Kind of silly but has some good updates

Groundwork

By Helen Hill



THREE’S COMPANY



It started off as Trilogy (which also happens to be a home building company elsewhere in the state) so now it’s known as Terzetto, a play on the Italian for a combination of threes.

That’s because the Merco Group’s complex on N.E. 186th Street in Aventura has three parts: a 16-story condominium building, an 11-story double –height loft building and 60 three-story villas. Marketing director David Dion reports that the project took in over 200 reservations in four days even though the sales office is not due to open until September in the former Diamond City building at 17900 Biscayne Boulevard. Plans are to phase in the buildings at six month intervals with groundbreaking of the condos scheduled for January 2005 and completion in mid-2006


Waverly Beach Tower
SURFSIDE’S UP

Another oceanfront rental disappears in favor of condominiums. The one-year-old Waverly in Surfside is converting 111 units in the oceanfront 12-story Waverly Beach Tower at 9201 Collins Avenue and the four-story The Waverly Garden Villas across the road at 9172 Collins Avenue. The main building, which was 97 percent leased, is offering tenants a 45-day window to decide if they want to buy in. Meanwhile, 30 live buyers snagged units in the first two days of sales. Atlanta-based developer Sol Margolias of the Margolias Realty Group, which bought the Waverly from ZOM USA for $33.5 million, says that he’s amazed at the interest in Miami oceanfront property.

He added that the nearly new building was in such good shape that it needed only a few thousand dollars to bring it up to snuff. Still, buyers can opt for such upgrades of granite countertops, hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances. Owners in both buildings will be able to use the newly-installed beach club complete with palm trees, lounges, hammocks and volley ball. Units ranging from 707 to 1,608 square feet are priced from the $300s in the oceanfront building and from the $240s in the garden building.


Waverly Garden Villas


A TREE TOPS THE TOWER



The Scandinavians have been doing it for a thousand years, so why not Floridians?

An ancient legend decrees that a new building should have a tree placed on the roof in a topping-off ceremony to appease the spirits who were displaced from trees cut down for building shelters. Sounds like a good enough reason for a party so Coscan Homes, general contractor for the 50-story, 274 unit Trump Palace at18101 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach hoisted a tree to the top of the tallest building in the city and got out the beer kegs. They were celebrating the completion of 18 months of work – safely and on time. Some 400 workmen labored on the project daily, using a total of 60,000 cubic yards of concrete, 6,500 tons of reinforced steel and half a million pounds of post tension cable to build the structure. .All construction work stopped at noon last Friday when workers, contractors, and local VIPs gathered on site to don commemorative T-shirts, tuck into a barbecue buffet and wash it all down with a brew. This was a topping-off celebration to make the contractor, the developer -- and the spirits – all very happy




EAR TO THE GROUND



The pampered life is getting more exotic every day as yet another top-of-the-line spa joins the rush to bring a beautiful lifestyle to local condo buyers/residents. The word is that an internationally famous French spa (name still under wraps) will be doing its hedonistic thing in the new luxe residences at NoBe Beach and NoBe Bay just down the road from Canyon Ranch in North Beach. And if those names are unfamiliar, think new identity for the condos planned for the landmark Deauville Hotel and across the way on Indian Creek



**

Buying pre-construction is always risky. It appears that some buyers are walking away from their deposits rather than ante up the several hundred thousand dollars needed to close on units in a couple of recently–completed projects. Reportedly, a few are opting out for personal financial circumstances, but others are expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of the buildings and increased prices. Sounds like developers have to make sure they deliver on everything they promise!



**

Is Bal Harbour about to get another royal flag? The upscale St. Regis name is being mentioned as the hotel of choice for the Sheraton Bal Harbour’s proposed condominium project. If so, it will mark Starwood’s first St. Regis in the Miami area. The tony village is already anticipating the arrival of WCI’s upscale One Bal Harbour’s Regent Residences and Regent Bal Harbour’s Hotel Suite Residences. And of course the Regent South Beach on Ocean Drive is set to open next spring. Let’s hope the mailman – and everyone else concerned – gets the names right!



**

Invitations to sign a "letter of interest," and return it with a $15,000 deposit have gone out to selected brokers and “friends” for units in 50 Biscayne, The Related Group’s next major mixed-use condo project in Downtown Miami. The option to buy into the project planned for the site between 1st and Flagler Street, opens today August 26th and the project is scheduled to go on sale to the general public on Labor Day (Monday, September 6th.) Stay tuned for more info.



**

Is Michael Jackson shopping for a Miami pad to escape the outside world? Could be, with reports of an unidentified real estate broker showing the gloved one a home in Gables Estates.





Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhillnow@yahoo.com.

http://www.miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

aha trump is topped out great news

LOL MIAballinboi :) , " THE DONALD ", also has started on HIS SECOND TOWER " THE TRUMP ROYALE " right next to HIS Tower just Topped off, Both are the SAME at 55 Stories, also a height of 550 FEET, FAA AGGREEEMENT :bash: , Darn it, A CEILING CAP FOR SUNNY ILES BEACH. BUT GET READY FOR Another 550 FOOTER, YES its True !, THE JADE BEACH CONDO, at 170 ST and COLLINS AVE., Also a little shorter but still over 500 Feet is the LA PERLA CONDO at 51 stories at 163rd and Collins, and LOL THE OCEAN 4 CONDO at 45 Stories. :cheers:

^^

darn what is wrong with the faa, why do they got a height limit for sunny isles?????? damm :bash:

cant wait for those 500 footer though

Groundwork






DUO #6780. The groundbreaking team at Duo consisted of Triad Housing Partners David Schultz and Oliver Pfeffer, Hallandale Beach City Manager D. Mike Good and Mayor Joy Cooper, along with David Reich, also of Triad.





By Helen Hill
Columnist
House Party



They came, they partied and they raved about Miami… but did they buy homes here?

