R&B Realty’s Miami Spec Project Moves Forward

Gateway at Wynwood. Rendering courtesy of 3650 REIT

R&B Realty Group has bagged a $76 million bridge loan for the construction of a speculative Class A office building in Miami’s hot Wynwood neighborhood. The project, Gateway at Wynwood, is slated to open in the second half of 2021, providing around 220,000 square feet of office accommodation plus 25,900 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Balance-sheet lender 3650 REIT originated the non-recourse financing, which has a three-year duration with extension options. Senior Managing Director Charles Foschini and Managing Director Chris Apone of Berkadia’s Miami office arranged the loan.

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Located at the heavily trafficked intersection of North Miami and NW 29^th St., the development site is bordered by the Wynwood Arts District, Midtown, Edgewater and the Design District, just north of downtown and within easy reach of the beach.

The project’s office component “is well positioned to attract creative, technology, and other professional services firms seeking space in Miami’s creative Wynwood neighborhood and proximity to Midtown Miami and Interstate 195,” 3650 REIT Co-Founder and Managing Partner Jonathan Roth noted to Commercial Property Executive.

The retail portion, he added, is geared toward food and beverage and personal services tenants seeking space at the high-profile intersection, within walking distance to Midtown and Wynwood’s eclectic mix of retail users.

Not all fun and games

“Miami has had very little commercial new construction compared to past cycles,” Foschini told Commercial Property Executive. “The influx of multifamily and the success of the retail in the Wynwood area has really created a live and play environment without the work. By adding the office, you can really have a 24-hour community where you can live and work in one self-contained area.”

Designed by Kobi Karp Architecture, Gateway at Wynwood can accommodate both single and multiple tenants, featuring roughly 27,700 square feet of office space on each floor. The 12-story building will include seven office floors and four parking floors in addition to the ground-level retail floor. The site is ready for foundation work and vertical construction to begin, R&B Reality announced. Plaza Construction is the contractor.

New York-based developer R&B Realty assembled the 1.1-acre site in 2016 and later tore down the neglected automotive building on the parcel. The company, which has a portfolio of more than 1 million square feet of commercial developments along the eastern seaboard, specializes in repositioning and infill redevelopment opportunities.