MIAMI—Miami's is prime stomping ground for retail landlords. Of course, you already know that.

What you might not know is that Miami retail posted the third-lowest vacancy rate in the United States for the last quarter of 2014, according to JLL. That puts the Magic City on par with the Big Apple. The market experienced strong rent growth quarter-over-quarter and 10.6% growth year-over-year—and there's no slowdown in sight.

Against this backdrop, JLL added Aileen Messinger, a seasoned retail industry professional, to its team. Messinger joins JLL as vice president of Retail Brokerage and will be based in the firm's Brickell office.

“We've been aggressively growing our retail practice during the last year, and added nine brokers in Florida in the past 18 months,” John Lambert, Florida Retail Market Lead at JLL, tells GlobeSt.com. JLL currently has over 100 retail professionals in Florida and plans to grow the practice in key markets across the state, including South Florida.

Messinger brings nearly 15 years of retail experience to the firm, working for landlords, and most recently, with Starbucks Coffee Company. In her new role, she is responsible for agency leasing and building JLL's landlord representation business in South Florida, as well as select tenant representation work throughout the region. She specializes in lifestyle centers, grocery-anchored centers and high-street retail.

“South Florida retail rents continue to climb upward while vacancy contracts, creating a market that's even more favorable to landlords,” says Lambert. “Adding Aileen to our brokerage team will allow JLL to better advise our clients on securing the best tenants and leases for their properties. Her experience and relationships with South Florida's top retail landlords will provide a huge advantage in the expansion of our landlord leasing practice.”

Messinger joins from the Starbucks Coffee Company in Coral Gables, FL, where she was store development manager and responsible for executing the retailer's real estate market strategy for the southern half of Florida. She began her career as a leasing associate for Terranova Corp. in Miami and held other roles with national and institutional landlords including Weingarten Realty and Equity One, overseeing over 7 million square feet of shopping centers throughout her career.