The Goodtime Hotel, which encompasses the full block along Washington Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, is being co-developed by Grutman, Williams and Eric Birnbaum of Dreamscape Co.. Dreamscape owns the property and serves as lead developer on the project.

The hotel is slated to open in January 2021.

This marks Grutman’s latest investment in the South Florida hospitality industry. Grutman, who is known for nightclubs LIV and Story, has also opened high-end restaurants across Miami-Dade County including Komodo and Planta. The Goodtime Hotel is his first hotel project.

The hotel will include Strawberry Moon, a full-service restaurant, bar and pool club with indoor and outdoor seating.

Hotel amenities are to include a third-floor pool deck, lobby lounge, outdoor workout area and a recording studio, along with 45,000 square feet of retail space.

Designer Ken Fulk, who previously worked with Grutman and Williams on their restaurant Swan, designed the hotel.

Zero Empty Spaces fills vacant retail locations with art studios

While some may see vacant retail space as an eyesore or inconvenience, Zero Empty Spaces sees opportunity.

The Fort Lauderdale-based company, led by CEO Andrew Martineau, created 11 pop-up art studios/galleries that provide cheap studio spaces for local artists.

“It’s something [landlords are] using as a vacant management strategy, or for new builds, as they draw traffic and interest to a new development,” Martineau said. “It creates an activation at a location that would traditionally be closed and dark.”

He opened the company’s first gallery along Las Olas Boulevard in July 2019.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the company’s growth in recent months as vacancies became more common.

Zero Empty Spaces pays all liability and utility expenses for the space and, in turn, the landlord does not charge rent.

After about a week of outfitting a vacant space into multiple 300-square-foot art studios and galleries, artists move in to create and showcase their art, Martineau said. The company charges just $2 a square foot.

With potentially dozens of artists operating at a once-vacant storefront, he added, it brings positive light to the shopping center and can help a landlord attract new tenants. Martineau said three studios have already closed after the landlord signed a new tenant to move into the space. One was vacant for a year, another for two years and the third for five years.

Michael Weymouth, president of the Las Olas Co. in Fort Lauderdale, was the first landlord to partner with Zero Empty Spaces. And that partnership has paid dividends twice.

The first location Zero Empty Spaces occupied quickly attracted the eyes of Quiet Storm, a national surf shop chain with one other South Florida store. Because of the initial success, Weymouth said he moved the company into another vacant space he owned along Las Olas Boulevard. Now that space has a new tenant that will open soon.

“It got to the point that we had to move them so frequently because their spaces kept being gobbled up,” he said.

Now, Martineau said, Zero Empty Spaces is attracting much larger developers looking to activate dark storefronts. He said he is negotiating a deal with Simon Properties, the nation’s largest mall operator, for a space within a Miami mall.

He Said It

“The plan is to grow outside of the state either next year or 2022, but we haven’t decided just yet.”

— Chris Gannon, CEO of Palm Beach Gardens-based fast-casual chain Bolay

Retail Roundup

Primark

National fashion retailer Primark opened a 36,800-square-foot store at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise on Oct. 22. The location will support 300 jobs, the company said. This is the chain’s first Florida store.

Ross Dress for Less

This off-price clothing and home goods chain opened a 30,000-square-feet store at River Landing Shops & Residences in Miami. The addition of Ross brings the retail center to 75% occupancy, joining other national chains including Hobby Lobby, Burlington and Five Below.

Rising Tide Car Wash

Broward County-based Rising Tide received approval from the Coral Springs Commission to open a new location at 10340 Royal Palm Blvd. in Coral Springs. The chain, which hires a large number of employees with autism, hopes to break ground on this location in spring 2021 and open in late 2021 or early 2022.

Markaled

This Istanbul-based jeweler signed a lease to open in the Time Century building in Miami, which is currently being renovated. Markaled, which will occupy 1,500 square feet, is slated to open in the second quarter of 2022, when the renovations are completed. Time Century’s retail space is 60% preleased.