MTV’s VMA awards brought in dozens of potential clients, but only a few real estate people were out talking up the virtues of life in Miami. Local developer Pedro Martin of Terra International – developers of 900 Biscayne Bay – figured in the celebrity-packed VMA action as co-host of P. Diddy’s Fabulous Fifty Party at P. Diddy’s mansion on Star Island Saturday night. Guests included Diana Ross, Bruce Willis, Usher, Will Smith, Al Sharpton, Paris Hilton, Eva Mendes, and Owen Wilson. Quite a lineup of celebs savoring Miami lifestyle. According to some local brokers, a number of celebrities, including one particular A-list actress, had planned to view homes when they were in town for the VMA Awards. But with all the yachting, partying and partying, house-hunting was postponed for another visit. The best news – from Los Angeles – is the current (and not just the music industry) celebrity love affair with Miami and Miami Beach, which are emerging as the place to have a home. Reportedly, world-class amenities that include fine hotels and restaurants and the availability of mega living spaces are giving the area an edge it hasn’t seen before. And what are the big names looking for? Waterfront homes, spectacular fabulous penthouses and anything fabulous around Ocean Drive.


Aventura Waterfront



Is there condo conversion in the future of Aventura rental building Lincoln Pointe Apartments, or are the bulldozers gearing up to make way for a new luxury tower? James M. Cauley, Jr., president of Tarragon South Corporation, says, “At present we are finalizing our plans for its usage.” All will be revealed in the next few weeks when the company submits a site plan to the City of Aventura.

Tarragon South, a subsidiary of Tarragon Corporation (Nasdaq: TARR), in partnership with Claudio Stivelman and Gilbert Benhamou of Shefaor Development Group, Ltd., paid just over $41 million for the 285-unit building, on a 9.1-acre waterfront site at 17900 N.E. 31st Court located on a peninsula just northwest of the Williams Island Marina. Their development strategy is likely to be based on Aventura regulations which allow more than the existing building with a density of up to 500 units and a 400 feet or 40 stories height limit.


Two for the Beach



Hallandale Beach is decidedly on the map these days with popular new projects such as The Duo condominium at 1725 East Hallandale Beach Blvd. reporting that 97 percent of its units are under contract. According to Premier Sales Group, sales got off to a record-breaking start last March when 2,000 people showed up and 356 of the 398 units were reserved at lowball starting prices on the first day. Now the foundation and piling work is under way, part of a fast-track program for constructing both twin 25-story towers at the same time. Construction of Duo on a site behind the Diplomat Mall overlooking the greens of the Diplomat Country Club golf course is scheduled for completion by late 2005/ early 2006. Triad Housing Partners, David A. Schultz, David M. Reich and Oliver B. Pfeffer are developers of the $130 million Duo project.

With fewer than a dozen units left, one-bedrooms are priced from the $260,000s, two-bedrooms from the $290,000s, three-bedrooms from the $420,000s, and penthouses from $555,000. Lanai lofts start at $445,000. Architect Kobi Karp has designed nearly 75,000-square-feet of amenities and public spaces for Duo, including a multi-million-dollar clubhouse, set between the property’s two residential towers.

A groundbreaking party recently celebrated success with buyers and invited guests socializing in a white tent furnished with oversized white couch squares and ice sculptures of the towers. A duo played background music to the sipping of martinis and munching of duo-themed hors d’oeuvres of the strawberries and Brie kind, and later a go-go dancer livened things up from a tabletop stage. Guests ranged from the sedate, dressed in “I’ve just stepped off my yacht” gear to decidedly hip “South Beach meets Hallandale” buyers.


New Club, New Life


Rendering of the 1800 Club.

Sounds like Michael Baumann, president of BCOM, has a thing for history, give or take a few hundred years. He was the original owner of the land that houses the ancient Miami Circle on the Miami River and is now focusing on developing The 1800 Club on a site sacred to Miami’s celebrity past. The original 1800 Club was a popular restaurant and after-hours watering hole frequented (though not all at the same time ) by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman and other luminaries as well as politicians including then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and some of Miami’s “infamous” characters

BCOM purchased the faded club in 2001 and demolished it to make way for a 41-story luxury condo at 18th Street and North Bayshore Drive. With backing from multi-million dollar union pension funds taking the strain off construction financing, BCOM has already broken ground.

Architectural firm Bermello, Ajamil & Partners, Inc. has designed The 1800 Club’s 469 one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, to give panoramic views of Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach and Downtown Miami. Hurricane resistant floor-to-ceiling windows, large balconies, granite kitchen countertops and marble flooring in all bathrooms are among the many features offered. Units are priced from just under $200,000 to $2,000,000. Fortune International is handling sales for The 1800 Club, which is slated for completion in 2006.


Ear to the Ground



Want a new address for your weekend retreat? How about The Shore Club in South Beach which is going condo. No news yet on the extent of renovations or prices, but look out for sales of units to start in time for the winter season.


Kudos






From left to right: Claudia Forestieri representing the Shops at Midtown, Ray Cruz of St. John’s Clinic, Roberto Clemente Park Manager Kathy Coddle, Jose Cruz of St. John’s Clinic and Jose Aquino of Stay Well Health happily hold up thank you cards made by Wynwood area children who received free backpacks and school supplies just in time for Back-to-School Night.

TO: Developers Diversified Realty of the Shops at Midtown Miami who donated $500 for backpacks and school supplies to local children from the Wynwood neighborhood just in time for Back-to-School Night. The company, which is currently constructing the 600,000 square foot shopping center, just north of downtown Miami along North Miami Avenue, has been recognized as a positive community resource and supporter of local causes.

TO: Miami architect Chad Oppenheim for inclusion in the list of top 100 multi-housing architects by Multi-Housing News, a 35-year old industry publication. Now in its second year, the list of the top 100 will be featured in a special section in the September 2004 issue. Multi-Housing News selects the architects based on several criteria: the volume of multifamily work announced during the year; voluminous feedback from industry owners/developers; and the subjective judgment of the magazine's editorial staff of which firms are creating the most interesting work. The Ilona, Alliage, Ten Museum Park and Space 01 are among Oppenheim’s designs cited for the award.



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhillnow@yahoo.com.

http://www.miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

GOOD NEWS Renner, I took a ride by the SITE OF THE 1800 CLUB CONDO Tower, Work is WELL Underway, and the Contractor told me its got a height of 465 FEET, at 41 Stories, WOW, THE BEST IS YET TO COME in 2006 and 2007, ITS Going to be GREAT !!!

Groundwork, BROKEN Ground Work Past Starting on the 42 story NEO VERTIKA CONDO at SW 7 St and THE MIAMI RIVER next to the North Brickell Metrorail, THE CRANES are pounding DRILLS DAILY into the ground. THIS Beautiful CONDO will rise 448 Feet above the Miami River.

