Century-Old Business Exits Downtown Miami

MIAMI—A century-old business is leaving the urban core and heading to Hialeah. Cromer Company, a wholesaler specializing in resort apparel like T-shirts, beach towels, flip flops, and cover ups, is exiting Downtown Miami to make room for the Miami WorldCenter development.

Cromer inked a long-term lease for 26,000 square feet at 9800 Northwest 78th Avenue in Hialeah Gardens, FL. CBRE senior vice president Mike Silver arranged the lease on behalf of the tenant.    

“This property provides Cromer the ideal location and environment in which to further grow its century-old wholesale business, with the added convenience and efficiency of a modern industrial facility,” says Silver. Cromer had operated out of a Downtown Miami warehouse at 55 Northeast 7th Street since 1957.

“As one of Miami's oldest family-run businesses, we're excited for this new chapter in our history,” says Daniel Cromer, CEO of Cromer. “While we'll miss  being in Downtown Miami , the more modern warehouse space fits our needs better and we're excited for the incredible transformation to the city that the Miami WorldCenter development will bring.”

In 2013, Cromer sold its property and adjacent parcels of land—a 60,000-square-foot lot—to the developers of Miami WorldCenter for $16 million. The company leased back its  warehouse. Now that lease is expiring, and the company is relocating to a new facility in Hialeah Gardens, 52,000-square-foot multitenant building with 20-foot clear ceiling heights and dock-height loading, on Sept. 1.

Downtown Miami never in recent times experienced such a wave of development around it, he says, and that's why you are seeing a lot of long-time, multi-generational owners sell their properties now. So says Alex Zylberglait, Marcus & Millichap's senior vice president of Investments.

“They recognize it is right time to sell and let a new generation of investors and visionaries take Miami's historic downtown to the next level,” Zylberglait says. “I am sure many of them never thought their properties could be worth so much. At the same time, it is a good time to buy in Downtown Miami because values will continue to rise, especially as the large mixed-use projects around it begin to take shape.”