FC Barcelona Moves North American HQ To Miami: The South Florida Deal Sheet
The longtime club home of soccer superstar Lionel Messi is following its franchise icon to Miami.
FC Barcelona is moving its North American headquarters to Miami 10 years after opening its inaugural U.S. office on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
The club, where Messi played for 17 years starting as a teenager, signed a 2,410 SF lease for a prebuilt suite at CP Group's 38-story One Biscayne Tower in Downtown Miami, according to a release.
Blanca Commercial Real Estate’s Nicole Kaiser represented the tenant. The move comes two months ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup kickoff, a tournament in which Miami is playing a starring role and Messi's country, Argentina, is defending champion.
Joining FCB as new tenants at One Biscayne are parking management and operations company Reimagined Parking, which signed a 3K SF lease, and Miami-based law firm Levey & Associates, which leased 3,130 SF and is relocating from Miami Beach. Drummond Advisors and wealth management firm Kirkwood also agreed to move to the building.
In addition to the new tenants, CP Group signed Goldberg & Rosen and global shipping company CMA CGM to renewals of 13K SF and 20K SF, respectively.
Juan Ruiz and Alex Marquez of Blanca CRE repped CP Group in the new leases, while Cushman & Wakefield's Andrew Trench worked on the renewals.
CP Group, Rialto Capital Management and Sabal Capital Partners purchased the 692K SF One Biscayne tower for $221M in 2021.
LEASES
Miami is moving its City Hall office from the Pan American Airways building in Coconut Grove to the nearly finished Miami Freedom Park stadium district, the Miami Herald reported.
The new administration building at the site will include City Hall functions, the mayor's and commissioners' offices, and commission chambers. It is expected to be fully operational by 2028.
The city's offices have been at the Pan Am building since 1954. No plans for the historic building have been publicly discussed.
The Miami Police Department is also reportedly discussing moving its headquarters to the Miami Freedom Park site by the Miami International Airport.
The $1B Miami Freedom Park is a 131-acre mixed-use campus anchored by Nu Stadium, which will be the home field of the Inter Miami soccer club and its superstar, Messi, this season.
SALES
An entity tracing to Ultimate Equity, led by David Sedaghati, sold nearly 2 acres of commercial land that are being considered for 36-story mixed-use towers to Gary Krat for $54M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
The site at 520 to 594 NW 26th St. and 2401 NW Sixth Ave. comprises 64K SF of commercial buildings built in the 1950s.
Sedaghati, owner of Ultimate Shoes, proposed the Ultimate Wynwood project in 2024, the South Florida Business Journal reported at the time. He planned to leverage the Live Local Act, which allows developers to surpass local controls as long as they dedicate 40% of their projects to residents making up to 120% of the area median income.
Ultimate Wynwood was planned to include more than 1M SF with 1,300 apartments, 21K SF of commercial space and 1,099 parking spaces across two buildings.
***
Blackstone’s industrial arm, Link Logistics, purchased a 623K SF industrial park from an affiliate of Clarion Partners for $163M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
The four-building park at 2510 W. Copans Road in Pompano Beach was built between 1999 and 2001.
The property more than doubled in value from its last sale, when Clarion bought it for $77M in 2016.
***
An affiliate of Seagis Property Group purchased a 200K SF warehouse in Medley for $48M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
The seller was an entity linked to Intradeco Apparel, which makes and distributes clothing for brands like Fruit of the Loom. The building at 9500 NW 108th Ave. was built in 2001.
***
An affiliate of Bell Partners sold a 250-unit apartment complex in Plantation to entities linked to Maxx Properties for $70M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
The acquisition was financed with a $55M Fannie Mae loan originated with CBRE.
The Ellery at 6901 W. Sunrise Blvd., formerly Bell at Plantation, spans seven buildings. Units range from one to three bedrooms. Residents have access to amenities like a yoga and boxing studio, an enclosed dog park, a playground, a movie theater and a coffee bar, according to its website.
***
Entities linked to the Reuben Brothers and Crown Onyx purchased The Esplanade in Palm Beach for $200M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
The seller, an affiliate of O’Connor Capital Partners, acquired the property in 2014 for $106M, according to property records.
The shopping center at 150 Worth Ave., which features shops like Carolina Herrera, Emilio Pucci and Hublot, was built in 1979. The buyers plan to renovate the property, The Real Deal reported.
MILESTONES
The first residential offering at the Nora District in West Palm Beach launched sales, according to a release.
The Ronto Group is developing Nora House in partnership with Nora District developers NDT Development, Place Projects and Wheelock Street Capital.
The 11-story project is planned to include 117 condos and nearly 19K SF of retail on the ground floor. The two-to-four-bedroom units are between 1,500 SF and 2,900 SF. The units with terraces can be up to 6,700 SF. Units start at $1M.
Nora House at 105 N. Dixie Highway will feature a rooftop bar, yoga lawn, pickleball courts, bowling alley, golf simulator and game lounge. The developers plan to break ground in mid-2027 and finish the project by 2029.
PEOPLE
Portman hired Ian Slavin as a Boca Raton-based vice president of residential development with a focus on multifamily opportunities in Florida, according to a release.
Slavin will oversee sourcing, acquisition, entitlements, financing, design and construction while leading development across Florida.
Slavin, who has 15 years of multifamily development experience, formerly served as principal of Mivo Development Group and development manager at Encore Capital Management.