Virgin MiamiCentral Office Buildings Sell to San Francisco Investor for $159M

The Virgin Trains USA parent company has sold the office and retail segments of its downtown Miami station to a San Francisco-based real estate investor for $159.4 million.

Florida East Coast Industries LLC sold the 3 MiamiCentral and 2 MiamiCentral offices and their retail to Shorenstein Properties, according to the Miami-Dade County property appraiser’s office.

The Virgin Trains passenger service, newly rebranded from Brightline after British billionaire Richard Branson bought a minority stake, connects downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and plans an Orlando extension.

It’s the second South Florida venture Shorenstein after the company partnered with Stiles Corp. on The Main Las Olas mixed-use project under construction in downtown Fort Lauderdale, according to Shorenstein’s website.

Shorenstein, which focuses on office and residential, has a portfolio of 25 million square feet of in 20 markets valued at $9 million. The company developed 2.3 million square feet of its holdings.

MiamiCentral has two existing office buildings, retail in the office towers and station, and more than 800 apartment units under construction.

3 MiamiCentral, a block west of the station complex, has 95,000 square feet of office space and 35,000 square feet of retail. 2 MiamiCentral sits atop the northern section of the station and has 190,000 square feet of office space.

Some of the signed tenants at the train stations are architecture and engineering firm HNTB Corp., mass media conglomerate Viacom Inc. and entertainment company Grupo Cisneros, now based in Coral Gables. Carlton Fields also will move from the Miami Tower to 50,000 square feet at 2 MiamiCentral in 2020.

Einstein Bros. Bagels has opened at 3 MiamiCentral, and a grocery store is expected soon. 

The station itself has a total of 85,000 square feet of retail space where Joe and the Juice and Parliament Coffee have opened. A 40,000-square-foot Central Fare food hall is expected.

Virgin Trains plans to expand by connecting West Palm Beach and Orlando International Airport. The company closed a $1.75 billion bond deal for the new stretch in April.

The sale announcement came after Virgin Trains stopped plans in February to go public. Virgin Trains considered a $619 million common stock offering priced at $17 to $19 per share, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The filing outlined potential expansion of rail corridors, including announced plans for service between Las Vegas and Southern California.

The company previously reported an operating loss of $87.1 million in the first nine months of 2018 followed by a ridership increase, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the MiamiCentral sale Wednesday.

Coral Gables-based Florida East Coast Industries also is the parent of supply chain management company Flagler Global Logistics and the Flagler development company.