When Agave Holdings broke ground on the Plaza Coral Gables South Tower office building in mid-2019, nobody had heard of COVID-19 or could imagine the effect it would have on office markets across the United States, but the massive project earned a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by an independent panel of local industry professionals, after the development attracted some top tenants.
Fully preleased to multiple companies, including Bacardi USA and Bradesco BAC Florida Bank, the 14-story South Tower at 3011 Ponce de Leon Blvd. in Coral Gables, Florida, is already revitalizing the area with a range of services and community offerings.
In addition to the 15-story North Tower, the Plaza also includes a 242-room Loews Coral Gables Hotel with ballroom and conference facilities, 170 residential rental units at The Reserve, a 2,000-stall parking garage and 165,000 square feet of street-level retail, dining and entertainment venues in a landscaped plaza with art installations and water features.
"The Plaza Coral Gables continues to have a positive impact on the quality of life of Coral Gables residents and professionals who commute daily to work in the city. The diverse dining and recreation venues, and the promotion of artistic, cultural and outdoor activities will enrich life and work in the city," said Jose Antonio Perez Helguera, managing director of Agave Holdings, in a corporate statement. "The Plaza has become a community pillar within Coral Gables and will be home to some of the region’s most notable and prestigious companies in Miami-Dade County."
About the project: The South Tower comprises approximately 163,741 rentable square feet of Class A office space and has exclusive access to all project amenities including the North Tower, which features about 291,267 square feet of Class A office space, a landscaped terrace on the seventh floor, tenant fitness center, conferencing facilities, employee lounge and catering kitchen. Additionally, both buildings feature an environmental design aimed to achieve LEED certification.
What the judges said: Malcolm Butters, principal at Butters Realty & Management, said that "doing office development in today's environment was a great bet and a contrarian one."
Maggie Kurtz, senior managing director at Colliers, noted that the developer undertook a massive project in a city that's not very developer friendly, "Yet they were able to accumulate an amazing tenant roster."
"This architecturally beautiful building will shift Coral Gables' center of gravity further south while providing state-of-the-art facilities," said Ben Landes, Florida technology adviser for JLL.
"The South Tower Office at The Plaza is an excellent example of the successful up-zoning and increased development density that is transforming Coral Gables into a true 'surban' location," said Mark Troen with the University of Miami's master in real estate development and urbanism program.
They made it happen: Tere Blanca, founder, chairman and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate in Miami; Danet Linares, executive vice chairman at Blanca; Andres del Corral, executive vice president with Blanca; Jose Antonio Perez and Carlos Beckman, managing directors with Agave Holdings; and Gregory Schwartz, asset manager at Agave.
