Wells Fargo Grants $103M Financing for Miami TOD

By Keith Loria

Rendering of MiamiCentral

Florida East Coast Industries has received $103 million in financing from Wells Fargo for MiamiCentral, a new transit-oriented development in Miami that will be the first of its kind in the area.

The development consists of 2 MiamiCentral, a 10-story, 190,000-square-foot Class A tower which is scheduled for completion this month; and 3 MiamiCentral, a 130,000-square-foot mixed-use building containing Class A office, parking and retail space that opened in December. The latter is currently 95 percent leased. Both buildings are connected to the recently-opened Brightline inter-city express passenger train.

“The two office buildings were the first new multi-tenanted buildings to be built in the area this cycle, and the competitive advantages of the latest building technologies, such as floor to ceiling windows for allowance of natural light into the office and the new collaborative workspace design were very appealing from a financing perspective,” Patrick Ramge, Wells Fargo’s senior vice president with its commercial real estate group, told Commercial Property Executive. “Additionally, the tie in to the MiamiCentral train station and the new Brightline train system in our minds increased the potential tenant base from solely Miami-centric to the entire South Florida region.”

3 MiamiCentral

Brightline’s Phase 1 service is the first privately owned, operated and maintained inter-city express passenger rail service in the U.S., and connects those at MiamiCentral with Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and is expected to one day connect to the Orlando International Airport. 

In addition to the Brightline train, the development is also connected to the Miami-Dade Metro Rail and the City of Miami MetroMover.

Florida East Coast Industries is a 100-plus-year-old company that has owned the existing rail line and the adjacent real estate since Henry Flagler founded the company in 1892. “Although the concept of transit-oriented development is relatively new to Florida, we believed in the project and we wanted to support our customer, Florida East Coast Industries, in its transformational project,” Ramge added.

A thriving downtown

MiamiCentral’s location is on the northwest edge of Downtown Miami and abuts the Overtown area. According to Ramge, the development will reshape downtown Miami by connecting the new Brightline inter-city passenger rail service with office, retail and multifamily residential space, as well as other forms of transit. 

“Historically, the only office development in this area was as part of the Government Center complex with various courthouses and municipal agencies,” Ramge said. “Combined with the Miami World Center project taking shape immediately east, the transit-oriented development provided the right kind of spark to attract tenants to office space in this location and redefine Downtown Miami.”

Images courtesy of Florida East Coast Industries