MIAMI-Presidente Supermarket has inked a five-year lease for the 21,385-sf anchor retail location at Biscayne Plaza, which totals 346,742-sf that is split 80% retail and 20% office. The center, which was built in 1955, is located at the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and NE 79th Street.

The Presidente unit is taking the space formerly occupied by GFS Marketplace and will open in late 2006. Locally based President Supermarkets Inc. opened its first store here in 1990 at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and Fifth Street. The Biscayne Plaza unit will be its ninth Presidente brand unit in Miami. The company also operates the Tropical Supermarket brand.

Trish Blasi, president of Miami Beach-based Terranova Corp., who represented the owner in the negotiations, calls the addition of the Hispanic-oriented Presidente unit "a great match for the community." Among the other tenants at Biscayne Plaza are Big Lots, Payless Shoe Source, Radio Shack and Foot Locker.

The value of the lease is undisclosed. According to third-quarter 2005 data from Terranova, the average asking retail rental rate in this East Central Miami-Dade submarket is $18.04 per sf. The research shows the rate represents an 18.5% increase, up from $15.23 per sf at this time a year ago.