Miami Beach Retail Property Trades in $4M Deal

By Timea Papp

161 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach

EWM Realty International completed the sale of a 4,987-square-foot commercial property in Miami. Located in the South of Fifth enclave of Miami Beach, the corner site will be converted into an Impact Kitchen restaurant, marking the Toronto-based chain’s first foray into the U.S. market.

Associate Allison Turk of EMW Realty represented the buyer in the transaction, Unitario SB LLC. The property traded for $4.2 million or $832 per square foot. The current owner is affiliated with a Canadian national and co-founder of Impact Kitchen. The seller, 224 Sofi LLC, acquired the building in August 2013 in a $2.2 million deal, public records show.

Located at 161 Washington Ave., the property sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot, boasting 50 feet of prime frontage. Architecture firm Shulman + Associates is overseeing the design of the new restaurant space. Plans include upgrades and contemporary designs, transforming the building’s courtyard area into an outdoor dining venue, as well as installing a new roof trellis and clerestory. These upgrades are meant to bolster the space’s street visibility and provide natural light. The restaurant is scheduled for completion in 2018.

“The seller originally purchased the space in August 2013 for $2.15 million. It remained unoccupied without improvements for the following three and a half years. The subsequent uptick in value is indicative of the neighborhood’s desirability—both as a dining and entertainment destination as well as a homestead for 88,000 permanent Miami Beach residents, and a large and growing contingent of seasonal residents. On top of this, many of Miami-Dade’s permanent, 2.7 million residents are frequent visitors to this famed South Beach neighborhood,” said Turk, in a prepared statement.

Image via Google Street View