Neo Vertika is a great design, one of the classier ones going up in Miami right now. I've been looking forward to this project since it was announced. Is this directly beside Brickell on the RIver?

i did not know neovertika was 42 stories i thought it was somewhere along the lines of 26 or 36 last time i heard....

I have it as a 36 story high rise.....

also, can someone tell me which way this thing is going to be facing?

will the front point NE, NW, SE, or SW?

http://www.newconstruction.cc/Loft_Images/Neo_Vertika/NeoVertika.gif

http://www.newconstruction.cc/Loft_Images/Neo_Vertika/1pixeltrans.gif

Neo Vertika is a great design, one of the classier ones going up in Miami right now. I've been looking forward to this project since it was announced. Is this directly beside Brickell on the RIver?
No SKY, its WEST of the METRORAIL Track on the RIVER, THE BRICKELL ON THE RIVER Condos (2) is EAST of the METRO MOVER TRACK, about 3 to 4 blocks away. I MADE A MISTAKE on the STORIES of the NEO VERTIKA, its Really 36 Stories, But most with higher Ceilings to make it over 400 Feet tall. WHAT I meant of the 42 STORIES, 448 FEET TALL is BRICKELL ON THE RIVER 1. sorry men, my mistake, :) .

nevermind...judging from the river in the first pic...the front will be facing NE!...I hope it doesn't look too bad from the back!

also, can someone tell me which way this thing is going to be facing?

will the front point NE, NW, SE, or SW?

http://www.newconstruction.cc/Loft_Images/Neo_Vertika/NeoVertika.gif

http://www.newconstruction.cc/Loft_Images/Neo_Vertika/1pixeltrans.gif
VERY Good Question STREET, The Front Lobby entrance Faces NorthEast next to the RIVER and The METRORAIL. NOW your kind of wondering, why so near Metrorail, another good question, anyone who has been near Metrorail Knows about the NOISE ( SQUEALLLLS ) and I mean its Noisy at times. But I guess some people are used to that noise, SO They better keep those windows close and the Air Condition on high, LOL.

Yeah it sure is a beautiful building with some clever design, but not only is it built right next to MetroRail, but you can't access the Metrorail unless you walk a few blocks south to the Brickell Station.
The Brickell on the River is on the MetroMover the "tracks" are just concrete with an electric car with rubber wheels moving at about the 5th floor height.

Groundwork

By Helen Hill
Columnist


Rendering of the Avenue
Brickell has a New Avenue



The arrival of a national New York-based developer is one more indication that Miami has made it to the national real estate radar screen. Avenue, a 570-unit, mixed-used condominium project slated to rise at 1060 Brickell Avenue, is the newest project of Intell Management and Investment Company in partnership with European investors. Gary Barnett is head of the company noted for developing the highly successful W Hotel Times Square, redeveloping the 1.8 million square foot Insurance Exchange Building in downtown Chicago and acquiring and subsequently selling the former Enron Corporation headquarters in Houston. Barnett says that Intell is planning two towers, a 35-story tower facing S.E. 1st Avenue and a 47-story tower facing Brickell Avenue.

SB Architects (Sandy Babcock) led by Joseph Andriola, have designed a sculptural, slim-profiled building with a two-story lobby and 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail shops; a 12-story parking garage and ten stories of loft-type apartments with double-height living spaces, ranging from 570 square foot studios and lofts up to 2,500 square foot duplex penthouses. All the expected amenities such as a 12th-level amenity deck with pools and gardens, state-of-the-art fitness center with spa treatment rooms, a business center with conference rooms, a virtual golf room, a billiards room, a wine and cigar lounge and a home theater will feature in the tech-smart building which will also be pet friendly. Prices for units range from the low $200,000s to more than $1 million. Chicago-based interior design firm The Gettys Group (they recently completed the interiors for The Conrad Miami Hotel) are designing the public spaces.

Fortune International is handling sales for Avenue and is currently hosting the sales office in its corporate headquarters at 1300 Brickell Avenue.



Condo Conversion Coming Up



There is a new owner, new name, new incarnation for at least one of three buildings in the Oceanview Waterfront Residences in Sunny Isles Beach.

Crescent Heights, ranked as one of the nation’s largest condo converters, has started the transformation of the 400-unit west building (building A) at 19390 Collins Avenue to condominiums. Among the improvements are replacement windows of floor-to-ceiling glass to capture ocean and Intracoastal views. A choice of three floor plans offers 1- and 2- bedroom condos, ranging from 1,000 to 1,525 square feet plus glass-walled balconies. The Oceanview complex is at the northern end of Sunny Isles Beach across the Intracoastal from Turnberry Isle and features three heated pools and fitness centers, tennis court, business center and a sundries store. Tenants have the opportunity to purchase their units over the next 45 days and sales will open to the public in about 6 to 8 weeks. Starting prices are expected to be in the $160s.


Financial Anchors



When Groundwork wrote about Aventura’s Harbour Center at 18851 N.E. 29th Avenue last December, the first tenants were moving in. Now the 220,000 square Class A office building is shaping up as Bank Central with a total of five financial institutions – Bank Hapoalim, Israel Discount Bank, Mellon Bank, Suntrust and UBS Financial Services in the 220,000 square ft. Class A office building. At this rate Aventura will be giving Brickell Avenue a run for the money with the number of bank offices in the area.


New Offices



Harbour Center developers Lauris Boulanger and Mark Rousso have turned their sights south to North Miami Beach where they are planning a 55,000 square foot office building on the north side of N.E. 163rd Street between US1 and A1A. Construction of the nine-story tower should start in late October.


A Spacious Spread



North Bay Village is coming into its own with an eclectic mix of people and businesses and buildings to match. Space 01, one of the first of NBV’s wave of luxury projects, recently chalked up sales of two combined loft units (of 1,919 square feet and 1,815 square feet) for $1.4 million each, an unprecedented price for the area. The result: a whopping 3,734 square foot space with a 70-foot wide living room, 12-foot ceilings and raised sleeping platforms. Everything has been customized to include top-of-the-line appliances and fittings.

Cambridge Development Group reports that it has sold all of Space 01’s lofts except for some penthouse and lower penthouse units. Now the developer is targeting the $600,000 plus buyer market, especially out-of-towners from Los Angeles and New York who regard the $350 a square foot average as a bargain!


Penthouse with a Capital “P”



Speaking of space, how about a penthouse that offers a whopping 7,861 square feet of air-conditioned space plus and 6,000 square feet of balcony space and full frontal ocean and city views?


