Justin Oates and Jonathan Goldstein.
Jonathan Goldstein and Justin Oates
CEO; senior vice president at Cain International
Cain International has emerged as one of the most active — and successful — developers in South Florida in recent years.
830 Brickell, Miami’s first stand-alone office tower erected in a decade, surpassed expectations. When the London-based private equity firm announced plans for the building in 2019, Cain envisioned rates hovering around $65 a square foot.
Then COVID-19 hit. The biggest names in tech and finance descended onto Miami, looking for offices. Many opted for 830 Brickell—practically the only new product available—scheduled for completion this year.
Rates breached $100 a square foot at the 55-story tower, a record for Miami. Competition for space was so stiff that hedge fund Citadel and Santander Bank bought out WeWork, which had inked a 146,000-square-foot lease in 2019. Other high-profile tenants include tech giant Microsoft, private equity fund Thoma Bravo, and heavyweight law firms Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin. The development was such a success that bigwig developers, such as Stephen Ross’s Related Companies and One Thousand Group, have launched rival projects.
Cain’s other projects in the pipeline include condos in Miami’s Edgewater and Brickell neighborhoods, the former of which is 90 percent pre-sold, as well as a rental in Fort Lauderdale. It also bought a co-op in Palm Beach, one of the hottest luxury markets in the country, which it will likely redevelop. All these developments, including 830 Brickell, are in partnership with Oko Group.
But, last year, Cain International struck out on its own.
As the debt market went into meltdown following interest rate hikes, the firm stepped up, closing sizable construction loans for high-profile projects. It provided Related Group, Miami’s largest condo developer, $240 million for a condo tower near Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and funneled $47 million for a boutique office building in Miami Beach that’s backed by Google’s former billionaire CEO Eric Schmidt.
“The key was always about finding the right projects and the right partners. The potential here is immense, and we’re excited about the prospects of contributing more to the region,” Goldstein wrote in an email. “Miami is striving to stand shoulder to shoulder with heavyweight cities like London and New York. It feels like it is just beginning to hit its stride.”
