Rooms To Go has acquired two retail buildings in Kendall for $29.9 million, with plans to redevelop the site into one of its largest furniture showrooms. The purchase covers 55,824 square feet at 2405 Southwest 88th Street, according to public records and real estate database Vizzda.
Peter Weitzner, Vice President at Rooms To Go, told The Real Deal, “It’s a brand new prototype. We are going to demolish what is there and build a huge Rooms To Go store.”
The seller was an affiliate of Light Properties based in Lawrence, New York. That company purchased the 3.8-acre property for $12 million in 1998. The existing buildings were completed in 1996 and were previously occupied by Michaels and Barnes & Noble but are now vacant.
Miami-Dade County approved Rooms To Go’s redevelopment plans earlier this year. The company intends to replace the current structures with a single-store showroom spanning 51,662 square feet—making it larger than most typical Rooms To Go stores, which average about 40,000 square feet. According to Weitzner, the new location will include sections for Rooms To Go Kids and Rooms To Go Patio.
Weitzner also stated that construction is expected to begin next year with an opening anticipated in 2027. Founded in 1990, Rooms To Go operates over 150 stores across ten states.
This acquisition comes amid continued activity among big box retailers in South Florida’s retail sector this year. In January, RK Centers bought a Pembroke Pines facility for $15.2 million from City Furniture; City Furniture signed a long-term lease to stay on as tenant (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/01/19/rk-centers-buys-pembroke-pines-building-for-15m-city-furniture-to-stay-as-tenant/). In June, Simon Property Group acquired a ground lease at Dadeland Mall leased to JCPenney for $15.6 million and also bought a former Sears store within Town Center at Boca Raton for $23 million (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/18/simon-property-group-buys-jcpenney-at-dadeland-mall-for-16m/, https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/21/simon-property-group-buys-shuttered-sears-in-boca-raton-for-23m/). Additionally in June, EOS Wellness Real Estate Miami paid $28.5 million for another vacant retail building formerly leased by Office Depot.
“It’s a brand new prototype,” said Weitzner regarding the planned Kendall showroom project.
