Florida Real Estate Lawyer Blog

In a world where ride services such as Uber and Lyft have become widespread, and electric cars are becoming extremely popular, many are asking themselves what that means for parking lots going into the future. In the past, office and retail tenants relied on serious negotiations and a series of analyses to figure out acceptable parking ratios for their stores and offices. But can we expect the same parking concerns from commercial real estate tenants in the future, or will their focus shift to other interests such as charging stations and drop-off/pick-up zones?

Parking ratios are generally established by local zoning codes. The parking ratio is a statistic commonly used to determine the number of parking spaces available for use by each commercial tenant. The total parking spaces available are divided by the property’s entire gross leasable area, with the ratio most commonly expressed per every 1,000 sq. ft. of property.

Most retail stores require four spaces per 1,000 sq. ft., while restaurants are typically allocated more parking spaces for every 1,000 sq. ft. These numbers can vary depending on the property type.

Besides ensuring that the correct number of parking spots are assigned, big box stores like Marshalls, Old Navy, Best Buy, and grocery stores such as Publix, serving as anchor stores, also require specific parking fields in front of their stores and demand certain parking ratio minimums. It is not uncommon for these tenants to designate protected parking areas, prohibiting landlords from ever changing, rearranging or reassigning their parking spaces, and to maintain architectural control over their parking areas.

March 24, 2021

Real Estate Team Represents Buyer in Multimillion Dollar Purchase

Firm shareholders Oscar R. Rivera and John Catalano successfully concluded work recently on a $79 million purchase by client Bar Invest Residential 4 LLC, a Bar Invest Group division.

The transaction involved the purchase of an apartment complex known as The Landings at Pembroke Lakes, a large community located in Pembroke Pines, Florida (pictured below). The multifamily residential rental complex houses 358 units, as well as a clubhouse with resort-style amenities. REIT counsel at Greenberg Traurig assisted our team in the acquisition of this project, and our client obtained financing through BankUnited.

Our firm congratulates and salutes Oscar, John and their support staff for all of the hard work they put forth in completing this transaction for our client.

March 16, 2021

Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group Represents Sellers in Two Major Transactions

Firm shareholders Oscar R. Rivera and John Catalano represented our clients, PM Edgartown, LLC and PM Vineyard Haven, LLC in two separate sale transactions. The first transaction involved Prime Marina Vineyard Haven’s sale, a property located on Martha’s Vineyard. Prime Vineyard Haven has the largest set of seasonal private docks and slips available on the vineyard. It also houses a large on-site indoor and outdoor storage facility, as well as other amenities that are made available to its members.

Additionally, our team represented their sister company, PM Edgartown, LLC, on the sale of Edgartown Marine. Edgartown Marine is also located on Martha’s Vineyard and offers a full set of storage, launch, and haul services. The transactions involved the sale of all of the assets and dockage agreements of both operating marinas.

March 15, 2021

A Message from Our Managing Partner: One Year Post COVID-19 Closures

It is hard to believe that we are officially one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. As the entire world continues to battle the virus and adjusts to the daily changes in protocol and restrictions, our firm remains fully operational, staying up-to-date with the latest news and making decisions based on those developments.

With our staff’s, clients’, and families’ health and safety remaining of utmost importance, our firm continues to operate with a majority of our attorneys and support staff working remotely. We are happy to say that we have all remained safe during this time and the initial closures never caused any interruptions or delays in service. We have also pivoted in the way we serve our clients by upgrading our network’s infrastructure and making improvements to how we conduct business, such as enhancing our data security and offering digital document signature options as well as online notaries. Though we’ve all had to overcome our own set of challenges, we have conquered them together and have only become stronger.

February 16, 2021

Reports in New York Times, Other Major News Outlets Document Miami’s Post-Pandemic Surge in Business Relocations

“America’s business leaders, freed from the office, looked around the country, taking note of its coronavirus lockdowns, taxes and rabble rousers. And many said as if in unison: Miami!”

That’s how a major article on the cover of the Technology section of the Jan. 29 edition of The New York Times begins. It goes on to note that several finance and technology titans as well as Silicon Valley venture capitalists are relocating to Miami, where Mayor Francis X. Suarez has rolled out the red carpet.

