I just came across this website and thought it was interesting. So I signed up! Up until I found out about skyscrapercity.com, I thought I was kind of on my own in being so interested in skyscrapers and keeping track of all the new development in Miami, but it looks like I'm not the only one. Basically I've been doing my own tracking of all the new development going on in Miami, and most of what's on this website I already know about...

Here's something that I didn't see here that I thought I should share...
JR79

Miami downtown to get high-rise boost

A site formerly proposed for a baseball stadium would get six condominiums and an office tower in the latest proposal for Miami's high-rise future.

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN

mhaggman@herald.com


Six high-rise condominiums and an office tower will spring up on the largest undeveloped parcel of land in Miami's downtown and Brickell area, if builders' plans win city leaders' approval.

The 15 acres of undeveloped greenspace along the Miami River was once proposed for the Florida Marlins baseball stadium.

Beginning early next year, developers plan a decade of projects that will result in more than 2,000 residential condo units, between 50,000 and 60,000 square feet of retail space, and upwards of 200,000 square feet of office space.

It's the latest in a series of recent proposals to raise high-rise towers all over downtown Miami.

For the riverfront project, developer Lissette Calderon is partnering with Tony Cabrera of Miami-based Epoch Corp. to build three condos ranging from 41 to 54 stories.

Inigo Ardid of Miami-based Key International plans to build the other four structures, three condo towers and an office building, the tallest rising 55 stories.

Calderon and Ardid said they are collaborating on the projects so that they will look like one development.

Cabrera did not return calls for comment.

The sprawling project will likely be the biggest residential development on the Miami River. Parcels along the river have been aggressively targeted by developers seeking waterfront property. Neo, which is Calderon's Miami-based company, already has two projects on the river: Neo Lofts and Neo Vertika.

The land is particularly valued because it is near Brickell Avenue and downtown Miami, said Edie Laquer, the Miami real estate agent who brokered the sale of the property two years ago.

The six condo properties will be bordered by the Metrorail line to its west, the South Miami Avenue bridge to its east, Southwest Third Street to its north and the Miami River to the south. The 21-story office tower, slated to have 156,000 square feet of space, is set to be on the north side of Southwest Third Avenue.

Last month Key International began marketing the development's first condo -- a 47-story, 504-unit project called The Ivy. Ardid said Key plans to break ground in the first quarter of 2005. He said the project is 85 percent pre-sold.

But details about the rest of the 15-acre project have been scant. Neo has not even announced a name for the first proposed condo tower. Nor has Key International named its two other residential units or office building.

Neo and Epoch are currently deciding on a name for the first condo tower and plan to begin marketing the project next month, Calderon said. The condo will be 43 stories with approximately 480 units. She said they plan to break ground in the second quarter of 2005.

The seeds of the project were planted in April 2002 when Cabrera purchased the 15-acre site from three property owners. But Laquer said the size of the project was a ``bit more than he could chew.''

As a result, in November 2003 Laquer said she brokered the sale of a portion of the property to Ardid. Calderon was then brought in to develop the remaining property with Cabrera.

Ardid and Calderon added that they are currently in the middle of the approval process for each of their first condo towers.

Amid Miami's boom, city leaders have pushed for developments that encourage a vibrant, public street life.

This project, however, is slated to have entrances on South Miami Avenue and Southwest Third Street that will not be open to the public. Ardid said many of the retail outlets in the project are aimed to cater to the residents. He added that the project seeks a ''clublike'' feel.

But Calderon insisted that while the development aims to be secure, it also seeks to be open to the public. She noted that there will be public access into the property from the Riverwalk, the public walkway that the city requires to run along the length of the Miami River.

''This will not be a gated community,'' Calderon said. ``Although a secure community, we don't want people to imagine that its completely enclosed. We want it to be integrated into the entire urban core.''

Thanks for the info. I was waiting to hear what Calderon's next project was since her staff has been so hush, hush for the last few months. They said she would have another project coming up but did not have the info.

