Michael Comras

Can magic strike twice for Michael Comras on Lincoln Road, one of South Florida’s premier retail corridors?

A decade ago, the investor pulled off the biggest deal of his career. He sold an entire block on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road shopping promenade for $370 million to Zara’s billionaire founder, Amancio Ortega. At the time, the transaction was the second-largest deal in Miami-Dade County’s history. The property, leased to Apple and Nike, commanded some of the region’s most expensive retail rents, exceeding $300 per square foot.

In the ensuing decade, Comras, who moonlights as part broker, investor and developer, helped transform other Miami districts, including Coconut Grove and Miami Worldcenter. Now, he hopes to do it again with Lincoln Road.

Although the pedestrian plaza sits just steps from the beach and is peppered with historic Art Deco buildings, it has fallen out of favor since Comras’s record sale. Property values and rents have plummeted as big-box retailers have come to dominate, and establishments favoured by locals have vanished. 

Last year, Comras swooped in and purchased another block on Lincoln, which connects to North Lincoln Lane. The purchase was about $200 million less than what the sellers, Morgan Stanley and Terranova, had paid about 10 years prior. 

The 150,000-square-foot deal adds to the 55,000 square feet Comras already owns on the strip. He has rebranded the portfolio into a new shopping district called NoLi, short for North Lincoln Road, and is looking to add small, distinct boutiques, an open-air courtyard and maybe even some offices. 

Still, the transaction is not without its risks. Comras looks to have no equity partners and took out $117 million in debt to finance the acquisition. Can he make Lincoln Road great again?