The heat has lenders eager for retail deals, too—a 180-degree turnaround from only a few years ago—with the money flowing to meet the demand among investors. Metro 1 Commercial CEO Tony Cho tells us “The volume of retail acquisitions in Miami is robust right now, particularly in urban areas,” he notes. “There’s been a lot of action from New York buyers lately, and we’re seeing retail filling in around many new development projects in anticipation of new residents.” (New Yorkers don't just like to retire here, they work to make it a healthy, robust, dynamic market... so they can retire here.)

Metro 1 Commercial’s debt and equity division, M1 Capital, recently closed on its first venture finance transaction, a credit facility to provide acquisition and term financing for the buyers of Hibiscus Plaza in Miami’s Palmetto Bay neighborhood. The transaction included a 32k SF main building, 1,730 SF outparcel, a 7,220 SF rentable land parcel and almost three acres of land. M1 Capital’s Alex Rey repped the buyer to secure financing though Mercantil Commercebank.