A long-planned Miami Design District office project is back, this time with a new development partner and a larger design, a nod to rekindled demand from new-to-market firms.
BH3 Management is teaming up with Miami Design District Associates on its project The Ursa, increasing its configuration nearly 40 percent by combining their adjacent sites, according to a BH3 news release.
Designed by Arquitectonica and Arsham Studio, Ursa will rise 20 stories and consist of 250,000 square feet of offices and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and dining, the release says.
That’s a bigger building than what Miami Design District Associates revealed in 2022: a 15-story building with about 180,000 square feet of offices.
Miami Design District Associates, which developed the Design District into a luxury shopping and dining destination, is a partnership among Craig Robins’ Dacra, L Catterton Real Estate and Brookfield Properties. The partnership never started ground-up construction of The Ursa.
The partnership originally planned the project only for its vacant 0.6-acre property at 30 Northeast 39th Street.
BH3’s adjacent property will add nearly a third of an acre to the development site. The firm, through affiliates, owns the pair of lots at 3817-3819 North Miami Avenue, and 3801-3811 North Miami Avenue, records show.
Fort Lauderdale-based BH3 is led by Gregory Freedman, Daniel Lebensohn and Eric Edidin.
Construction of The Ursa is expected to start next year and completion is targeted for 2029, according to the release.
Its design is reflective of the types of offices many of the newest tenants coming to South Florida have sought: top-class buildings with high-end amenities.
Much of Miami’s latest stock of offices is more boutique, with buildings marketing their design, as well as wellness and dining offerings. The renewed wave of office leasing is partly rooted in companies following their well-heeled executives’ residential purchases in South Florida amid the blue-to-red state migration.
Miami-Dade County’s office absorption in the first half of this year totaled 408,700 square feet, surpassing the full-year totals for each 2024 and last year, according to JLL.
At The Ursa, balconies will be landscaped, and offices will start on the seventh floor. Floorplates will span from 18,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet, the release says. The project also is pitching its art program, with Daniel Arsham curating installations on the façade and in the lobby, as well as art in the rest of the building.
Developers are targeting high-end submarkets for their new buildings, with many focusing on coastal areas such as Bay Harbor Islands and Miami Beach. The Design District’s reputation as a luxury destination is seemingly making it a draw as an office market as well.
Miami Design District Associates and Raycliff Capital recently started construction of the Snøhetta-designed eight-story Sweetbird North, which will have more than 92,000 square feet of offices and 22,500 square feet of retail at 95 Northeast 40th Street.
But that project’s office is already pre-leased, including by Atria Health and Research Institute, investment firm 26North and Authentic Brands Group, according to BH3’s news release on The Ursa.
Also on tap in the neighborhood is WellDuo, Leviathan Development, Lionheart Capital and the Lane Organization’s mixed-use project that will include a three-story building with 41,000 square feet of offices and 16,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and hospitality space.
Last year, Helm Equities scored approval for its Design District project that will consist of a Live Local Act tower and an adjacent eight-story building with over 101,000 square feet of offices and some retail at 220 Northeast 43rd Street.
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