FANTASTIC !!!, I just joined this Website and I LOVE IT, its what I've been looking for over 5 years. I grew up in Miami and watched the OMNI HOTEL and JCPenney go up from the ground with the Developer TIBOR HOLLO who said back in 1977, IF NOBODY BUILDS NOTHING , THIS CITY WOULD BE A DEAD BEAT IN THE FUTURE. He started building all the towers behind the OMNI, and he was always being cut down by the Herald and others who always wanted all his buildings cut back 50 ft from the bay and said all his buildings were too Bulking and took up all the percentage of land.He built many projects around Miami-Dade county the same way. He gets his permits fast and beats the critics before they complain. Hes now getting ready to build the 53 story OPERA TOWER on a small peice of property next to his rental tower on 17th st. and N. Bayshore drive. This 6-Tower project next to the Miami River on the north side at Miami Avenue Bridge is going to be a SUPER CITY WITHIN A CITY Place , and I hope they begin it next spring as plan ( 2005 ).

There is also skyscraperpage.com, which started this whole foruming concept years ago in the late 90's.

But this site is the only one with a forum specifically for Florida. :)

FANTASTIC !!!, I just joined this Website and I LOVE IT, its what I've been looking for over 5 years. I grew up in Miami and watched the OMNI HOTEL and JCPenney go up from the ground with the Developer TIBOR HOLLO who said back in 1977, IF NOBODY BUILDS NOTHING , THIS CITY WOULD BE A DEAD BEAT IN THE FUTURE. He started building all the towers behind the OMNI, and he was always being cut down by the Herald and others who always wanted all his buildings cut back 50 ft from the bay and said all his buildings were too Bulking and took up all the percentage of land.He built many projects around Miami-Dade county the same way. He gets his permits fast and beats the critics before they complain. Hes now getting ready to build the 53 story OPERA TOWER on a small peice of property next to his rental tower on 17th st. and N. Bayshore drive. This 6-Tower project next to the Miami River on the north side at Miami Avenue Bridge is going to be a SUPER CITY WITHIN A CITY Place , and I hope they begin it next spring as plan ( 2005 ).


Yep, I remember when Tibor Hollo was just about the only game in town. Now he's got to get in line with the dozens of other developers who are changing the face of Miami. But I for one will give Mr. Hollo the credit he is due. He was a true pioneer. :)

Everyone, TIBOR HOLLO is well AHEAD of Starting the FOUNDATION on HIS 60 Story OPERA TOWER North Of the Raddison HOTEL, Formally THE OMNI HOTEL, This CONDO TOWER will FINISH Fast in 3 YEARS.

What About Villa Magna

since were talking of power developers here is a good review of the power players

Real Estate:

Real Estate
ALL STARS
The year’s most prolific and influential residential real estate developers.
PROJECT KEY:
A = Approvals pending; B = Broke ground; U = Under construction;
C = Completed; S = Sales underway; SO = Sold out


Pedro Martin
The CEO of Miami-based Terra International ADI caught the real estate development bug while working as an attorney representing banks and developers on their residential projects. “I had experience with developers and had always wanted to get into that myself, so in 2001 I started this company,” he says. Martin continues to practice law as a senior partner for Miami-based Greenberg Traurig but today he may be known best for his Metropolis condominium project. Located in Kendall, across from the Dadeland Mall and adjacent to a Metrorail station, this high-rise development is credited with bringing the concept of “New Urbanism” to that bedroom community. “It’s the new concept: high rises in a residential area. You can walk to everything,” Martin says. The lawyer/developer’s latest endeavor is a 50-acre project with 450 townhouses and single-family homes in Doral. It is now in the final approval stages.

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Nautica Miami Beach 33 C / SO
Metropolis Kendall 397 U / SO
Quantum on the Bay Miami 698 U
900 Biscayne Bay Miami 516 S


Phillip Wolman & Eric Sheppard
Developer and entrepreneur Phillip Wolman had vacationed at the Canyon Ranch Spa in Arizona off and on for 20 years before he struck on the idea of applying its philosophy of healthy and active living to real estate. Together with business partner Eric Sheppard, Wolman approached Canyon Ranch founder Mel Zuckerman who agreed to let the pair’s WSG Development Co. develop a six-acre oceanfront hotel spa and condominium project on Miami Beach called Canyon Ranch Living. Its three buildings — 151 condo-hotel suites and 467 condominium residences — will occupy the site of the Miami Modern-styled former Carillon Hotel, and will join the handful of ultra-luxury projects in the area. “We found our niche in this lifestyle community,” Wolman says. “It was a ‘feel good’ thing for us and for the people buying. People need something to hook into, and this particular brand gives them an emotional connection.” Wolman and Sheppard plan to continue building lifestyle communities, next in Las Vegas and West Palm Beach.

