As demand from new-to-market firms heats up in South Florida, Helm Equities is beefing up its plan for a giant office and retail project in the Miami Design District, six years after acquiring the development site.
The New York-based real estate firm and its partner, the Gindi family, are proposing a $300 million mixed-use complex spanning 500,000 square feet called Parterre 42, according to a press release. The office component will have 320,000 square feet, along with 40,000 square feet of retail.
Spanning an entire city block, the five-story Parterre 42 will feature floor plates between 70,000 to 86,000 square feet on each floor, 13-foot ceiling heights and 360-degree views of Biscayne Bay and the downtown Miami skyline, the release states. The complex, designed by New York-based COOKFOX Architects, will also have 80,000 square feet of outdoor space dispersed across all floors, including private office terraces and a rooftop event space.
In 2016, after the joint venture paid $12.7 million for the property at 4201 Northeast Second Avenue, Helm Equities and Gindi initially planned a 325,000-square-foot project built in phases, starting with 100,000-square feet of office space and 75,000 square feet of retail. The development site was formerly a Seventh Day Adventist Church that was torn down in 2015, according to published reports.
Helm Equities and the Gindi family tapped a CBRE team led by Paul Amrich and Neil King to market the office side of the building, the release states. Founded in 2008 as an affiliate of JEMB Realty, Helm Equities is led by principal Ayal Horovits.
Brothers Eli and Jeffrey Gindi are co-founders and principals of Gindi Capital, a family holding company that actively invests in commercial real estate as well as consumer products, according to the firm’s website. The Gindi family also co-founded discount department store chain Century 21.
With office leasing activity booming in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, developers are looking to capitalize with new Class A projects. In March, Miami Design District developer Craig Robins and his partners L Catterton Real Estate and Brookfield Properties jumped into the fray with plans to build a 15-story office building at 30 Northeast 39th Street, called The Ursa.
In June, Citadel’s billionaire founder Ken Griffin announced he is relocating his hedge fund’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami. Citadel is partnering with Chicago-based Sterling Bay to build a new office tower in Brickell Bay, but a site has not been officially identified.
In 2020, Sterling Bay completed its first Miami project, 545 Wyn, a 285,000-square-foot office and retail building in Miami’s Wynwood.
