In this episode of Thea’s Neighborhood Magic, Thea sits down with Jared Robins, founder and principal of In House Commercial, a full-service commercial real estate company based in Miami Beach.

Thea and Jared recall Collins Avenue, a once-thriving shopping district in Miami Beach that has struggled in recent years—as tenants have moved to other neighborhoods or shifted to online sales.

Stretching from Fifth to Thirteenth Streets, Collins Avenue was the heart of retail in Miami Beach during the mid-2000s. Today, its iconic art deco storefronts are largely empty, and “totally forgotten about,” according to Jared.

Jared, a Miami Beach native from a multi-generational family of real estate developers, shares his emotional connection to the neighborhood and his determination to restore its vibrancy.

Determined to revitalize the area, Jared and his team have rallied the majority of stakeholders in the Collins Avenue Fashion District to embrace change. They’ve listed multiple parcels for sale or lease, creating a powerful opportunity to transform the neighborhood.

Whether a single entity curates the district or multiple players step in to build a new revitalized tenant base, Collins Avenue now stands at a pivotal crossroads.

Thea shares some of the challenges she faced during the revitalization of Wynwood and Allapattah, and explains how, compared to these areas, Miami Beach is a walk in the park—a very beautiful park.

This episode also touches on the fragility of neighborhoods. As Thea puts it: “The ecosystem needs to be cared for constantly, because in our lifetime we’ve seen a neighborhood on the uptick, hit a high note and then this sharp decline and this conversation we are having here heralds the new day in the neighborhood.”

And together, Thea and Jared explore what makes a neighborhood stick, and how to build a welcoming community hub.

Jared asks Thea about the challenges she encountered in the early days of Wynwood and Allapattah. Miami Beach is a walk in the park - a very beautiful park.

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