Laboratories and Cushman & Wakefield, according to CommercialEdge data.

At 93 percent occupancy, Wells Fargo Center has seen more than 250,000 square feet of leases in the last nine months. One of those deals, a 101,000-square-foot commitment by IT and security management software company Kaseya, was one of the most significant lease signings in Miami this year.

READ ALSO: Mixed-Use Development Bolsters Miami Office Pipeline

Tenants have immediate access to nearby dining, retail and entertainment venues throughout downtown Miami, while Interstate 95, the Metrorail and the Metro Mover provide several transportation options.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Brian Gale, Ryan Holtzman, Andrew Trench and Edward Quinon led the leasing transaction for MetLife. The same team brokered the Kaseya lease in March.

The Miami office market recorded a 12.8 percent vacancy rate as of July, according to a recent CommercialEdge report, marking a 150-basis-point increase over the year. However, the rate was 4.3 percent lower than the national average of 17.1 percent.