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach 618* S
* 151 condo-hotel suites; 467 condos


Willy Bermello
Willy Bermello’s route to the top has been fairly clear-cut: one door opened just as another closed shut. The former architect, now CEO of BAP Development, was a director of Miami-based Terremark Worldwide Inc. just as that company was transforming from a real estate developer to a provider of Internet services. “When Terremark left the business and went into technology, I saw an opening there and went into real estate,” says Bermello, who launched BAP in 1999. BAP’s focus is on high-end projects. “Even the more affordable ones we do will be upscale,” he says. His projects all have certain things in common: nearby is a major commercial center, as well as access to public transportation. Barring those things, Bermello says, “then it has to have sand.”

2004 Projects Location Units Status
610 Clematis West Palm Beach 246 U
ONYX Miami 118 B
ONYX 2 Miami 120 S
Opera Place West Palm Beach 420 S
Harborside Jupiter 117 A


Jorge Perez
With gross annual revenue of $1.25 billion last year, Jorge Perez’s Related Group of Florida is the third largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. Perez and his company has such a persistent and major impact on real estate development in South Florida, and has so many projects underway, he should probably skip the All Star list and go straight to the Hall of Fame. This year has been surprisingly strong, says the CEO: “We’ve experienced no slowdown. We build a good product and we sell at the right price.” Perez takes particular pride in his One Miami project, which he claims spurred the revitalization of downtown Miami. “It was an extremely important job — the first condo ever built downtown at a time when people were not thinking of downtown.” Going forward, Perez says his goal is to keep construction of his current projects on track.

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Aquazul Lauderdale by the Sea 80 U
Aventura Marina Aventura 378 B
500 Brickell Miami 633 A
City Homes West Palm Beach 41 U
Hallandale Beach Club Hallandale 1253 U
The El Prado West Palm Beach 304 U
Icon Miami Beach 304 U / SO
Las Olas Beach Club Fort Lauderdale 148 U
Marina Village at Boynton Beach 388 U
Miramar Town Center 450 U
Ocean Four Sunny Isles 281 SO
One Miami Miami 900 U / SO
St. Andrews at Kingspoint Tamarac 300 C
The Lofts Miami 197 U / SO
The Lofts Phase II Miami 496 S
The Moorings at Lantana Lantana 378 U
The Plaza on Brickell Miami 1000 U
The Residences at Miramar Miramar 348 U / SO
The Slade West Palm Beach 194 U / SO
The Venture at Aventura Aventura 500 U / SO
Villa Lofts West Palm Beach 38 C / SO


Edgardo DeFortuna
Edgardo Defortuna started off in 1980 managing his family’s South Florida real estate holdings by himself. Today the Argentine native employs 500 real estate agents, from Florida to Mexico to Argentina. His Miami-based Fortune International Group is a diversified company that develops condominiums and offers marketing and sales services. “Five years ago when the big development boom started I thought, ‘If they can do it then I can do it too.’” Defortuna says he is keen on developer-friendly Sunny Isles Beach. “They let us do architecturally interesting buildings,” he says. Fortune International is the exclusive broker for the 1800 Club condo on Biscayne Boulevard as well as approximately 24 other projects. “I want to continue to develop,” Defortuna says. “But it’s harder and harder to get waterfront.”

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Jade Residences Miami 347 C / SO
M Resort Residences Sunny Isles 210 U / SO
Jade Beach Sunny Isles 248 S
Bridgewater North Bay Village 118 U
Ocean Blue North Bay Village 105 C


Robert F. Thorne
After more than a decade as successful real estate developer for the health care industry, Robert F. Thorne decided to launch Miami-based Royal Bay Group in 1999 to build high-end, single-family homes. But the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent the luxury market into a slump, and he looked for a niche he could ply. “At that point we realized that urban, or obtainable housing, was lacking” in Miami Beach and Coconut Grove, Thorne says. Building on his “philosophy of live where you work and play,” he began developing condo projects, most recently with the $22 million Strata project, which sits on land occupied by the landmark Tigertail Lounge in Coconut Grove. With just 12 units, each starting at $1 million, Strata looks out over the city and Biscayne Bay. “It blends everything I’ve done in the last four years into one,” Thorne says. “There definitely hasn’t been a building like this in the city of Miami. That property was overlooked for so long. You have to have a vision for that site; no one would ever think you could build that kind of structure there.”

