Thoma Bravo Signs Lease for Its Miami Expansion

Large private equity firm Thoma Bravo has signed a long-term lease at 830 Brickell, a 55-story trophy Class A-plus office building located in the Brickell Financial District.

Thoma Bravo plans to establish a flexible workspace to accommodate the firm’s growing employee base in roughly 36,500 square feet on the two top floors. The private equity firm plans to open its office in the fourth quarter of 2022, when construction is finished. The firm’s Miami-based employees have already begun working from a temporary office space.

Thoma Bravo Founder Orlando Bravo moved to Miami late last year. In addition, Partner Chip Virnig and other existing members of the firm have already moved to the Miami region to extend its business and brand.

“Miami’s rich diversity and fast-growing technology and business hubs make it the ideal location for Thoma Bravo as we expand our business,” said Bravo in a prepared statement.

OKO Group and Cain International are partnering to develop 830 Brickell. Cushman & Wakefield represented the developers, and CBRE represented Thoma Bravo in the transaction.

“There are numerous technology, finance, private equity, and investment firms moving and expanding to Miami from across the US and around the world, and this puts an exclamation point on the Brickell Financial District’s brand as Wall Street of the South,” said Brian Gale, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield in a prepared statement.

As the economy begins to open back up, major players are focusing on the Miami office market. In March, as one example, funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate acquired a Miami office complex from Shorenstein Properties for $230 million. The property, 2 & 3 MiamiCentral, is a 330,000-square-foot complex that counts among its tenants Carlton Fields, Ernst & Young, New Fortress Energy and ViacomCBS as well as Blackstone’s Technology & Innovations group, which occupies approximately 12% of the space at 2 MiamiCentral.

The buildings are directly adjacent to the MiamiCentral train station.

David Levine, senior managing director in Blackstone Real Estate, cited the building’s “prime location” as among the reasons why it acquired 2 & 3 MiamiCentral. “We are high conviction, thematic investors focused on investing in growing markets with strong demographic tailwinds and talent pipelines, such as Miami.” 

Other commercial real estate groups are gearing up for workers returning to the office in Miami by building residential units. In the Central Business District, the Melo Group plans to construct nearly 2,500 additional apartments in high-rise buildings on acquired land.

“We believe in downtown,” Carlos Melo said. “For us, it is not only the units. It is to bring something more to our communities where people can start enjoying where they live. It is the people who are the soul of the neighborhood.”