Floor plan for Diplomat Oceanfront Residences

The top floor of the 28-story luxury Diplomat Oceanfront Residences next door to the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood is for sale as an extraordinary residence. The $5.9 million, house-sized penthouse will feature top-of-the-line luxury kitchen and bath appointments and all the details and finishes expected in that price bracket.

Oh, and for buyers who want something just a little smaller, two other penthouse-sized and upgraded residences, with 6,026 air-conditioned square feet, or 5,000 square feet of living space, are offered at $3.42 and $2.66 million, respectively. The other floors will have six residences per floor ranging in size from approximately 2,300 to more than 3,200 square feet under air plus generous terraces. Pre-construction pricing for these residences is priced from the $600,000s.

Developer Taylor Woodrow is promoting the fact that their condominiums are built more like quality homes than condominiums with the emphasis on hidden assets such as sound insulation, water protection features, etc. Another advantage for buyers is access to the Westin Diplomat’s Resort’s dining and other amenities plus select services from The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa including room service, housekeeping and concierge.


Transforming a Neighborhood


Hibiscus Pointe

Not every new development in Miami-Dade is targeted to affluent buyers; some like Hibiscus Pointe, a newly opened 212-unit rental community at 1274 N.W. 79th Street, offer residents with limited incomes many of the amenities found in more upscale projects.

Cornerstone Group Development cleaned up the nine-acre site, replacing a rundown mobile home park with nine attractive, two- and three-story buildings. The 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom balconied apartments range in size from 700 to 1,154 square feet and rent for $542 to $752 per month. Amenities in the new, gated community include clubhouse with computer lab, fitness room, a 50-person conference room and laundry facility. The recreation area encompasses a pool, children’s playground, barbeque pavilion and gazebo.

At the recent grand opening celebration, VIP guests included Commissioner Dorrin Rolle of Miami-Dade County, Dewey Knight Jr., the county’s community outreach liaison, Alphonso K. Brewster, acting director of the Miami-Dade Housing Agency; Patricia Brynan, director of the Housing Finance Authority, Mara Mades, executive vice president of Cornerstone Group Development and, bursting with pride on the successful completion of the project, Leon Wolfe, president of Cornerstone Group Development


Hot Market



Demand for single-family homes in Aventura outweighs the supply judging by the speedy sales in the Aventura Lakes community of 400 homes. Currently of the 12 pending sales, eight homes were sold in less than 90 days, with a couple of homes finding new owners in only two days.

Prices have appreciated considerably over the past couple of years; a house that was then $385,000 is now worth more than $550,000. Asking prices for the dozen or so houses currently offered on MLS range from $665,000 to $1.399 million. Four of them have crossed the million dollar “ask” threshold. Those owners may be a little over-optimistic though: the highest-recorded sale price in Aventura Lakes stands at $875,000 achieved last year. The Northeast Miami-Dade neighborhood that used to be populated mainly by seniors living in condos has attracted many families and young people. Aventura’s new charter school is a big draw, along with amenities such as a community center, park and major shopping mall nearby.

Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics. Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhillnow@yahoo.com.
http://miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

GREAT WEB SITE Renner !, At the Bottom of your POST # 16. GO THERE Everyone and See THE AVENUE CONDO TOWERS , the both of Them AWESOME, I can't wait to See all these Construction Cranes Next Fall , 2005< There's Going to be More Construction CRANES Than BUILDINGS, LOL. AND Guess WHAT !, The Interest Rates ARE DOWN AGAIN, You know what that means at www.interest.com BE THERE or BE SQUARE, j/k.

RENNER ? :) , You have any GROUNDWORK on that BEACON at Brickell Site off S.E. 8th Street right west of that Miami Metro Mover Flyover. I think the website is www.beaconatbrickellvillage.com Check it out.

http://thebeaconatbrickellvillage.com/

http://thebeaconatbrickellvillage.com/
THANKS RX, :) NOW Thats an AWESOME CONDO Building !, And it will be BUILT By RENZI Development Group, because its mostly Sold to Central and South American Investors. When this Building goes up, along with the Plaza on Brickell 2 towers and the Brickell on the River 2 Towers, THIS City is going to be GREAT with The NEW MIAMI RIVER Multi-Million Dollar Dredging Project, WOW ! :cheers:

Groundwork



By Helen Hill
Columnist



The French Connection

Sunny Isles Beach will get a touch of Mediterranean pizzazz when St Tropez goes up along the last undeveloped frontier in the resort city. Veteran developers Joseph Milton and Yosi Gil of J. Milton and Associates are planning four or five towers on the south side of Sunny Isles Boulevard/ NE 163rd St. They own 1,200 feet on the water and envision a Las Olas type urban center with mixed-use retail at street level and residential above.

Architect Kobi Karp has designed towers with three-bedroom units of 2,000 square feet targeted at buyers of primary homes, priced from $480,000 to $580,000. The developer plans to build three towers simultaneously, with ground breaking in January/February and construction expected to start in mid-summer 2005. They also announced that they will donate land for a public park, dockage for a water taxi and facilities for the police marine patrol’s equipment. Altogether the plan calls for up to seven buildings, one of which will be Class A offices. .




Axis at Brickell

As the Village Turns

Another new development in the Brickell area, this one on 2.2 acres in the emerging neighborhood dubbed Brickell Village just west of Brickell Avenue from the river to Coral Way. The project around which everything will revolve is called Axis at Brickell Village at 1100 S.W. First Avenue. The developer, C.R.E-Brack Capital Real Estate LTD is planning to build two 40-story towers with 718 residential units and 20,000 square feet of street-level retail and commercial space.

True to form, Miami-based architects Arquitectonica, have designed a pair of distinctive buildings in minimalist style featuring horizontal bands of glass that end in an undulating edge to give the buildings a sensual vertical profile. The curves become more defined as the towers rise, culminating in two sloping roofs that appear to take off in opposite directions.

