MIAMI—Despite coming to market during the commercial real estate crash two years ago, 1450 Brickell is almost full. The Rilea Group’s office tower is now 91% occupied after Blanca Commercial Real Estate brokered another 55,300 square feet on four new leases and an expansion.

“1450 Brickell is quickly emerging as the ‘go-to’ address for international tenants looking to establish a presence in Florida and the U.S.,” Rilea Group CEO Alan Ojeda said in a statement. “At the same time, the tower is a gathering place for Miami’s business and civic community.”

In the past year, 1450 Brickell has hosted First Lady Laura Bush, U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, University of Miami president Donna Shalala, investor Sam Zell, and others. The newest tenants to the 530,000-square-foot office tower are Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra,  Lyoness America, and Miami International Holdings. Bilzin Sumberg also signed an expansion.
 
1450 Brickell stands out for its modern design features, LEED Gold certification and construction quality. The building is fabricated with above code large-missile impact glass from top-to-bottom, making its exterior curtain wall window system one of the strongest in the nation. The tower also sports an above code backup generator that can power tenants’ basic electric needs during outages.

“The quality of the building and ownership helped us attract the right anchor tenants that would serve as the magnets for other strong tenants,” Tere Blanca, president and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, the building’s exclusive leasing agent, tells GlobeSt.com. “Having these legal and financial firms in the building creates more activity for corporate users that want to be exposed to these industries.”

1450 Brickell has completed 23 leases with new-to-market users, accounting for 49% of the building’s current tenant roster. In the newest batch of leases, Lyoness America and Miami International Holdings are new-to-market tenants, meaning their leases will result in positive absorption for the Downtown Miami/Brickell office market.

“1450 Brickell has been particularly successful in attracting premium tenants from outside the market,” says Blanca. “Of the 47 tenants we’ve signed to date, nearly half are new to the South Florida area. 1450 Brickell’s ability to draw top tier, new to market tenants solidifies the building’s standing as a bellwether of Miami’s emergence as one of the top business destinations in the Americas.”
 
Blanca and Danet Linares of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented landlord 1450 Brickell, LLC and Rilea Group in the transactions; Barbara Liberatore Black and Matthew Goodman of CresaPartners represented Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra and Bilzin Sumberg; Ilan Neuwirth of Rent One Sale One Realty represented Lyoness America; and Jeb Bush, Jr. of Jeb Bush and Associates, LLC represented Miami International Holdings.