Co-working space, restaurant sign for space at new building on Las Olas Boulevard

By Brian Bandell,  Senior Reporter, South Florida Business Journal
Shared workspace company Spaces and restaurant Del Frisco's Grille have signed leases at a new building under construction on Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard.
These two companies recently signed leases at 501 at Las Olas Square, the expansion of the SunTrust Center. They would open in the fourth quarter, marking the first South Florida location for both companies.
Steelbridge Capital acquired the 270,000-square-foot office building at 501 and 515 East Las Olas Blvd. for $90 million in 2016 and soon announced plans for $10 million in renovations. That work included the 45,000-square-foot annex called 501 at Las Olas Square, which is now fully pre-leased.
“In less than two years since purchasing Las Olas Square, we are witnessing the realization of our vision to reposition this iconic asset located at the gateway to the Las Olas business district,” said Jay Caplin, managing principal of Steelbridge. “With the pre-leasing of the boutique asset to national, new-to-market tenants, we are confident that the remainder of our plans for this trophy project, including the comprehensive renovation and repositioning of the 17-story high rise tower, will offer the most modern, creative, and high-end office space delivered on Las Olas since 2002.” 
The 8,000-square-foot lease for Del Frisco's Grille was brokered by Jeffrey L. Evans, of Comras Co. on behalf of the landlord and Sara Wolfe of Koniver Stern Group for the tenant. Its only other Florida location is in Tampa.
“Del Frisco’s Grill was the natural choice as it fits the criteria and direction from ownership and brought a new, unique, and high-quality restaurant environment to the South Florida market through a renowned national brand,” Evans said.
In the Spaces lease of 31,796 square feet, Cushman & Wakefield’s Travis Herring, Deanna Lobinsky, Katherine Ridgway represented the landlord while JLL’s Jeff Heller, Gavin Macphail and Randy Carballo represented the tenant. Spaces rents workstations, offices, and meeting rooms in a social setting.
“The Las Olas market has historically seen low vacancies and the renovation underway by Steelbridge at Las Olas Square provided an opportunity for Spaces, a brand that offers a dynamic work environment for professionals and growing businesses, to strategically expand their footprint in a distinct yet modern locale,” Herring said.
SunTrust Bank will also have a 5,000-square-foot branch in the building. Stiles Construction is the general contractor. It was designed by Edge of Architecture. Apollo Global Management is a partner with Steelbridge in the project.