MIAMI—Although some brokers can see the possibility of new office development in Downtown Miami soon—in fact, some is already planned—others aren’t so sure the market is ready for the next wave. A couple of interesting deals does not a recovery make and a lack of new construction in recent years doesn’t justify the need for new cranes, some say.

Chris Lovell, senior managing director at Studley, is part of those "some." Lovell took issue with an article called “Miami Could See New Office Development Soon.” In the article, Jones Lang LaSalle senior vice president Jonathan Kingsley noted that if Brickell Financial Center follows the lease up pattern 1450 Brickell enjoyed, “then now’s clearly the time to start planning for future office space to be delivered two to four years from now.”

Kingsley offered a big "if," but even "if," Lovell isn’t so sure. He points to overall vacancy in class A and class B buildings hovering at about 22%, with absorption of just more than 300,000 square feet in the past 12 months. If absorption continues at that pace, he says, Miami has seen it leaves a seven-year supply of existing new space to fill. That's another big "if."