Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex (the global fashion group behind Zara) has expanded his south Florida holdings. Through his family investment office, Ponte Gadea USA, Ortega acquired the Sabadell Financial Center — a 30-story office tower at 1111 Brickell Ave. in Miami’s Brickell district — for $274.4 million.

The deal, brokered by CBRE’s Chris Lee and Sean Kelly on behalf of sellers KKR & Co. and Parkway, is the largest office transaction in south Florida this year, ahead of the $221 million Bank of America tower trade at Las Olas City Centre and the $208 million sale of Las Olas Centre I and II in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Sabadell Financial Center was built in 2000 and renamed in 2010 after its main tenant. A $10 million renovation in 2020 upgraded the lobby and entrance; added a 26,000-square-foot amenity deck; and created 18,000 square feet of outdoor green space for yoga and fitness. The 523,000-square-foot tower includes 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail leased to Carrot Express and Vice City Bean. It houses office tenants such as Sabadell United Bank, Telefonica USA, Morgan Stanley, Industrious and Baker McKenzie.

At about $525 per square foot, the Sabadell sale fits with Miami’s bifurcated office market, where newer, amenity-rich buildings near transit achieve top rents and occupancy while older stock lags. Ortega’s purchase price more than doubled the metro average of $250 per square foot, underscoring the premium placed on prime Brickell assets.

Miami Tops Southern Metros in Office Sale Prices & Rents

Through August, office properties in Miami sold for an average of $250 per square foot — the highest rate among Southern metros, according to Yardi research data. Overall sales volume through the same period was, at $296 million year-to-date, trailing powerhouses like Dallas ($1.5B) and Washington, D.C. ($3.1B)

Miami also led the South in asking rents: The metro’s full-service equivalent listing rate reached $55.77 per square foot in August — up 8.8% year-over-year. Meanwhile, vacancy stood at 14.3%, compared with 18.7% nationally, and remains well below Austin, Texas, (26.5%) and Dallas (22.4%).