Oak Row Equities has acquired a downtown Miami parcel for $38.5 million in an off-market transaction and plans to build a 45-story multifamily tower called First & Fifth. 

Oak Row Equities, a real estate investment and development firm with offices in New York and Miami, acquired the property at 49 NW 5th St.

Colliers’ Mika Mattingly and Cecilia Estevez alongside Vincent Pastore of Pastore and Associates represented the seller in the transaction.

Oak Row Equities plans to build First & Fifth at the site. Designed by ODP architects, the tower will comprise 700,000 square feet of space with 500 luxury multifamily units. Unit mix and asking rental rates were not disclosed. The developer plans to preserve parts of the original 1925-built structure with its Venetian-inspired architectural influence.

The new tower will be located next door to MiamiCentral station, where Miami’s four mass-transit options — Brightline, Tri-Rail, Metrorail and Metromover — all connect. Downtown Miami has seen a swathe of new developments fueled by heightened demand for living in Miami’s urban core where not owning a car is more feasible.

Miami ranks eighth globally for traffic congestion, according to traffic data company INRIX’s latest rankings. The gridlock has prompted a boom in traffic-oriented development and driven leaders to explore expanded mass-transit options. 

"First & Fifth exemplifies our thesis that the ability to live, work, and play within a short walk or train ride will become critical to a renter's decision process in South Florida," said Erik Rutter, managing partner at Oak Row Equities, in a prepared statement.

Downtown Miami’s asking rents have increased as a result of the mass-transit options. In the past five years, over 30% of Miami’s renter demand has been concentrated in downtown Miami. Market asking rents in downtown command a 21% premium compared to the wider Miami market, according to CoStar data.