Coral Gables office market sizzles with new construction and low vacancy rates

In Coral Gables’ highly competitive office market, landlords are always seeking a slight edge in luring new tenants and retaining existing ones. But for the owners of Douglas Entrance at 800 Douglas Road, spending $7 million to renovate the office park’s lobbies, corridors, elevators, indoor common areas and its historic “La Puerta del Sol” ballroom wasn’t enough, said Maggie Kurtz, a CBRE senior vice-president whose team handles leasing for the property.

So Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital Management amped up Douglas Entrance’s amenities by adding a fitness center, conference center, outdoor furniture and Wi-Fi access and a chauffeured van that tenants can use to take them anywhere in the City Beautiful and Miami International Airport, Kurtz said. The two investment firms bought the complex in 2014 for nearly $101 million.

“They can place a call to the management office and ask, ‘I want to go to Miracle Mile to eat,’” Kurtz said. “The chauffeur will pick them up, take them and bring them back when they are ready. The employees like it because they don’t have to use their cars.”

THE REAL DEAL ( SEE FULL ARTICLE )