Current media coverage and upcoming developments hand-picked from the industry.

New Terranova Buildings Geared To Expand Lincoln Road District

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THE REAL DEAL — March 5, 2015 — BY INA CORDLE Terranova Corp. is developing two new three-story buildings near Meridian Avenue in Miami Beach, bringing additional retail stores and a rooftop restaurant to the Lincoln Road area, Chairman Stephen Bittel told The Real Deal.

The new sites, at 723 Lincoln Lane and 801 Lincoln Road, are geared to expand the Lincoln Road shopping district from the pedestrian promenade to 17th Street. As rents reach as high as $400 a square foot, the retail area is continuing to pour over onto the side streets.

“This commences a march from Lincoln Road to 17th Street, creating an expansion of the Lincoln Road shopping district that is so vibrant around Lincoln Road,” Bittel told TRD, citing nearby CB2 and Khong River House. “Meridian will be a big part of it.”

The first building at 723 Lincoln Lane, will have 42,000 square feet alongside Macy’s, and has already received Miami Beach Design Review Board approval.

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Stephen H. Bittel, Chairman Of Terranova Corp.: ‘I Want To Do More’

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MIAMI HERALD — October 12, 2014 — BY INA PAIVA CORDLE Stephen H. Bittel, chairman of Terranova Corp., has reached new heights in the realm of commercial real estate since his firm’s $342million sale of a portfolio of six buildings on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach — one of the largest property deals in South Florida history. Terranova remains an owner and managing member of the properties, in a new partnership with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. In total, Terranova Corp., which Bittel founded in 1980, owns and operates more than $1 billion of real estate in Florida, mostly in South Florida.

We sat down with Bittel in his Miami Beach offices to discuss his background and company, and then emailed him these questions to which he responded.

Q. You are a Miami native, yes?

A. I am as native as one could be, having been born at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the second of three children of my very active parents, Jordan and Judy Bittel who grew up on Miami Beach. My father always joked that when our families got down here, there were only Claude Pepper and the alligators. A product of the Miami Dade County Public School system from grades one through 12, I continued my education at Bowdoin College, with my sister, and son, later graduating from Bowdoin as well. While it’s a long way to Brunswick, Maine, we still feel uniquely close to the college.

Q. Did you originally intend to be a lawyer?

A. After Bowdoin, I spent a year in Europe, as a Watson Fellow, and applied to law school while abroad. As the son and grandson of attorneys, I grew up always planning to follow in their footsteps professionally, but by the time I began at the University of Miami School of Law, I was headed in another direction, working full time in commercial real estate during my first year of law school, and then starting what is now Terranova during the fall of my second year. While somehow I managed to graduate and pass the bar as a result of some remarkable study group partners who always reeled me back in to focus on our exams, working full time while simultaneously a full time law student might not be recommended for those requiring normal sleep.

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Behind Terranova’s $342M Lincoln Road Deal

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GLOBE ST. — August 22, 2014 — BY JENNIFER LECLAIRE — In one of the biggest-ever deals in South Florida, Miami Beach-based Terranova sold its six-building portfolio of assets on and around Lincoln Road to Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, along with affiliates of Terranova, for $342 million. Terranova assembled the assets over the past three and a half years for $191 million.

As Terranova chairman Stephen H. Bittel sees it, the deal is one of the most exciting his firm has closed in its 35-year history. He views the transaction as a partnership with other owners on the famed street—and the City of Miami Beach—to move Lincoln Road forward.

“Our investment with Acadia Opportunity Funds has drawn more and more attention of professional capital to the street,” Bittel says. “At the same time, the interest from top international retailers has pushed sales and rents higher and higher.”

Bittel calls the planned redesign of the Lincoln Road common areas and the redevelopment of the Miami Beach Convention Center “strong positive influences that will keep the momentum moving forward.” Meanwhile, he expects the new partnership with Morgan to seek additional market opportunities for these types of assets, which he described as having “enduring generational value.”

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