The article reads:

“Dozens of big names have arrived. There was a tech contingent: Keith Rabois, a PayPal co-founder and investor, and his husband. Then their friend Peter Thiel, the tech investor and prominent conservative. Jon Oringer, founder of the stock-photography provider Shutterstock, and the media mogul Bryan Goldberg. Steven Galanis, the head of the celebrity-video product Cameo, is here. Elon Musk is talking about building car tunnels under Miami.

“There are also hedge funds and private equity funds. Paul Singer’s Elliott Management is moving its headquarters to the Miami area, as is Carl Icahn’s firm, Icahn Enterprises. Others are opening major Miami offices: Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel as well as Blackstone Group. Goldman Sachs is weighing moving parts of its operation to Miami.”

February 11, 2021

Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group Represents Seller in Sale of Monty’s Coconut Grove

Firm shareholders Oscar R. Rivera and John Catalano represented the sellers, Aligned Bayshore Marina and Aligned Bayshore Raw Bar, in the sale of Monty’s Bayshore located in Coconut Grove. This fully leased mixed-use property features offices, retail and restaurants, including the iconic Tiki Style waterfront restaurant Monty’s Raw Bar. The enormous property, which is pictured along the waterfront below, boasts over 30,000 square feet of retail and office space, a 111-slip marina, and a 750-seat restaurant that has been at the same location for 50 years. The notable transaction has been covered by publications such as the Miami Herald and CityBizList.

We are proud to have represented our clients in this transaction, and our firm would like to commend Oscar, John and the supporting real estate staff on all their hard work!

November 10, 2020

Oscar Rivera Co-Authors Article for ABA Probate & Property Magazine: “Navigating Early Termination Clauses in Commercial Leases”

Probate & Property article

Firm co-managing partner Oscar R. Rivera co-authored the lead front cover article for the November-December issue of the American Bar Association’s Probate & Property magazine together with Travis D. Hughes of Atlanta-based Hughes Investment Partners. The article, which is titled “Navigating Early Termination Clauses in Commercial Leases,” focuses on the tolls that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Spring 2020 protests have taken on many businesses and commercial landlords. It discusses important early termination provisions and the need to anticipate likely and unlikely future calamities in commercial leases.

Our firm salutes Oscar for sharing his insights into these timely issues impacting commercial leases with the readers of the ABA’s Probate & Property. Click below to read the complete article.

September 9, 2020

Effects of CDC’s Evictions Ban on Residential Tenants, Landlords

The recent order to halt residential evictions through Dec. 31, 2020, by the Centers for Disease Control is aimed at preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and protecting tenants impacted by the virus. Under the order, renters of single family, multifamily and mobile home residences who earn less than $99,000 a year ($198,000 for joint filers) may submit a declaration to their landlord asserting their eligibly to be protected from eviction.

For eligibility, renters must provide a declaration form to their landlord asserting their qualifications and inability to pay, and they will not be relieved of their obligations to pay rent nor any fees or interest due to nonpayment. In addition, residents can still be evicted for other reasons, like engaging in criminal activity, posing a health or safety risk, or damaging rental property.

The order also specifically excludes foreclosures of home mortgages from the moratorium, but it is unclear whether a foreclosed homeowner could seek protection from being removed from the property post-foreclosure sale.

Our firm’s real estate attorneys are helping our clients navigate through these challenging times and contend with the issues surrounding the current state of evictions, foreclosures and property transactions. We encourage those with questions to contact us, and we also recommend submitting your email address in the subscription box on the right to automatically receive all our future blog articles.

June 30, 2020

House Bill 469 Becomes Effective on July 1, 2020

The Governor signed House Bill 469 on June 27, 2020, dealing with real estate conveyances. The bill removes the requirement under Section 689.01, Florida Statutes requiring a landlord to have two witnesses when signing a lease for a term of more than one year.

The requirement for witnesses was limited to a landlord’s signature only and was designed to protect the grantor of the estate in the land. House bill 469 provides that no subscribing witnesses are required for a lease of real property or any instrument pertaining to a lease of real property, eliminating the requirement that two subscribing witnesses be present when the lessor signs a lease with a term of more than one year.

The bill becomes effective on July 1, 2020.

June 10, 2020

Oscar Rivera Quoted in Miami Herald Article: “The Pandemic Gave Franchisees Shopping South Florida Real Estate a Leg Up”