Downtown Gets First Dealership in 10 Years

ORLANDO-The 45-year-old, former Gibbs-Louis Inc. women’s fashion store building Downtown is getting a new life as a trophy showroom for the British-made Mini Cooper.

Locally based Fields Motorcar Corp. is leasing 7,000 high-profile space on the ground floor of the vacant, 45-year-old, former Gibbs-Louis Inc. women’s fashion store building at 131 N. Orange Ave. The dealership will be the first in the central business district since Reed Nissan Motors departed in 1991. Downtown Mini Inc., a Fields subsidiary, plans to occupy the space in March.

Officials at Fields and Orlando Terrace Inc., the building’s owner, could not be reached at GlobeSt.com’s publication deadline to learn lease details. But area brokers familiar with the Downtown retail submarket tell GlobeSt.com the estimated rent is $30 per sf for at least 10 years. That would put it among the highest rent ranges in the central business district.