MRED+U students had an opportunity to spend the afternoon at 545 Wyn, a project jointly developed by Place Projects and Sterling Bay. Joe Furst spent 10 years as Managing Director of Goldman Properties where he was responsible for the financing, development and leasing initiatives for the entire Wynwood portfolio including 30 properties and more than 400,000 square feet.
After founding Place Projects in 2017, he approached Sterling Bay in 2018 with an idea for a creative office space located in the heart of Wynwood. Due to the open-air nature of creative workspaces, the building has sides cores versus central cores to allow for an open floor plan as well as other unique features. The tenant profile is unique and required a very different approach to underwriting due to the projected long-term lease-up and stabilization. Targeted tenants include firms in the tech, media and creative use industries.
MRED+U students next went to meet with David Lombardi, who entered Wynwood in 2001 and quickly understood Wynwood's potential to become the place where Miami's creatives could live, work and play. He first purchased the Seminole building in 2001 and created loft living spaces for artists who wanted to live and work in the same area. This iconic property is imbued with the bohemian-chic character and charisma that Wynwood is becoming known for and is home today to creative office users, experiential retailers, and a flagship co-working operation. Shortly after purchasing the Seminole, he noticed an article in the Miami NewTimes introducing an unknown dealer named Brook Dorsch and his art gallery and he became fascinated with the fledgling arts movement in Wynwood. At the same time, David had the idea of throwing spontaneous art ‘happenings’ in his buildings known as Roving Fridays. These would often attract crowds exceeding 300 patrons, curious to see what drew these artists to this edgy, unusual place.
In 2008, David Lombardi and Tony Goldman helped found the Wynwood Arts District Association which later became the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID). David remains one of the first significant property owners in Wynwood with a long term vision of a mixed use neighborhood attracting the creative community. David’s passion of real estate, arts and culture has proven to create interesting spaces and attract a diverse group of retail and creative office tenants within Wynwood including Soundlux Audio, Pink Pie, OFY, and soon-to-open Night Owl Cookies.
