Someone told me that he knows of a couple of restaurants and some retail shops that would like to move to the Grove, only they cannot find a location. The rents are either too high or there really aren't any suitable spaces. But that's nothing new. We all know that.
I have a friend who is an attorney, he had his office at the Coconut Grove Bank building for many years. He had to vacate a couple of months ago due to the condo construction there now. He looked all over the Grove for office space, I believe he needed 2500 square feet. He couldn't find it. For a month or more, many of us tried to locate office space for him. The ironic part is that there is law office construction going on right across from the bank at the corner of Mary Street and Florida Avenue, only the construction has turned into a lifetime project it seems.
They are on their fifth general contractor now and they they look like it is almost completed. The bulk of the space will be used for law offices, shared by different law firms and there is a restaurant on site that will hopefully be rented out. But the thing is, that my friend could have moved in and been working there all this time, but at the rate the renovations of the building are going, who knows when they will be done, but they have been painting the outside of the building, so maybe they will open soon.
My friend had to relocate to Coral Gables.
Who cares? Increased demand means increased rents. If contractors take too long for your friend to get in on the new office space, tough cookies!
ReplyDeleteMcDonalds cannot afford the rent at Johnny Rockets?
ReplyDeleteWho wants McDonald's?
ReplyDeleteThe Building Department and contractors have a symbiotic relationship, you are at their mercy. Just a tip, do not fire them if you must get a new contractor to finish the job, then report the bad contractor to DBPR, you may be entitled to damages in 6 months to a year. Also try the county licensing board too but they may give you the runaround a couple of months and tell you to contact DBPR anyway, the City and building department has no interest in solving problems but unless you intend know someone who can push a few buttons and pull a few strings.
ReplyDeleteNot just for businesses. We are a small, young family of four and have been living here for a bit and love it but our landlord is increasing rent on our old, small townhouse (riddled with problems) to $3000/mo. Finding another spot in the grove under $3k that'll fit us comfortably is out of the question. So we have to go further out now and uproot the kids from their school. So sad about this. These prices are really hurting middle-class families in the Grove.
ReplyDeleteI know of a 2500 square ft office for a lawyer at Grove Forest, 2937 SW 27th Ave. There's other space in that office building as well. It is built around the old Gifford house. Unique architecture.
ReplyDeleteTaco Bell at Johnny Rockets'?
ReplyDeleteHow about Tom Thumb restaurant. Boy do I miss that place along with the pharmacy or Gene's for breakfast and even Bernice's and of course Roy's and the fish sandwich at the Taurus or the Martinburger outside.
ReplyDeletePlease no fast food chain restaurant at Johnny Rocket's.
Plenty of interesting spaces near Biscayne Blvd in Lemon City. $12 per sq ft and 17' ceiling heights. Walk to Soyka complex.
ReplyDeleteHow can you complain on the one hand that rents are too high and on the other hand that we don't need development. The Grove is an amazing place to live. Let's bring more people here to help support the businesses we love, to support the community we love.
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