Historical Retail Building Sells for $4M

CORAL GABLES, FL-Plaza 8 Associates has purchased an historical retail building in town for $3.5 million, or about $347.22 per sf. Sid Savelle Trustee was the seller of the well-known building, located at 290 Alhambra Circle on the southeast corner of Salzedo Street and Alhambra Circle. The one-story, 10,080-sf building reportedly was the second commercial building developed by Coral Gables founder George Merrick in the mid-1920s. The building originally housed an auto dealership. When the seller in this transaction acquired the property in 1980, a restaurant known as the original New England Oyster House occupied the building.Around that time, the building underwent a complete renovation. The upgrades included new concrete flooring, windows, doors, interior partitions and finishes, a roof, electric, plumbing and air-conditioning. The building was subdivided, and in 1981, the corner space was leased to a prominent local savings and loan association. That space was leased to several banks over the next 22 years, all under the original lease. The 1981 lease expired in fall 2003.Plaza 8 Associates has reached an agreement with a major bank to lease the corner space, which will be demolished and re-built to offer state-of-the-art service. Colliers International represented Sid Savelle in the sale and is the broker for the new bank lease.