The units will come with kitchens featuring stainless steel appliances, and a choice of Italian cabinetry and granite counters as well as luxury bathrooms heavy on the marble. Each will have a wide terrace suitable for outdoor living offering typical Miami spectacular sunrise or sunset views of the bay and city. Amenities will include a seventh floor pool deck with large infinity-edge pool for each tower; a 12,000 square foot state-of-the-art fitness center/spa and a club room with billiards and an indoor/outdoor wet bar. Residents can also a library, widescreen theater room and a fully equipped business center. This is the first Florida project for New York-based Brack Capital Real Estate - USA (BCRE-USA), a subsidiary of an Israeli conglomerate which has transacted billions of dollars worth of real estate internationally as owner, developer and manager of commercial and residential properties. Preconstruction pricing for Axis’s one- and two-bedroom units start at $190,000; three-bedroom residences start in the mid-$600,000s, the developers report that reservations were received for more than 60 percent of the residences in phase one in the first couple of weeks on the market.




Bentley Bay

The End is Near

At last the end is in sight for construction of the Bentley Bay, some two years late. The north tower of the complex at 540 West Avenue in Miami Beach is scheduled for completion in November to December 2004 and the south tower should be ready by early summer 2005. The Arcquitectonica-designed waterfront buildings overlooks Biscayne Bay just north of the Macarthur Causeway where it meets Miami Beach. The 25-story curved glass towers with a total of 169 residences evoke ships in full sail. The project has had a bumpy ride since developer Riccardo Olivieri went over budget on luxury finishes and landed in Chapter 11. Now there’s a new era for the finished building with only three condominiums left for sale in the north tower -- two bedrooms, 1,168 square feet priced from $679,000 and 25 condos of 1,265 square feet in the south tower for $688,000. The residences rise above a 5 level garage so they all have water or city views and come with all the expected features and amenities plus 24-hour valet service, concierge and security. Some retail, a restaurant and a coffee shop are planned for the ground level on West Avenue.



V’room, V’room

Yes! Shaq showed up along with the rest of the team to celebrate Miami Heat’s new season Tip-off and enjoy an exotic Havana Night style event. Majestic Properties hosted the party at the lavish Villa Ferrari on Palm Island where 300 VIP guests fit comfortably into the 18,000 square foot home and lavish waterfront grounds. The house, completed earlier this year has 11 bedroom, 13 full baths plus 4 half baths and a quarry-load of marble fittings and floors. It is listed for sale with Majestic, asking price $11 million.



Comparison Shopping, Homestyle

In case you were wondering, the most expensive market in Florida is Key West at $759,499 and the state’s most affordable market is Pensacola at $169,975. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation’s newly-released annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI), offers an “apples-to-apples” comparison of similar homes sold in typical, middle-management transferee neighborhoods in 348 markets across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. The index, the only one of its kind, is loaded with significant data using the criteria for a HPCI subject home as a single-family dwelling of 2,200 square feet (approximately), 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, family room (or equivalent) and 2-car garage in neighborhoods/zip codes within a market that is typical for corporate middle-management transferees.

According to the study, a 2,200 square foot home in Miami costs $507,225, compared to $346,667 for a similar-sized home in Naples, $323,750 in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and $304,333 in Boca Raton. The average price of the 18 Florida markets included in the index was $308,749. In July 1999, the statewide median sales price for existing single-family homes was $101,800, representing an increase of about 83.4 percent over a five year period.

You can access the full data report and the automatic HPCI calculation function to determine specific home values at www.coldwellbanker.com/Home Price Index

Ear to the Ground

The luxury bar will be notched ever higher when Apogee, the Related Group’s newest project is officially announced shortly. This ne plus ultra of condominiums will feature the highest level of everything and set new records for Miami Beach prices for the 67 luxe residences ….full details are still under wraps until next week, so watch this space.

Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com
http://miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

THANKS AGAIN RX :) , Great News About BENTLEY BAY, I was always trying to fiqure out why it was taking SO LONG TO Finish those Two Towers. It seems like they were still there 5 years ago, lol. But Now I see some progress of getting them Finished . :) THE AXIS towers are going to be NICE , I hope they really get stated on those two towers quick, AND With Interest Rates still Holding steady at www.interest.com I SEE MORE Towers Coming on line soon. Keep BUILDING MIAMI !!! :cheers:

RX :) and RENNER :) , Where's our UPDATE on the GROUNDWORK, :cheers: . Just wondering if any thing new on the Groundwork Projects lately ? I need Input !, I need INFO !, I need TEPE for my Bung hole, lol. :jk:

I check it every day but nothing new. Here is the link:
http://www.miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

Thanks, RENNER :) , I see these Kobi Karp Signs almost everywhere in the Arts Design District Area, and Miami Beach North Area, THE AQUA ISLAND is coming along and ITS going to be GREAT in about a YEAR when its Completely Finished. Fantastic ! :cheers:

Last Updated: Friday, November 05, 2004


Groundwork



By Helen Hill
Columnist


Aqua Splashes Out



It seems like only yesterday that plans were announced for Aqua, a cutting-edge urban community on Allison Island, site of the old St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach. Now the transformation is complete and the homes are receiving the finishing touches. The condominiums in the Chatham, Golin and Spear Buildings (named for their respective architects) are coming online later this month and the Island Homes in January. There are only six condos (of the 105) still for sale, including some extraordinary penthouse units. Prices range from $700,000s to $ 3 million. Some homes, including waterfront residences with their own docks, are available from $1.95 to $7 million. Neighbors in Aqua’s gated enclave will include some privacy-seeking celebrities, but one name was announced last week: noted designer Tui Pranich purchased a $1.5 million loft/apartment at Aqua.

Craig Robins of Dacra Development is known for his mission to bring innovative architecture, and important public art and design to new projects. Aqua will get its first public art project when artist Richard Tuttle‘s “Splash” is installed there next month.
The 90 feet by 150 feet sculpture/mural will contain an image made up of over 126,000 pieces of colored glass (red, yellow, gold, black) and white ceramic matte tiles. Splash will complete the southern façade and become part of the architecture of the a sixteen-unit Chatham Building. Other public art projects at Aqua will include the works of
Gabriel Orozco, Mark Handforth and Guillermo Kutica.


Left to right: Edward DelValle, CEO and president of Americas Media; Ro Mesa, CEO and president of POW! Inc.; Jessie Alexander, CEO and president of Oscar Empire at the Black Ball Gala.


Black Ball

Take a Miami moonlit night, add hundreds of beautiful people dressed to match the black theme, throw in a slew of real estate people and developers and mix them together on an island in Biscayne Bay to party the night away.

