SBS Tower Recovers With Leases for 43,220 SF

Rental rates for the 294,000 sf of office space at SBS Tower are between $29 per sf and $33 per sf, depending on location, according to Tony Puente, VP of the Miami office of CB Richard Ellis.

Puente and Richard Bamonte, also a CBRE VP, handle leasing for Irradio Holdings, the building owner. "Over the last two years, the vacancy rate in the Coconut Grove submarket has tripled due to a combination of some tenant migration to other submarkets and large blocks of retail space now being marketed for office use," Puente says. During that period, SBS Tower lost two major tenants to Coral Gables, Puente tells GlobeSt.com, "because there was no building here to accommodate their expansion needs."

First-quarter leasing activity signals strong tenant interest in the building, Puente says. Occupancy now stands at 75%, and he says negotiations for a significant renewal and expansion to 45,000 sf are in the final stage. Bamonte adds that "despite softer conditions, rents continue to remain stable."

Teremark Worldwide extended its lease for 16,869 sf. Everest Capital Inc., represented by John de Olazarra of Banks de Olazarra Properties Group, extended for 9,292 sf. Brava LLC, represented by Tony Jones of CB Richard Ellis, extended for 5,740 sf. The law firm of Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial LLC, represented by Richard Schuchts of Codina Realty Services, inked a new lease for 4,992 sf. TCN Network leased 4,672 sf, and Key Realty Advisors expanded to 4,963 sf in the building. Existing tenants include Oppenheimer & Co., which leased 14,633 sf in late 2004; Spanish Broadcasting System; and Bermello, Ajamil & Partners.

SBS Tower is a 320,000-sf complex overlooking Biscayne Bay with 21 floors of office space above 16 residential townhouse units and a 1,097-space covered parking garage. It includes an on-site café, health facility and visitor valet parking.