The owner of the historic Metro Mall in Miami is moving forward with plans to renovate the vacant downtown building and turn it into a jewelry wholesale and retail center that owners say should rival New York City.
The 225,000-square-foot building at 1 NE 1st St., formerly a Richard’s department store, will feature four floors of merchandise, glass storefronts, escalators and elevators, four floors of offices and valet parking. It is expected to be completed in spring 2021.
Metro Mall is in the city’s jewelry district, which generates more than $1 billion in annual sales, according to owner Time Century Holdings. The New York-based firm is working with Miami architect Kobi Karp to revamp the 94-year-old building acquired by Time Century in 2018 for $14.5 million.
The building is expected to have more than 100 jewelry shops, as well as a cafe, according to Dan Deutsch, managing director of Time Century.
"It's going to be the gateway to the whole jewelry center in that market, and it'll be the No. 2 jewelry market in the country after New York's 47th Street," he said in an interview.
Miami-Dade County has the largest retail development pipeline of any major U.S. metropolitan area, with 2% of the inventory under construction, CoStar data shows. Rent growth has “decelerated dramatically” while vacancies have increased, according to the latest report from CoStar Market Analytics.
“The hefty supply, most of which will hit the market in early 2020, together with the e-commerce tailwinds, will test the market,” the report states.
Still, the local economy, fueled by visitor spending, is expected to continue driving Miami-Dade retail demand, the report notes.
Time Century's Yair Levy is overseeing the Metro Mall renovation. Levy lost properties in the last decade's financial crisis and was found guilty of using a condominium conversion’s reserve fund for personal expenses, leading to a lifetime ban on selling condos and co-ops in New York. He has denied the charges in interviews with New York media.
Levy could not be reached for comment, but he said in a statement that Time Century gutted the Metro Mall to allow for a fresh design.
"I traveled around the world visiting iconic buildings to find inspiration for Metro Mall’s design and finishes," he said. "Our goal has always been to bring the building back to its glory days. Jewelry stores will operate from a state-of-the-art center while shoppers of luxury fine jewelry will have a dazzling experience.”
https://product.costar.com/home/news/656054640