Peter Torres and Henry Torres, developers of Nordica, Brickell Vista, and Gateway to the Grove sponsored last week’s gala Black Ball along with Henry Pino of Strategic Properties and Miami architect Reinaldo Borges. Among the 500 guests sampling the culinary offerings and sipping cocktails on the waterfront and rooftop terraces were

Paul Eric Rosen of Puerta de Palmas, Greg Altshuler of Axis on Brickell, Frank Guerra of NEO Developments and Sunny Isles Beach developer Gil Dezer.


Mykenos at 24 South Hibiscus Drive.

The setting for the Ball was one of Miami Beach’s most unusual, dare we say spectacular, houses – the 13,000 square foot, six-bedroom Mykenos at 24 South Hibiscus Drive. The stark white concrete house designed in a Greek, Mediterranean style has individual “lifestyle” pods. The main house includes the master suite, living room, dining room and kitchen. Separate is a 3-bedroom guesthouse, an office/studio, gymnasium, entertainment pod, boathouse, cabana and caretakers quarters. Instead of green lawns the grounds feature water all around down to the bay. The house is for sale asking price $22 million.




from left to right: Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti; Taylor Woodrow Executive Peter Donnantuoni, Cathy Anderson, Hollywood Commissioner and Ian Kramer, Project Manager at the Diplomat Residences
Starry Night for a Dig-In!



No report on South Florida real estate is complete without a hard hats and shovel picture as seen here. VIP guests and buyers celebrated the groundbreaking of The Diplomat Oceanfront Residences on an oceanfront patio of The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa overlooking the lighted construction site. Residences in the 28-story luxury oceanfront tower will be totally separate from the resort and country club, but easy access to all the amenities will be provide to residents. Pre-construction prices range from the $600,000s to $5.9 million.


Stop for Art



Hollywood Station, a new mixed-use development, got on track with a “I Live The Arts” cocktail party at the sales center on West Dixie Highway just south of Hollywood Boulevard. Eight local artists showcased their personal impressions of Hollywood and competed for cash awards. The first phase of Hollywood Station will offer 214 condos and lofts of 1 – 3 bedrooms, of 800 to 1,520 square feet priced from the mid $200,000s to the $400,000s. There will also be 15,000 square feet of retail in the 10-story building.


Company execs of Cornerstone Group Development, developers of Hollywood Station, turned out in force for last week’s Diplomat Groundbreaking event. From left to right: Cornerstone Co-Chair Jorge Lopez, President Richard Lamondin, Executive Vice President Mara Mades, and President Lenny Wolfe.


Kudos



*To Coscan Homes, developer of luxury waterfront condominium Atlantic One, at The Point of Aventura, for winning the Eagle Award for excellence in construction (Multi Family Residential Over $75 Million category ) from The Associated Builders & Contractors, Florida East Coast Chapter. Atlantic One completed last April, came in two and a half months ahead of schedule and one million dollars under budget without compromising the building’s integrity, design or construction.



*To Tony Comellas of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc. on gaining the prestigious Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation awarded by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which represents more than one million REALTORS® in the United States. He will be formally recognized as an as an expert in international real estate at the NAR Annual Convention in Orlando on November 6.



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.

GREAT Update RENNER :) , Thanks again, I SAY that AQUA ISLAND is going to SHINE North BEACH when its Completed FALL, 2005. I can't believe That Island was once a St. Frances Hospital, WOW, what a Change ! For the BEST. :)
ALSO RENNER :) , in the NEWEST November ISSUE of OCEAN DRIVE, there's a PAGE 242 :) About Another CONDO TOWER getting ready to BREAK Ground On FISHER ISLAND, Check out this Name of the Tower, The " Palazzo Del Mare "About 12 Stories high. Very Nice, and JORGE PEREZ is also SHOWN in the same OCEAN DRIVE MAG. on PAGE 336, :) THE MAN WITH TOWER POWER, His PICS and His Story are right There.
IT SAYS HES STILL Gonna BUILD a CONDO TOWER at 500 BRICKELL AVENUE. This is Good, Tear down that Ugly Small Office Tower :bash: there and BUILD HIGH !!! :cheers:

yes great news fill up brickell!

we need info on 500 brickell i went to their website yesterdaywww.relatedgroup.com and they have this website www.500brickellavenue.com but its not working,only info is that their are to phases and is suppose to be high impact like the plaza

GREAT Uptown-Midtown :) < I'll Bring the OLD THREAD back on this 550 Brickell AVE Project by JORGE PEREZ, I'ts alive AGAIN, Good News, MORE INFO Please. :cheers:

RENNER :) !!!,We Need GROUNDWORK , Update, LOL, sorry to BUG you about This :) , BUT I need INPUT, I'm R2D2, lol, I'm Johnny 5, More Input, More INFO PLease. :cheers:

RENNER !, Where are Bro, WE NEED GROUNDWORK, lol. INPUT, Me , Johnny 5, Need INFO !

Groundwork

Life on the West Side


More ready-to-move-into waterfront condos in Miami Beach are coming on line now that condo conversion specialists Crescent Heights have announced plans for The Mirador at 1000 West Avenue. The 16-story south tower of the three-tower complex on Biscayne Bay will start the process with sales opening next Sunday. The building, originally known as Forte Towers, received a $140 million restoration from previous owners Archstone-Smith just two years ago. Among the amenities is an elevated three-pool deck with a genuine sandy beach overlooking Biscayne Bay. Unit prices will start in the $150s.



On Top of Old Sony

605 Lincoln, also known as The Sony Building

Space in Miami Beach’s landmark building 605 Lincoln Road, famed for its 10,000 square foot rooftop party venue, will have a new incarnation as condominium offices from November 16. Broker Katrina Campins, who achieved fame of sorts as a contestant on The Apprentice television show, is representing BayView Financial, the real estate investment and mortgage finance company. Bayview bought the building from the Rubell Family for $18 million last May. They are offering 72,000 square feet over seven floors in the building, also known as the Sony Music Building for its most prominent tenant. (And Sony’s Latin American HQ will stay on, along with CBS Latin American Division.) According to Bayview principal Robbie Oppenheim, the building’s vibe is designed to appeal to businesses such as modeling agencies, production companies and musicians. The lobby has been renovated to exude cool with not a slab of marble in sight. Instead, stainless steel floor tiles, black glass mosaic and nine plasma TV screens (playing Sony videos of course) adorn the lobby, elevators are stainless steel and glass tiles and the whole effect is “South Beach Wow!”

On the ground-floor retail space houses the flagship stores for retailers including surf shop Rip Curl, Oakley sunglasses and apparel and Hear Music, a downloadable music concept from Starbucks.

