Wynwood commercial real estate

What the garment district left behind in Wynwood’s buildings

Before the murals, Wynwood was a working district of warehouses, garment factories and distribution buildings, with a residential neighborhood on its western side. Most of the commercial stock was built for trucks and storage, not for customers or office workers.

That history is still in the buildings. Many are one-story concrete block structures with flat roofs, large open floors, roll-up doors and minimal windows. Some have loading docks at truck height. Plumbing was built for a few restrooms, not a restaurant kitchen. Electrical service was sized for lights and some machinery, not for commercial cooking lines, server rooms or dozens of rooftop air conditioning units.

When the arts and food scene took over, owners converted these buildings one by one. Some conversions were done well. Others were done fast, with the bare minimum of upgrades. Anyone leasing or buying an older Wynwood building should assume the infrastructure needs a close look before signing anything.

NRD-1 in practice

The Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District, known as NRD-1, is the special zoning overlay the City of Miami adopted for the district in 2015. It works within the city’s Miami 21 code but adds its own rules aimed at keeping Wynwood walkable and mixed-use as it redevelops.

In practical terms, NRD-1 shapes how new buildings meet the street: active ground floors, limits on blank walls, attention to pedestrian passages through larger blocks, and building designs that step back as they go up. It also changed how parking works in the district, with provisions that can reduce or relocate the parking a project has to provide on site. Some development benefits are tied to providing public benefits or specific housing types.

The details matter, and the city has amended the rules over time. For any site, we pull the current NRD-1 provisions and the underlying transect and review them with a land use attorney before a client relies on a density, height or parking assumption. Our Miami development sites page covers how we approach entitlements.

NW 2nd Avenue versus the side streets

NW 2nd Avenue is the spine of Wynwood retail, and the blocks around the Wynwood Walls on NW 25th and 26th Streets get the heaviest foot traffic. Space there is the most visible and usually the most expensive in the district.

The catch is timing. Wynwood traffic peaks on evenings and weekends, especially on the second Saturday art walk and during Art Basel week in December. Weekday mornings can be quiet. A coffee shop counting on commuters will have a different experience here than in Brickell or Downtown.

Side streets east and west of 2nd Avenue cost less and can work very well for destination users: a brewery, a showroom, a fitness studio or a restaurant with its own following. People will walk a block or two for something they came for. A retailer that depends on impulse visits usually needs the main corridor.

What kills restaurant and bar deals in Wynwood

Food and beverage is the biggest category of retail demand in Wynwood, and it is also where the most deals fall apart late. In our experience the problems are usually physical or regulatory, not about rent.

• Grease and sewer: older buildings may lack a grease interceptor or a sewer connection sized for a commercial kitchen. Installing one can mean cutting a slab and working in the right of way.
• Exhaust: a type I hood needs a duct route to the roof and clearance from neighbors. Single-story buildings make this easier; buildings with offices or apartments above make it harder.
• Electrical and gas: many warehouse services need an upgrade from FPL, which takes time to schedule. Gas service may not exist at the building at all.
• Alcohol licensing and hours: state licensing, city rules on distances and hours, and any outdoor seating permits all apply. Requirements change, so confirm them with counsel for each location.
• Noise: new residential buildings in and around Wynwood mean more complaints about late music. Check where the nearest bedrooms are.

Sal holds Florida general contractor and plumbing contractor licenses, so we walk a space with these items in mind before the letter of intent, and we push to get the landlord to share in the infrastructure cost when the building needs it.

Creative office in boutique buildings

Wynwood’s office market is newer and smaller than Brickell’s. It consists mostly of boutique buildings of a few floors, often with exposed structure, large windows and rooftop space, plus converted warehouses with open floors and high ceilings. The tenants are technology companies, design and marketing firms, venture investors, media companies and consumer brands that want their office to match their image.

Floor plates are smaller, which suits teams that fit on one or two floors. Amenities are the neighborhood itself: restaurants, coffee and events within a short walk. Parking is the weak point, so firms whose staff drive from the suburbs need a plan.

A contractor’s checklist for Wynwood warehouse conversions

Converting an old Wynwood warehouse into a restaurant, showroom, office or event space is one of the most common projects in the district. It is also where budgets most often run over. Here is what we check first on a conversion, in roughly the order it tends to cause trouble.

1. Permit history. Pull the building’s permit record and compare it with what is actually there. Unpermitted additions, mezzanines and storefront changes are common, and legalizing them can be expensive.
2. Change of occupancy. Going from storage to assembly or restaurant use triggers new requirements for exits, fire sprinklers, alarms and restrooms. This is usually the biggest single cost driver.
3. Fire sprinklers and water service. If the building needs sprinklers, it may also need a larger water line and a backflow preventer. Both involve the utility and can take time.
4. Roof structure. Rooftop bars and rooftop mechanical units need a roof that can carry them. Older roofs may need reinforcement or replacement.
5. Accessibility. Raised loading-dock floors are a common problem. Bringing a dock-height floor to grade, or adding ramps and lifts, changes the layout.
6. Windows and envelope. Cutting new openings in block walls takes structural work and impact-rated glazing.
7. Utility upgrades. Electric, gas, water and sewer upgrades each run on their own schedule.

We price these items before the letter of intent, not after the lease is signed. For an owner planning a conversion, our owner’s representation service puts a licensed contractor on your side of the table with the architect and the builder, and our project management team can run the job.

Getting to Wynwood and parking once you are there

Wynwood sits just north of Downtown and west of Midtown and Edgewater, with I-95 along its western side. Driving in is easy from the highway. Parking once you arrive is not, especially on weekend nights.