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Lofts at Mayfair Coconut Grove 99 S
Miami City View Miami 30 S
The Chelsea South Beach 30 U / SO
Westside Lofts South Beach 15 U / SO
Grand Palazzo Coconut Grove 15 C / SO
Strata Coconut Grove 12 A


Michael Samuel
Michael Samuel has spent most of the past 29 years developing real estate in New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Virginia. But the native New Yorker relocated to South Florida two years ago and quickly made headlines when his company, Miami-based Midtown Group, announced its landmark mixed-use condominium project Midtown Miami. In a joint venture with Midtown Equities, Samuel bought the largest parcel of undeveloped land in Miami, a 56-acre tract on the site of the former Buena Vista Rail Yards. The project is in the construction phase, and once completed will become a community in its own right. The development will include 3,000 residences as well as a multitude of retail and commercial properties. Samuel says he became interested in South Florida when he realized that baby boomers were relocating to the area. “We’re bringing Manhattan and SoHo to Miami,” Samuel says. “We’ll have big windows and the industrial look — real lofts.”

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Midtown Miami Miami 331* U / SO
Nirvana Miami 374 U
* Phase one


Tibor Hollo
After 56 years the undisputed granddaddy of Miami real estate development, Tibor Hollo, is still going strong. “This year, to me, has been mundane,” says Hollo, whose two current projects will add more than 1,200 condo units to the Miami market. The president of Florida East Coast Realty says he usually does “just one project every year. I’m not in a rush. I like to pace myself.” Hollo’s Opera Tower building on Biscayne Boulevard is a 60-story circular structure that is likely to become a Miami landmark. “We produce buildings that are high-end, but we price ourselves under the market — that way people are happy and we sell out fast.” The Hungarian-born Hollo says in 2006 he hopes to complete a Brickell Avenue residential project, Villa Magna, which calls for two 550-unit towers.

2004 Projects Location Units Status
The Club at Brickell Bay Miami 645 C
Opera Tower Miami 640 B


Brian Street
The company may be called Boca Developers, but don’t peg Brian Street’s projects solely to that Palm Beach County burg. From Aventura to Riviera Beach, Street’s Deerfield Beach-based company is making its mark along South Florida’s waterfront communities. “We are very conservative about our site selection,” Street says. Known for offering oversized luxury condominiums, he says, “Downsizing from a house to a condo shouldn’t have to mean downsizing your life.” His condos start at 3,000 square feet. “At the end of the day,” Street says, “if you put people into small boxes to live they’re not going to be very happy.” In partnership with developer Michael Swerdlow, Street is building Biscayne Landing, a 6,000-unit mixed-use development underway in North Miami. When completed, Street plans 40 acres of parks and lakes on the parcel. In 2005, he looks to finalize another three or four real estate transactions for the company.

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Hamptons South Aventura 220 C
The Peninsula I Aventura 225 C
The Peninsula II Aventura 221 S
Biscayne Landing North Miami 5,000 B
Sola Fort Lauderdale 253 A
Orchid Beach Deerfield Beach 44 U
Marina Grand I & II Riviera Beach 370 C / SO


Leon Wolfe
Stuart Meyers and Jorge Lopez — refugees from the Related Group of Florida — launched the Cornerstone Group in 1993 and shifted from rental development to condos and townhomes. This year the Coral Gables-based group brought on partner Leon Wolfe. He focuses on overlooked areas, “diamonds in the rough,” such as Conerstone’s Miami Shores townhouse project The Preserve, a 94-unit condo now under construction on the site of a former mobile home park. The group is also working on a number of gems in Riviera Beach. Its 600-unit Hollywood Station project will stretch four city blocks and may spur further development on the west side of South Dixie Highway. With the cost of construction rising, Wolfe says he prefers not to target unit sales to investors. “If something happens between now and when you finish the project, an investor will just walk away. To make sure your buyers close, it’s nice if they want to live there.”