Marketing is non-traditional with the emphasis on parties and events such as the Rebel Billionaire Bash last Tuesday to show off Fox TV’s new reality series. Prices for condo offices vary according to floor and space. For example, 350 square feet on the second floor is priced at $199,000. At the other end of the range the Sony space is on sale as an investment for around $8 million.



Sail Away on Land


A new condo that resembles a cruise ship is the latest exciting addition to the Aventura residential scene. Fortune International and Shefaor are developing Artech Residences, a waterfront property on N.E. 188th Street, designed by noted architect Carlos Ott. Initial reservations run from November 15 – 19 and full details of the property will be announced later.



By the Way



No confusion on names please. The Trump Group, developers of Williams Island in Aventura and Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach, are planning a condominium project that raises the bar in South Florida luxury living with residences priced from $4.3 million up to $21 million. Meanwhile, the 10-story Luxuria enclave on 2.5 acres at 2500 S. Ocean Boulevard in Boca Raton will have only 24 units ranging from 4,300 to 21,000-square-feet and the ultimate in everything. According to Michael Goldstein, president of sales & marketing, enquiries from potential buyers are flooding in.

And in Miami, real estate and culture make a heady mix with open-to-the-public events such as the second annual Shorts in the Park on November 18 starting at 7 p.m. Quantum on the Bay by Terra International, in partnership with Gen Art, will present the mini film fest at Miami's Margaret Pace Park across from the Quantum site. Finalists, deemed the most talented of emerging Florida-based independent filmmakers, will show off three short films selected by a committee of film industry professionals and the winning filmmaker will receive a $5,000 grant. The evening will conclude with the screening of the modern classic Swingers starring Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston and Heather Graham.



Oops!


In last week’s Groundwork, the correct name for one of the mid-rises at Acqua in Miami Beach is the Gorlin Building named for its architect Alexander Gorlin.

In the caption to the Black Ball photo the names were transposed. Left to right should have been Ro Mesa, CEO & president of Pow Inc.; Jessie Alexander, CEO & president of Oscar Empire; Edward De Valle, CEO & president of Americas Media Inc.

THANKS MIAMI1 :) , Your The MAN, Really good news There, MIAMI BEACH has Grown ALOT, Including Office Structures, Reallly a Good Move! :cheers:

WHERE's RENNER :) , We need Groundwork UPDATE, We need INFO , INPUT , PICS, Real MEN, lol. :jk: :cheers:

RENNER , We need GROUNDWORK update, LOL.

Okay Renner :) , I got some GROUNDWORK News , Right from the http://miamiSUNPOST.com/groundwork.htm ,Terra International's FIRST PROJECT " Nautica " Tower on Miami Beach IS Completed !, What A Beauty, This Tower has Also Made Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martin, " DEVELOPER of the YEAR " :) by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. :cheers:
He's Also the Developer of the 900 BISCAYNE :) in Downtown MIAMI, The METROPOLIS :) TWIN TOWERS in Downtown KENDALL ( Also know as DADELAND ), and the QUANTUM ON THE BAY :) Two TOWERS on ONE Parking Garage in the ARTS DESIGN District of UPTOWN MIAMI !!! :cheers:

http://www.miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork3.jpg
Rendering of 63 NoBe

A new condominium called 63 NoBe is set to go up on the corner of 63rd Street and Indian Creek Drive (east of the flyover) in Miami Beach’s hot North Beach area. Architect Kobi Karp has designed a contemporary, six-story building, which makes a pleasing change from the traditional tall towers. The 28 residences of 1,200 to 2,000 square feet will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms plus terraces (with private rooftop terraces for the seven penthouses). Amenities include a roof- top pool and sun deck and two stories of covered parking. Prices range from the upper $300,000s to the low $500,000s. Alan Macken, one of the principals in Aventura-based Vercon Construction Management Inc., is the building’s general contractor and developers Len Edelman and Arthur Scheinholz (whose other current project is Eastside at Aventura) say that they expect construction of 63 NoBe to start in April, 2005 with completion in mid 2006.


New Price Points



Condominium prices continue to zoom upwards in Aventura even though they’re still well below the square foot ratio quoted in some new South Beach developments. A ninth floor condominium in the luxe Porto Vita building on Country Club Drive raised the bar on the building’s average of $365 per square foot when it sold recently for a record-for-non-waterfront price of $496 a square foot. Out-of-town-buyers bought the 5,141 square foot, floor-through, see-through residence with its east and west views of the golf course and Intracoastal as a primary residence. Realtor Sarah Sheridan, an associate at Macken Realty in Aventura, said that the $2.550 million sale price closed in a noticeably short period of 21 days (in hurricane season.) compared to the average of 120 days.


New Players in Town



South Florida’s red-hot residential real estate market continues to attract major players, this time a company associated with one of New York’s leading real estate brokerages. Douglas Elliman Florida, opening its first South Florida office next week in The Lincoln, 1691 Michigan Avenue, in the heart of South Beach, is out to capture a healthy piece of the local market for high-end single family homes, investment properties, luxury condominiums and real estate development sales and marketing. According to company president Jamie Goff, they also plan to represent real estate developers who continue to invest in South Florida. Managing the new office is John Lyman, former manager of Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Road office.

Douglas Elliman Florida is associated with Douglas Elliman, New York, which has 2,500 agents and sold more than $10 billion worth of homes in Manhattan, Long Island and the Hamptons this past year. People who want to list their Florida property will have access to the far-reaching Douglas Elliman network.

The company is planning to open additional offices in Miami, Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale in the future.


By the Numbers
http://www.miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/groundwork2.jpg
Last month, Groundwork mentioned breaking news on Artech Residences, the new Shefaor and Fortune International project in Aventura. Architect Carlos Ott has designed the waterfront building on N.E. 188th Street to resemble a cruise ship. (pick one pic)

Leasing is looking up in the 155 Building at 155 South Miami Avenue in Downtown Miami. Adams & Adams, PA, a law firm specializing in civil litigation, relocating its entire practice from 66 West Flagler, recently signed a full floor office lease for 12,323 square feet commencing this month. That brings the 155 Building’s 160,000 square feet of office space to close to 80 percent leased. The new tenants also get ample parking in the attached garage with a parking ratio of 4/1000. Bill Cutler, senior commercial associate at Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group in Coral Gables, represented the landlord in the transaction.


