New York-based R&B Realty Group has topped off The Gateway at Wynwood, one of the first Class A office buildings of this scale to rise in this robust neighborhood, and Miami’s newest office market. The general contractor Plaza Construction poured the roof of the 13-story building in November, ahead of schedule. The building will be completed in the second half of 2021.
The Gateway at Wynwood, located on the border of the iconic Wynwood and Midtown neighborhoods, will offer about 195,000 square feet of leasable Class A office space and nearly 25,900 square feet of prime street-level retail space. Designed by renowned Architect Kobi Karp, the environmentally-responsible, 460,000-square-foot building boasts flexible floorplans, a private rooftop terrace, floor-to-ceiling windows, 24/7 on-site security, and 2:1,000 on-site covered parking.
“This is one of the most important moments in the construction of a commercial project, especially as we are ahead of schedule amidst the pandemic,” said Shelby Rosenberg, Principal of R&B Realty Group. “We are excited to see The Gateway at Wynwood is a step closer to reality. Our project will contribute to the transformation of Wynwood into a 15-minute city, where people can access their office, home, the grocery store, restaurants, and more within a 15 minute walk. We want to thank the city, the area’s stakeholders, our construction and design team, and all our partners for trusting us and helping The Gateway at Wynwood reach this important milestone.”
"Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has posed across our industry, we are proud to have been able to reach this milestone on time and without incident,” said Brad Meltzer, president of Plaza Construction. " We prioritized the health and safety of all stakeholders with great success, and we look forward to continuing to deliver exemplary construction services to the South Florida market and beyond."
R&B Realty’s vision for Wynwood has helped fuel a new office submarket in Miami, creating competition for more established office markets such as downtown Miami, Brickell, Aventura and Coral Gables. Already, several big-name companies have made Wynwood their home, including Spotify, Live Nation and WeWork. Other companies looking at the area include Apple Music, Google, Dentsu and other creative marketing agencies.
“We are actively engaged with prospective tenants that are attracted to Wynwood because of its ‘live, work, play’ environment,” said Stephen Rutchik, Colliers International Florida’s Executive Managing Director | Office Services, who handles office leasing for The Gateway at Wynwood. “This area has become a mecca for art, food, and entertainment just north of downtown Miami. While a few companies are hesitant to sign new leases just now, they do know exactly where they want to be … and that is Wynwood. We expect many of the deals in the pipeline for The Gateway at Wynwood will come to fruition as we get closer to completing the building later next year.”
The Gateway at Wynwood is located minutes away from downtown Miami, Aventura and Miami Beach as well as Brightline’s Miami Central, Miami International Airport and PortMiami – the cruise capital of the world. Strategically located near Interstate 95, The Gateway at Wynwood can be easily accessed from Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to the north. The Gateway at Wynwood is also bordered by the Wynwood Arts District, Midtown Miami, Edgewater and the Miami Design District, which are among South Florida’s fastest-growing residential and commercial destinations.
“There are many unique characteristics of the building that will offer a great flair to the neighborhood,” adds Taras Diakiwski, Managing Principal of Modern Building Group, the Project’s Construction Manager and Owner’s Representative. “The entire team looks forward to continuing to push the schedule to an on time or early completion while building safely and ensuring the highest level of quality.”
While the area has seen significant change over the past five years, the next five years will bring even greater change as new construction is underway that will aid in Wynwood’s evolution. In the next few years, the total supply of buildings in the Wynwood area is projected to increase by 35% to around 5.3 million square feet, based on projects under construction and in the planning stages.
With the continued growth of the multifamily market, there will be an increased demand for office space. The full-time population in Wynwood will increase by 1,206 persons based on delivery of 464 units under a market average of 2.6 persons per household. At the same time, the population in the nearby greater downtown Miami area has grown significantly in recent years. Greater Downtown's population was 92,235 people in 2018, and the Downtown Development Authority estimates the population has increased by nearly 3,700 people since 2016, about 4% growth in two years. This equates to over 1,500 people moving to Downtown a year. That’s important because people, especially decision-makers, like their offices to be close to their homes. Wynwood is the perfect office submarket for them to move their offices to. There is a direct correlation between the area’s population’s growth and the rise of Wynwood as an office submarket.
Colliers International’s Stephen Rutchik and Tom Farmer are handling office leasing for the project, and CBRE’s Alex Cesar and Drew Schaul are handling retail leasing.
About R&B Realty Group
R&B Realty Group is a family-owned real estate investment, management and development firm with assets in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. Chairman Aron Rosenberg founded the company in 1998. Under his leadership, R&B Realty’s portfolio grew from a 40,000-square-foot warehouse in Irvington, New Jersey, to more than 1 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and mixed-use developments along the Eastern seaboard. The family-owned company has found a niche repositioning well-located commercial assets and pursuing in-fill redevelopment opportunities that add value to up-and-coming neighborhoods in major US markets. R&B Realty is building nearly 500,000 square feet of office and retail space in South Florida’s trendy Midtown Miami, Design District and Wynwood neighborhoods in addition to owning and managing retail properties in the region. The company also owns a 260,000-square-foot office complex in Jacksonville, and owns and manages over 300,000 square feet of commercial and industrial real estate in the Northeastern United States with over 50 tenants.
