RFR Lands $101 Million Refinance on 100 Biscayne After Lifting Occupancy From Under 60% to About 90%
Four years after paying $90 million for a half-empty bayfront office building, RFR has refinanced it with a $101 million loan. The company credits roughly 248,000 square feet of leasing for the turnar
MIAMI — A downtown Miami office building that was less than 60% leased when it changed hands in early 2022 has just been refinanced for more than its owner paid for it.
New York-based RFR has closed a $101 million loan on 100 Biscayne Boulevard, Commercial Observer first reported on Nov. 11. Derby Lane Partners and Axonic Capital provided the financing. Newmark arranged the deal with a team of Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani, Adam Spies and Josh King.
RFR bought the 317,000-square-foot building in January 2022 for $90 million. Since then, the company says, it has leased roughly 248,000 square feet and pushed occupancy from under 60% to around 90%.
What RFR says it did
The turnaround was a deliberate repositioning, according to RFR principal Gaby Rosen.
“When we acquired 100 Biscayne, our plan was to reposition the building into a true institutional-quality Class A boutique office building, broaden its tenant base and position it for long-term ownership,” Rosen said in a statement quoted by Commercial Observer. “The leasing, rent and occupancy gains of the past four years, together with the long tenure of the building’s tenants, give us a stable foundation as long-term owners, and we remain confident in the Downtown Miami office market.”
Rosen also pointed to what he called a “continued value creation opportunity”: rent growth, plus the chance to capture upside from “a significant portion of the building’s tenants in place below market leases.” In plain terms, a meaningful share of the building’s current tenants are paying less than RFR believes the space would rent for today. As those leases roll over, the owner expects rents to rise.
Who is in the building
The tenant roster RFR shared helps explain why lenders were comfortable. It includes French luxury group LVMH, Italian eyewear maker Luxottica, architecture firm Zyscovich and engineering firm DeSimone. AT&T, Verizon and Windstream Communications are also tenants, along with several data center companies and consulates, according to the company.
That mix matters. Telecom carriers and data center operators tend to stay put, because moving network equipment is expensive and disruptive. Consulates and established professional firms also tend to sign longer leases than startups do. Lenders look closely at how long tenants are likely to stay, and Rosen specifically cited “the long tenure of the building’s tenants.”
Why the location keeps coming up
100 Biscayne sits across the street from Bayfront Park. RFR describes it as the only Class A boutique waterfront office building in the city’s central business district.
Adam Piekarski, founder, CEO and chief investment officer at Derby Lane Partners, made the same point in a statement: “100 Biscayne’s waterfront location and boutique floor plates make it uniquely positioned to capture continued demand from businesses seeking well-located, high-quality office space in Downtown Miami.” Axonic Capital declined to comment to Commercial Observer.
What the numbers say, and what they don’t
The headline figures are simple: a $90 million purchase in 2022 and a $101 million loan in 2026. A refinance larger than the original purchase price suggests the lenders value the building well above what RFR paid, since lenders typically lend only a portion of a property’s value.
There are limits to what has been disclosed. Commercial Observer’s report did not include the loan’s interest rate, term or structure, or the building’s current appraised value. RFR also did not say how much it spent on renovations and leasing costs, such as tenant improvements and broker commissions, to get from under 60% to about 90% leased. Those costs can be significant, so the gap between purchase price and loan amount is not the same thing as profit.
The broader downtown picture
The deal lands as developers continue to bet on new office supply in and around the urban core. In the Design District, for example, Groundbreak reported on Nov. 11 that The Ursa, a planned 20-story, roughly 265,000-square-foot office tower at 30 NE 39th St. from Miami Design District Associates and BH3 Management, has won approval, with groundbreaking planned for winter 2027 and delivery estimated for winter 2029.
New towers like that will compete for the same tenants as older buildings. 100 Biscayne’s refinance suggests that a well-located existing building, upgraded and leased to established firms, can still attract serious capital while that new supply is being planned.
Why it matters for Miami businesses
For companies shopping for downtown space, the takeaway is mixed. A landlord that has just recapitalized and believes many of its tenants are below market will likely push rents as leases expire. Tenants with renewals coming up at 100 Biscayne and similar buildings should expect landlords to cite deals like this one in negotiations.
For the market as a whole, the financing is a data point that lenders remain willing to back downtown Miami office buildings that can show strong occupancy and durable tenants.