Located at the crossroads of the Central Business District and the mile-long stretch of commerce along Las Olas Boulevard, SunTrust Center is a rare asset to come to market.

MIAMI—SunTrust Center, Steelbridge Capital's most recent acquisition, is set to undergo renovations and rebranding at a scale unseen during this economic cycle. Steelbridge paid $86.5 million for the 270,000-square-foot two building office and retail complex in June.

Cushman & Wakefield's office leasing team of executive director Travis Herring, executive director Deanna Lobinsky, director Katherine Ridgway and associate Chase Kulp will assist Steelbridge in rebranding, reintroducing and marketing the renowned Fort Lauderdale office complex. SunTrust Center is in Downtown Fort Lauderdale' Las Olas Boulevard.

For starters, Steelbridge will rename the iconic asset Las Olas Square. Currently, Las Olas Square includes the SunTrust Center at Las Olas Square, a 17-story office tower at 515 East Las Olas Boulevard, and 501 at Las Olas Square, a three-story office and retail building at 501 East Las Olas Boulevard.

“We are taking what was good and returning it to great,” Steelbridge managing principal Michael Manno tells GlobeSt.com. “Las Olas Square will once again represent the best of what Las Olas has to offer—great restaurants, modern office spaces and, of course, spectacular views of the Atlantic, New River and surrounding CBD.”

Fort Lauderdale-based Threshold Landscape Architecture, with inspiration from the likes of urban community spaces such as Copley Square and Quincy Market in Boston and Union Square and Rockefeller Center in New York, is leading the design charge. This urban square, with seating and Wi-Fi, will serve as a park-like setting with seating for tenants of Las Olas Square, as well as anticipated future cafés and ground floor restaurant spaces.

Extensive improvements are also being planned at 501 at Las Olas Square, which served as the regional headquarters for SunTrust Bank since the early 1970s until Steelbridge acquired the asset. Coral Gables-based EofA has been engaged to completely redesign the three-story office property into a boutique style mixed-use building.

Plans call for replacing the Brutalist-style concrete exterior in favor of a contemporary, all-impact glass exterior that offers improved visibility and natural light. A new lobby, as well as all new interiors, mechanical and life-safety systems are also in the works.

SunTrust Bank will maintain a branch in a portion of the ground floor, leaving about 8,000 square feet of prime retail space fronting Las Olas Boulevard. This building offers 18-foot ceiling heights and, along with seating in the central square. Miami Beach's Comras Company has been retained to specifically market the restaurant/retail space in 501 at Las Olas Square.

“Upon completion of the multimillion- dollar renovation of 501 at Las Olas Square, this building will offer the most modern, creative and high-end office space delivered on Las Olas since 2002,” says Jay Caplin, managing principal of Steelbridge. SunTrust Center at Las Olas Square will also receive significant common area and lobby renovations. CallisonRTKL will lead the redesign of the lobby, amenities and common areas with a focus on providing a timeless, contemporary design that is unlike any of the other nearby class A office assets on Las Olas Boulevard. Improvements to Las Olas Square are scheduled to begin in April 2017.

“This is a great example of new urbanism real estate,” says Gavin Campbell, managing principal at Steelbridge. “Las Olas has for some time needed a central community plaza that supports its emerging status as a 24-hour downtown, and we are delighted to provide that.”

Instant Insights /

Las Olas Office Building Seeing Unprecedented Scale Shift

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