M
iami-Dade County has recently purchased an office complex dating back to the 1970s for a whopping $182 million. This acquisition is expected to house various departments within the county. The property, known as The Current Miami, was sold to Miami-Dade by an affiliate of New York-based Bushburg Properties. The property spans over 26 acres and includes two buildings, a six-story structure and a one-story building, totaling 671,088 square feet. The buildings were completed in 1974 and 1975 respectively.
Bushburg Properties acquired the property in 2014 for a sum of $57.4 million. The deal to purchase The Current Miami has been in the works for over a year, causing controversy when Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava sought county commission approval on an expedited basis in December to purchase the property for $205 million. Two appraisal firms hired by Miami-Dade determined the complex, which is currently 80% vacant, to be worth approximately $110 million "as-is" to private investors, according to reports from the Miami Herald.
In June, the county commission voted unanimously to purchase The Current Miami for $182 million, which is about 11% less than the price originally sought by Levine Cava. The county also approved spending an additional $74 million to renovate the office complex, which will serve as the new home for several departments including information technology, regulatory and economic resources, water and sewer, and solid waste. The Office of Property Appraiser will also be housed in the complex, which will be renamed West Dade Government Center after the November election.
This acquisition is not the first time the county has been involved in real estate deals far below appraised market value. In May, county commissioners approved Levine Cava's recommendation to sell a 17-acre site in southwest Miami-Dade to Coconut Grove-based Swerdlow Group for $8.1 million. Despite independent appraisals valuing the land at $31 million, according to published reports, Swerdlow intends to develop a Costco store on the site.
