Miami

Miami-based brokerage and advisory firm Blanca Commercial Real Estate has recently expanded its leasing portfolio to 2.5 million square feet by adding Miami’s Courthouse Tower and 8200 Doral. “We are delighted to expand our agency leasing portfolio with the addition of Courthouse Tower and 8200 Doral,” said Tere Blanca, President and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate.

Adding to the list of nearly 20 new or expanded stores planned in the next couple of years across South Florida, the Miami-Dade County Community Zoning Appeals Board green-lighted Walmart’s plans of building a Supercenter in Northwest Miami-Dade. Set at NW 32 Ave and 79 Street, the new retail center will activate a vacant site that has not been developed in over a decade.

In what seems to be Florida’s largest retail acquisition of 2012, Terranova Corporation and Acadia Realty Trust paid $139 million for a three-building portfolio on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. This addition of 801, 826, and 719 Lincoln Road to the Terranova/Acadia portfolio makes them the largest pure retail owner on the street.

The yet-to-be-completed 231-room Hilton Cabana Miami Beach will soon have new owners, as RLJ Lodging Trust has recently announced that it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the property upon completion for $71.6 million.

Another Related Group apartment development could rise at the intersection of Coral Way and South Miami Avenue, as the company recently closed on the $18.5 million purchase of a 1.29-acre mixed-use development site. The site is approved for the development of a 556-unit residential tower plus 15,049 square feet of retail space and 38,357 square feet of office space.

Simon Property Group has selected Miami-based Blanca Commercial Real Estate as the exclusive agent for 100,000 square feet of space that will be re-purposed for office, medical and related uses at the Shops at Sunset Place.

Behringer Harvard’s 560-unit Parrot’s Landing recently changed ownership, as a Toronto-based real estate investment recently paid $56.3 million for the North Lauderdale property. The Boca Raton office of ARA brokered the sale of Parrot’s Landing, which was managed by a team including Avery Klann, Marc deBaptiste and Hampton Beebe.

Over 200 low-income residents will now benefit from affordable housing, as a brand new affordable housing complex recently opened its doors in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.