MIAMI—396 Alhambra Circle is gaining traction in the Coral Gables office market. The new class A two-tower office and retail project just signed 10,000 in new leases. Financial terms were not disclosed. The new leases bring the complex to nearly 50% occupancy.

Banco Pichincha, C.A. signed an 8,950-square-foot lease in the North Tower penthouse while Gables Estates Tax & Advisory Services, P.A., an international accounting and business consultancy, signed a lease for 1,080 square feet on the second floor of the project’s South Tower.

“We were specifically drawn to 396 Alhambra because the floor plan ideally meets our business needs,” Evan Acosta, general manager of Banco Pichincha’s Miami agency, said in a statement. “The floor-to-ceiling glass windows provide for the kind of light and views that are perfectly suited for working together with our clients.”

Danet Linares, David M. Valdez and Andres del Corral of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, represented 396 Alhambra. Tom Capocefalo, Chris Harak and John Esposito from Studley represented Banco Pichincha. Gables Estates did not have a tenant’s agent.

“We have seen activity in Coral Gables pick up,” Linares, executive vice president of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, tells GlobeSt.com. “In the last 90 days, 396 Alhambra has signed close to 90,000 square feet of new leases to four tenants, two of which are new to the Coral Gables market.”
 
In late December 2011, HBO Latin America, the multinational entertainment company, signed a lease to occupy approximately 66,203 rentable square feet, or three full floors in the 15-story North Tower and two adjoining full floors in the seven-story South Tower. The HBO lease at 396 Alhambra was the largest lease signed in Coral Gables in 2011.

“Tech and media companies are all over this building,” Valdez, executive vice president of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, tells GlobeSt.com. “We expect to lease at least two floors to these types of firms by the end of the first quarter. Retail banking companies have also shown a keen interest in the ground floor retail space. We are also looking to attract restaurants that would benefit from this prominent location along Giralda Avenue.”

In addition to HBO Latin America, Banco Pichincha will join Citibank, and the law offices of Richman Greer, which signed a lease for a full floor in the North Tower in December. In the South Tower, Gables Estates Tax Advisory Services will join RTKL, the international architecture firm, and Terra Networks, a Spanish-based multinational Internet company, among other tenants.