A South Beach Burger King site meets a prize-winning architect. See what’s coming

Rebecca San Juan
·3 min read
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Miami Beach’s posh South of Fifth neighborhood will get a new office building to replace a prominent Burger King location as developers cater to more wealth moving into the region.

So goodbye, Whoppers and fries. Hello, fancy offices and retail.

The complex will replace the two-story Burger King on a corner lot and an empty single-story retail building at 1100 Fifth St., according to Amit Khurana, founding partner of the New York-based Sumaida + Khurana development firm.

The development firm partnered with the existing owners of the site, the Roslyn and Norton Nesis and Robert and Miriam Weiss of Weiss Properties, on the joint venture.

Eduardo Souta de Moura, a Pritzker prize-winning architect — the highest honor in the field — joined the project and designed a five-story building with 101,381 square feet, including three floors of offices, one for parking, and the base with retail and restaurant space.

“A lot of our clients were moving to Miami Beach and some of our investors. We heard the same complaints about [the lack of] quality office projects,” Khurana said. “What we see as being a unique offering is in Miami Beach there’s a certain depth in the market and the market has interest in architecturally-distinguished office buildings that cater to family offices and hedge funds.”

The city of Miami Beach’s Planning Board will review the project in late April. After, Khurana said plans will be finalized and permits pulled.

Khurana said Burger King is expected to close by the end of the summer. Demolition and construction is expected to begin sometime next year and wrap by late 2026.

The developer says a new Burger King isn’t planned for the new building. Burger King did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Real estate developer Amit Khurana told the Miami Herald construction would begin on the office building, pictured above in a rendering, in 2025 and wrap by 2026.
Real estate developer Amit Khurana told the Miami Herald construction would begin on the office building, pictured above in a rendering, in 2025 and wrap by 2026.

Boom in office space

Miami Beach has several offices in the pipeline. Another New York developer, Michael Shvo, has a handful of office developments in the works throughout South Beach.

For Sumaida + Khurana, the South of Fifth site will be its second in Miami. It launched its first project in 2021 alongside several partners, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Khurana said that development — a five-story office building at 944 Fifth St. and 411 Michigan Ave. — will land in the first half of 2025. It also has a third office project in the works in Miami Beach.

Developers are rushing to build office space thanks to South Florida’s wealth migration. Some of the world’s wealthiest people moved to South Florida during and since the pandemic due to the warm climate and the state’s zero-income taxes. Corporations across the country were simultaneously expanding into the region, including Blackstone and Thoma Bravo. Executives moved down here and their staff followed, many of them searching for offices close to home.

Because Miami Beach continues to attract newcomers, developers like Sumaida + Khurana see an opportunity to deliver more workspace. In fact, nearby development of Five Park, pricey condos in South of Fifth, and nearby billionaire enclave Fisher Island drew the firm to its new South of Fifth location.