L-R Manuel Crespo and Frank Whitaker, Greenspoon Marder, Miami. Courtesy photos

More than 70 percent of the offices in Coral Gables' new Ofizzina have been sold for a combined $50 million, showing the office-condo market can be strong in the right setting.

“I would say the bulk of the office space in the marketplace is straight rental. (But) the condominium form of ownership is catching on again,” said Manuel Crespo, who closed the deals. “Prior to the real estate crisis, a lot of office condominiums and such were sort of in the planning phases, and they fell by the wayside. But that segment of office condominium space is seemingly catching on again.”

An affiliate of Ofizzina's Miami-based developer TSG Group sold 41 of the 54 office spaces in about 19 transactions that closed in the past three months. Some buyers bought an entire floor, while other sales consisted of several units or single units.

Crespo, a Greenspoon Marder partner, and law firm associate Frank Whitaker, both based in Miami, closed the transactions on behalf of TSG Group. They are working to sell the remaining 13 spaces.

The 16-story, 97,668-square-foot Ofizzina at 1200 Ponce Leon Blvd. was finished in 2018 and includes three ground-floor retail spaces, two rooftop terraces and 331 parking spaces.

It's a high-end addition, complete with a gym and concierge, to the growing Coral Gables market, which has been adding offices and entertainment to the existing residential sector.

“There's just a demand for high-end office space in a booming downtown Coral Gables. It's an upper level enclave, and I guess people need office space that corresponds to the type of city it is,” Crespo said.

He sees the city developing into a live-work-play area putting residents near their jobs and entertainment on Miracle Mile.

“Anecdotally, I can tell you a … bunch of my lawyer friends live in the area, and everybody enjoys the five-minute commute or less,” Crespo said.

The city's office market has been growing and appears to be doing well, especially compared with other office submarkets like downtown Miami and Brickell. It had an 11 percent vacancy rate in the fourth quarter, less than downtown's 21 percent rate and almost as low as Brickell's 10 percent rate, according to an Avison Young report.

TSG Group capitalized both on the growth of Coral Gables and the office-condo concept, where the building owner sells individual units instead of renting them or selling the building.

TSG “just introduced condominium offices in the marketplace, which they think — and I think quite correctly — that there was a need for in the Gables market,” Crespo said.

Office condos are an investment for the buyers who gain from appreciation, he added.

“It's the same principal as owning your own home,” he said.

Crespo declined to provide the names of the buyers and said he doesn't know whether buyers plan to set up offices in Ofizzina or lease the spaces.

Miami-Dade County property records showed some of the buyers are Patrimonio Inmobiliario Familiar LLC, which in state Division of Corporation records is linked to accounting firm Jordan Ricardo & Co., and Kodiak Real Estate LLC.

The office spaces are unfinished, meaning buyers or their tenants can retrofit to best fit their needs.

“You are just getting the bricks on the wall,” Crespo said.

Crespo has a long history of working with TSG Group, taking the client with him to Greenspoon Marder from Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Gomez & Machado, where Crespo was partner.

At SMGQ, Crespo said he and fellow partner Roland Sanchez-Medina Jr. represented TSG in buying the Ofizzina site in 2014 for $6.65 million.

When he moved to Greenspoon Marder, Crespo closed a $10 million construction loan for Ofizzina, although only $8 million was used.

“I've represented them for a number of years, so I am familiar with their entire management team,” Crespo said.