2004 Projects Location Units Status
La Perla Sunny Isles 326 U / SO
Vue Residences & Beach Club Sunrise 156 U / SO
The Preserve Miami Shores 94 U / SO
San Remo North Lauderdale 192 S
Marsh Harbor Riviera Beach 404 S
Hollywood Station Hollywood 600 S


Gil Dezer
“We like to be a big fish in a small pond,” says Gil Dezer, whose family owns the vast majority of Sunny Isles Beach oceanfront property. Approximately 25 of the Dezers’ 45 acres are under development, the most high profile of which is their multi-phase partnership with developer Donald Trump. The Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences was completed last year, and the two remaining 55-story towers are currently under construction. Dezer apparently likes partnerships: he formed an alliance with The Related Group of Florida to launch the Ocean IV condo project that is set to break ground in Sunny Isles. “We owned the land, and they wanted to do a deal with us so that’s what we did,” says the Dezer Development president. In 2005 he plans to complete sales at the Trump towers. And afterwards? “We have a lot of things up in the air,” he says.

2004 Projects Location Units Status
Trump Palace Sunny Isles 278 U / SO
Trump Royale Sunny Isles 391 B
Ocean IV Sunny Isles 280 SO

http://www.southfloridaceo.com/

or check out this link little old but still good info. It's too long to post
http://www.miamisunpost.com/archives/2003/11-27-03/secondstoryfrontpage.htm

or check out this link little old but still good info. It's too long to post
http://www.miamisunpost.com/archives/2003/11-27-03/secondstoryfrontpage.htm
YES RENNER :) , Great Update in the GROUNDWORK Page :) , TOO, Thanks Again !! :cheers:

What About Villa Magna
WELL Uptown-Midtown :) , I took a Drive BY the Construction Trailer on The VILLA MAGNA Site With the 4 Construction Men in My Back Bed of My R.A.M. ( Running Around Miami ) Pick-UP Truck Singing Christmas Carols. :cheers:
Well the Men There in the Trailer Said TIBOR HOLLO seems to lose a little Interest in THIS PROJECT and More into His OPERA TOWER :) Project Starting FAST on its Foundation, The Men Also Said VILLA MAGNA probably Won't get Started for at Least 2 YEARS, Thats SAD !!! :bash:

actually this might be good villa magna parcel is one of the last remainning parcels in brickell and its important to maintain the banking that brickell is known for.if villa magna is delayed i don't think tibor will restart it because by then the latest craze will be for offices

BS

if he waits two years he will loose his city (permit) approval to build and he will have to go back to the boards for approval delaying the old project or new one an additional year or two going before planning boards and hearing boards and zoning boards.

delaying the project basically 3-4 years total

thats why i say its BS after all that money paid to lawyers to go before hearing boards and have to do it again knowing that this site gave him hell
what makes you think it wont give him hell the second time around when the miami 2020 plan goes into effect requiring that the building occupy 40 percent of the land and 60 percent landscape then what type of tower will he build there?

Rumors/Rumors/Rumors

he will start building 3-6 months from now id bet anyone on that prediction

i say they'll start a year from now maybe,remember they still haven't sold one unit,and im saying maybe because this site might give tibor more headaches then gain

i say they'll start a year from now maybe,remember they still haven't sold one unit,and im saying maybe because this site might give tibor more headaches then gain
RX :) , I'm Sorry to Say, But I'm going to Have to AGREE with Uptown-Midtown :) .
NO SALES on VILLA MAGNA as a YET, NO TOWER Construction FOR at LEAST a YEAR, MAYBE He'll Start in SPRING, 2006 :) . He Also Could JUST SELL the Property to JORGE PEREZ :) , This I can Bet on. :cheers:

True Street :)

i say they'll start a year from now maybe,remember they still haven't sold one unit,and im saying maybe because this site might give tibor more headaches then gain
TRUE Uptown-Midtown :)

hopefully thisll die and we can get some offices, its a good building, but at this point, ill take the lose of any condo building for the posibility for offices in the future

rx, wats this miami 2020 plan? building have to only occupy 40% of the space and the rest landscaping, can any1 add to this, i have never heard of this b4