A Coconut Grove investment firm paid $22.15 million for 17 retail condos and a three-story parking garage at Santona Corner, a mixed-use building on South Dixie Highway in Coral Gables.

The deal, recorded in Miami-Dade property records and first reported by the South Florida Business Journal on Friday, Sept. 18, covered 27,567 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at 1430 S. Dixie Highway and a 56,418-square-foot parking garage with 178 spaces at 1430 Madruga Ave.

An entity tied to Azora Capital, the private equity firm founded by Ravi Chopra, was the buyer, The Real Deal reported. Azora is based at 3480 Main Highway in Coconut Grove. The firm financed the purchase with a $12.8 million mortgage from Abanca USA that matures in seven years, according to Vizzda data cited by The Real Deal.

The seller was Santona 172 Realty LLC, led by Alexander B. Cornfeld of New York-based ABC Properties Equities, according to Hawkins Commercial Realty.

Azora Capital describes itself as a long-short equity fund focused on financial services, but the firm has been expanding into South Florida real estate. The Real Deal reported in September 2025 that a related Azora entity paid $82 million for Miami office buildings.

Santona Corner's tenants include Madruga Bakery, a bakery and cafe known for milling its own flour, along with a hair salon and a furniture store, according to The Real Deal.

The sale lands in a tight Coral Gables retail market. Vacancy stood at 1.4 percent across 2.2 million square feet in the second quarter of 2026, with average asking rents of $60 per square foot, according to Colliers data cited by The Real Deal. Coral Gables Economic Development Director Belkys Perez pegged citywide retail vacancy at roughly 2 percent as of May 2026.

That demand has drawn new capital. Terranova Corporation, the largest landlord on Miracle Mile, signed 17 new leases totaling 96,791 square feet and more than $56 million in rent over the life of the agreements in a five-month stretch starting in November 2025, according to the Coral Gables Gazette.

"Financial companies that normally never went there are moving because commute times are less and it's half the cost of Brickell," CBRE's Grant Killingsworth said at the CCIM Institute Florida Chapter's annual outlook conference in January 2026, as reported by The Real Deal.

No public filings indicate whether Azora plans renovations or changes to the tenant mix at Santona Corner.