Wynwood has metered street parking, surface lots and a growing number of garages, some public and some attached to new buildings. Rideshare drop-offs are a big share of evening traffic, and some restaurants plan their frontage around that. There is no Metrorail station in the district itself. Trolleys and buses connect it to nearby areas, and many visitors come from the residential towers to the east.

For office tenants, ask the landlord exactly how many parking spaces come with the lease, where they are and what they cost. Because NRD-1 allows newer buildings to provide less parking, some buildings have very little or none. For retail tenants, think about where your customers will leave their car and how far they will walk.

Murals, signage and the Wynwood look

Brands come to Wynwood partly for the walls. A good mural on the side of your building is free marketing, and some tenants negotiate the right to commission or approve the art on their walls. Others find the landlord has already sold or committed the wall to a brand or an artist.

Before you sign, find out who controls each exterior wall, whether any existing mural agreements run with the building, and what signage the lease allows. The city regulates both signs and murals, so permits may be required. Also think about storefront design: a building that looks like a raw warehouse may suit a brewery but not a jewelry boutique.

Buying and assembling land in Wynwood

Much of the development in Wynwood has come from assembling smaller lots into sites big enough for mid-rise mixed-use buildings. Land is held by a mix of long-time owners, investors who bought before the area took off, and developers. Pricing reflects the district’s popularity and its zoning.

Assemblage work in Wynwood takes patience. Neighboring owners often know what their lots are worth to a developer and price accordingly, and holdouts can stall a project. We work quietly, use separate approaches to each owner, and structure contracts with enough time for zoning and design review. Sal has worked on a Brooklyn assemblage in Gowanus, where the same kinds of issues come up: rezoning, holdouts, and a neighborhood changing faster than the buildings on it.

For investors not looking to develop, Wynwood offers stabilized mixed-use buildings and ground-floor retail condos. Underwrite them on the actual tenants, not the neighborhood’s reputation. A building leased to strong, long-term tenants is a very different asset from one full of short-term pop-ups. See Miami investment sales.

How Wynwood compares with nearby areas

The Design District is just north of Wynwood, but it feels like a different city. Many brands look at both, and the choice depends on whether they want a younger, street-level crowd or a luxury shopper.

How DiBe works in Wynwood

Most of our Wynwood work involves a building that needs something: a restaurant operator who needs to know if a space can support a kitchen, a creative firm deciding between a boutique building and a raw warehouse, an owner planning a conversion, or a developer putting together a site. Sal’s background as a licensed broker and contractor lets us answer the leasing and construction questions together.

We represent tenants through Miami tenant representation, buyers and sellers through investment sales, and owners through owner’s representation and project management. Call or text 239-256-5005 or email info@diberealestate.com.

Lease terms worth fighting for in Wynwood

Delivery condition in writing

“As is” means very different things in a finished storefront and a bare warehouse. Spell out what the landlord delivers: working restrooms, a sprinkler system, electrical service of a stated size, a grease interceptor, a roof in watertight condition. Tie rent commencement to that delivery, not to a calendar date.

A realistic permit contingency

Restaurant and conversion permits in older buildings can take longer than expected. A permit contingency lets you exit, or pushes back rent, if approvals do not come through by a set date. Landlords resist open-ended contingencies, so set a reasonable window based on the scope.

Event week rights

Art Basel week in December brings huge traffic, and some landlords like to keep the right to rent walls, rooftops or parking lots for brand activations. Know what the landlord can do with the building during those weeks and whether it affects your access or visibility.

Exclusives and neighbors

In a building with several retail bays, an exclusive use clause can keep the landlord from leasing next door to your direct competitor. Also ask what the landlord plans for the other bays. A loud bar next to a quiet showroom does not work well for either.

A hypothetical example

For example, a hypothetical restaurant operator might find two Wynwood spaces with similar rent. One is a former retail store with no grease interceptor and a single-phase electrical service. The other was a restaurant before and still has a hood, a grease trap and three-phase power. The second space may cost more per foot and still be far cheaper to open. We run that comparison before you commit.

Buyer due diligence specific to Wynwood

• Confirm the NRD-1 provisions and underlying transect for the lot, including any recent amendments.
• Compare the permit record with the building as it stands and identify unpermitted work.
• Check for code enforcement cases, including noise, signage and mural violations.
• Review existing mural, signage or billboard agreements that may run with the property.
• Inspect roof, structure, sprinkler coverage, electrical service and sewer connection.
• For former industrial lots, order an environmental review, since past uses may have left contamination.
• Read every lease for term, renewal options, termination rights and what happens if the property is redeveloped.
• Have your attorney and CPA review title, entity and tax questions, including any 1031 exchange timing.

The northern blocks and the residential edges

The part of Wynwood most visitors see is the few blocks around the Walls and NW 2nd Avenue. North of there, toward NW 29th Street and beyond, the district still has more working warehouses, auto shops and larger parcels. This is where much of the newer mid-rise residential and office construction has gone, because the lots are bigger and the assemblage is simpler.

For tenants, the northern blocks can offer newer buildings and lower rents with less foot traffic. For developers, they offer the scale that the core rarely does. To the west, Wynwood meets a residential neighborhood across I-95’s edge, and new projects near those blocks get closer attention from neighbors. To the east, the district runs into Midtown and Edgewater, where residential towers create an everyday customer base for neighborhood retail.

We look at where a property sits within the district, beyond the Wynwood address. The same rent can buy very different traffic, neighbors and future upside depending on the block. For the wider Miami picture, see our Miami market overview.