Former Partners Ben Mandell and Scott Sherman Buy Discounted Lincoln Road Properties
By Julia Echikson August 1, 2024 5:27 pm
reprints
Two years ago, Ben Mandell and Scott Sherman broke up. Now the former partners are following each other to Lincoln Road and buying separate, discounted properties on Miami Beach’s famed shopping promenade in the same week.
In the larger deal, Mandell’s Tricera Capital, alongside developer and investor Scott Robins and former Mayor of Miami Beach Philip Levine, paid $13.6 million for a 24,000-square-foot retail building, the joint venture announced.
The single-story property, which is half-occupied, sits toward the eastern end of the promenade between 318 and 334 Lincoln Road. Tenants include Mr. Jones Miami, South Beach Munchies, and Sweet Life Gelato Italian Ice Cream.
About six blocks to the west on Lincoln Road, near the intersection with Jefferson Avenue, Sherman’s Torose Equities bought a single-tenant building for $10.5 million. Apparel brand All Saints occupies the 8,543-square-foot building at 910 Lincoln Road. Its lease is set to expire in the Fall of 2025.
The purchases — both brokered by JLL (JLL)’s Zach Wrinkler, Eric Williams, and Jorge Portela — come about two years after Sherman left Tricera Capital, which he co-founded with Mandell in 2017, to launch Torose Equities.
Perhaps both have the same opportunity.
The seller of Sherman’s property, Invesco Real Estate, took a $5.3 million hit, having bought the property for $15.8 million in 2010, property records show.
Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty — the seller of 318 and 334 Lincoln Road — also struggled. The New York-based firm purchased the property for $20.5 million in 2019, according to property records.
Earlier this year, Wilmington Trust, acting as trustee for lender Argentic Real Estate Investment, sued RFR over alleged missed payments dating back to November 2023. The lender had provided a $17 million acquisition loan in 2019 and claims it is owed $15.1 million in principal outstanding, interest and fees, the suit alleges.
In recent years, that eastern portion of Lincoln Road has also wrestled with crime and homelessness. In hopes of revitalizing the corridor, the owners of the nearby, oceanfront Ritz-Carlton, South Beach hotel secured $4.9 million in March from the State of Florida to add sculptures and update murals, landscaping and sidewalks.
“This part of Lincoln Road has long been the ‘Times Square’ of Miami Beach,” Robins said in a statement. “Our acquisition of this asset marks the start of a new chapter in this area. My partners and I are excited to restore this iconic location to its former glory, bringing back the bustling energy and allure it once had.”
Spokespeople for Torose Equities and RFR declined to comment. A spokesperson for Invesco Real Estate did not immediately provide a comment.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
