Gas Station & Retail Leasing in Florida
Not every owner wants to sell. Leasing keeps the real estate, the appreciation, and the depreciation in your name while somebody else runs the day to day — and it turns an operating business into passive income.
We lease fuel and convenience sites across Florida, and restaurant and retail space in Miami and Miami Beach. Landlord side and tenant side both.
Two Practices, One Bench
Fuel & Convenience
Gas stations, c-stores, and travel centers. We underwrite the rent against what the site can actually produce — gallons, margin, inside sales — rather than against whatever the comparable down the road happens to be asking. That is the difference between a lease that runs its term and one that defaults in year two.
- ✓ Lease-up of vacant or underperforming sites
- ✓ Operator qualification and financial vetting
- ✓ Ground leases and build-to-suit structures
- ✓ Fuel supply agreement and assignment review
- ✓ Renewals, restructures and rent resets
Restaurant & Retail
Miami and Miami Beach street retail and restaurant space, led by Joe Tomaszewski — whose leasing work includes Pastis in Wynwood and a long run of restaurant deals along Lincoln Road in South Beach. High-visibility corridors where the tenant mix sets the rent.
- ✓ Restaurant and hospitality space
- ✓ Street retail and mixed-use ground floor
- ✓ Tenant representation and site selection
- ✓ Build-out allowance and TI negotiation
- ✓ Lease terms beyond rent — options, use, exclusivity
Should You Lease It or Sell It?
Most owners arrive assuming those are the only two options and that selling is the default. Neither is quite right. Here is the honest version.
Leasing usually wins if…
You believe in the location long term, you want out of the operating grind rather than out of the asset, you would face a large taxable gain on a sale, or the site is underperforming for reasons a better operator would fix. Leasing also buys time — a stabilised, leased station sells later on a cap rate, which is often a stronger outcome than selling a tired owner-operated business today.
Selling usually wins if…
You want a clean exit and no landlord obligations, the market is competitive for your asset class right now, you have a 1031 target you would rather own, or the site carries environmental or capex exposure you would rather transfer than hold. Being a landlord is not passive if the tenant fails, and the tank liability does not leave with them.
And there is a third option
Lease the site to a qualified operator, let it season for a year or two, then sell it as a net-leased investment. You get income in the meantime and sell into a deeper, more passive buyer pool at the end. It is more work than either simple path, and for the right site it produces meaningfully more than both. Read more on how gas stations are valued to see why the two exits price so differently.
How We Lease a Site
Underwrite the achievable rent
What the site can produce, not what the neighbour is asking. We build it from gallons, margin, inside sales and other income, then set a rent an operator can carry through a soft quarter.
Position and market it
To operators already running sites in the submarket, to groups looking to expand, and to our existing buyer and operator list — not just to whoever answers a sign.
Qualify hard before you commit
Financial capacity, real operating history, who signs and who guarantees. A weak tenant on a strong site costs a landlord more than a few extra months of vacancy.
Negotiate the terms that bite
Escalations, options, environmental responsibility for the tanks, maintenance obligations, and condition at surrender. The headline rent is the part everyone reads; these are the parts that decide what the lease is worth.
Leasing FAQ
Can I lease out my gas station instead of selling it?
Yes, and for many owners it is the better outcome. Leasing keeps the real estate, the appreciation, and the depreciation benefits in your name while an operator takes on the day-to-day. It also converts an operating business into passive income, which is a very different asset when you eventually do sell — a stabilised, leased site trades on a cap rate rather than an EBITDA multiple.
What rent can I get for my gas station?
Rent has to be supported by the store economics, not just by comparable rents down the road. We underwrite what the site can actually produce — fuel gallons and margin, inside sales, and other income — then set a rent the operator can pay through a soft quarter. A rent the tenant cannot carry is not a higher rent, it is a future vacancy and a default on your record.
What is a ground lease and when does it make sense?
In a ground lease the tenant leases the land and builds or owns the improvements. It suits sites where the dirt is the valuable part — a hard corner, a signalised intersection, strong counts — and where a credit tenant will invest their own capital in the building. Terms are long, obligations sit almost entirely with the tenant, and the landlord holds a low-management income stream.
Do you represent tenants as well as landlords?
Both. On the tenant side we help operators and restaurant groups find sites, read the market rent honestly, and negotiate the terms that matter beyond the headline number — options, exclusivity, co-tenancy, permitted use, and who carries what at turnover.
How long does it take to lease a gas station or retail space?
For a fuel site with reasonable economics, typically 60 to 120 days from listing to signed lease, with the qualifying of the operator being the slow part rather than finding interest. Restaurant and specialty retail can run longer, because the tenant needs to underwrite build-out cost, permitting and grease, venting or seating constraints before they can commit.
What should a landlord check before signing a fuel operator?
Financial capacity to carry rent through a slow quarter, actual operating history rather than an aspiration, who is on the fuel supply agreement and whether it can be assigned, personal guarantees, and environmental responsibility for tanks during and at the end of the term. A weak tenant on a strong site costs more than a short vacancy.
Have space to lease — or looking for space?
Tell us about the site and what you're trying to accomplish. If leasing isn't the right answer we'll tell you that too.