Brickell’s New Avenue



More than 700 partygoers turned out recently for a Brickell Avenue-meets-Park Avenue event celebrating the Miami signature street’s newest mixed –use project called… Avenue. Guests navigated a black and white striped pavement into a tree-lined labyrinth showcasing renderings of Avenue, city views and all the trappings of urban living offered future residents. They could sample neighborhood food from Perricone’s, Brickell’s Italian marketplace, load up on such urban fare as hot, soft pretzels, Mama Mia’s Italian ices and Starbuck’s frappuccino – directly from a mobile café and get their shoes shined (sneakers and flip flops extra!) big city style. A flower vendor, (a Brickell Avenue regular fixture) and a genuine newsstand added to the atmosphere while a Vespa motor scooter, parked at a real parking meter, completed the scene.

Among the guests were Avenue developers Henry Terech and Moshe Spitzer of Intell Management and Investment Company and Edgardo Defortuna, president of Fortune International, and Andrea Greenberg, VP of sales and marketing for Fortune International, the project’s exclusive brokers. Also present was caterer and food guru Steven Perricone and Joe Andriola, principal of SB Architects (and architect for the project).

Avenue’s 570–unit condominiums ranging from 570 square foot studios and lofts to 2,500 square foot duplex penthouses are priced from the low $200,000s to more than $1 million. Amenities in the “smart tech” and pet-friendly building include a state-of-the-art fitness center and spa, a virtual golf room, a billiards room, a business center, a wine and cigar lounge and a home theater. Groundbreaking is scheduled for after the first of the year.


News



The developments keep on coming in Miami. Among the soon-to-be-announced condominium and mixed-use projects are Wind, Paramount Beach, Paramount City, Premiere Towers and Terezzo in the Grove. Stay tuned….

Some of the top names in Florida and Caribbean real estate, including a good showing from Miami-Dade County, will be featured at The Florida Real Estate Showcase (FRES), December 2nd through December 4th at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Interesting to note how many buyers recognize this end of South Florida as the most happening place!


Kudos



* TO: Jacobo Cababie of Cabi Developers, developers of Everglades on the Bay, for sponsoring local cultural events in the development’s Downtown Miami neighborhood. Recently, Everglades on the Bay underwrote part of Maximum Dance Company’s contemporary ballet performance at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, preceded by a cocktail party for VIP guests. Cabi also sponsored and hosted the Author’s Party for the Miami Dade College Book Fair, which attracted more than 300 guests to the event at the Wachovia Tower.

* TO: Stephen Muss, developer and philanthropist, owner of the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel and Don Soffer, the developer “father” of Aventura, for being honored as Legends of South Florida at the South Florida CEO’s recent awards luncheon.

* TO: Elizabeth Harrison and Lara Shriftman, principals of the Miami Beach public relations and marketing firm that represents such local real estate icons as, well, ICON! Their new book, Fete Accompli, The Ultimate Guide to Creative Entertaining, which is based on the duo’s extreme partying expertise, is sizzling hot on this season’s gift lists.



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.

paramount beach,and paramount city
whoa i love paramount and each is probably above 500 feet

wow cant wait for all these projects, THEY JUST KEEP COMING!!!

THANKS AGAIN RENNER :) , Great INFO, Good INPUT, Me Johnny 5 Very Happy, LOL. :cheers:

RENNER :) !, Again Great INFO :) , the Wife and I are going to see Snow in the MIDWEST, Probably North of CHICAGO for the next 10 days, We're leaving Tomorrow Morning, Should be back around the 14th,Maybe sooner IF SHE FREEZES, lol. Shes never seen snow and I was born in it, lol. :)
I'll keep her frozen in the snow and Come BACK a Free man, lol. :jk: , well anyway, Keep up the GROUNDWORK , here, thanks Again. :cheers:

well miss you chuck

THANKS MIAballinboi :) , Where's RENNER :) , LOL, We need GROUNDWORK, Got to have INPUT, More INFO, And ALSO, the INTEREST RATES are DOWN Again at www.interest.com, WOW at 5.48 % And Getting LOWER, BUY A CONDO NOW in Beautiful MAGIC CITY of MIAMI :) , and SHOP at the 3 Newest Publix Supermarkets in BRICKELL by 2006 !!! :cheers:

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork1.jpg
Groundwork

By Helen Hill
Columnist




Sky Lofts
Lofts are Going Up All Over Town

The loft trend has spread from urban to suburban locations – and is providing a new option for buyers on a budget. That’s the story behind the early sell-out well before ground breaking of the first building at Sky Lofts Condominiums on the corner of Miami Gardens Drive and N.E. 18th Avenue in Sky Lake, N.E. Dade. Reports are that many of the buyers work in Aventura and were attracted by the convenience and pre-construction prices of $180,000s to under $300,000.

SkyLofts’s two seven-story buildings will each offer 30 loft-style one- and two- bedroom units, complete with high ceilings, exposed metal ductwork, shop lighting and stained concrete floors. There is a choice of three floor plans for the units ranging from 893 square feet to1,341 square feet with balconies. Italian kitchen cabinets, stainless steel appliances and energy efficient a/c heating systems are standard.

Amenities in the pet friendly, gated enclave include a landscaped pool area at ground level with cabana baths and secured covered parking. According to developer Alan Macken of Macken Realty and Magold Development, groundbreaking is planned for late January 2005 with completion in early 2006. Sales in the second building are scheduled to start in early 2005.


Condo Conversions Keep on Coming



Normandy Isle, now on the architectural map for its MiMo (Miami Modern) mid-century architecture, has a new condo conversion in two vintage waterfront buildings at 200-250 South Shore Drive. Creatively named 200-250 South Shore Condominiums, each renovated building has six units of two- or three- bedrooms and two-bath in 1,150 to 1,550 square feet, many with views of the water or golf course. Two of the units feature a private waterfront yard. Custom kitchens with stainless steel appliances, solid wood cabinetry, and granite counters are standard. Common areas include a waterfront swimming pool and sundeck, and an oversized landscaped yard and walkways. Condo prices start at $255,000

The exclusive listing is with William Carson and Carlo Gambino, principals of Carson Realty Group in their South Beach, Miami Beach, Upper East Side and Biscayne Boulevard offices.



…and Coming



Some of Bay Harbor Island’s low-rise rentals are scheduled for condo conversion shortly with the purchase of about a dozen buildings on the northern part of the east island.

Henry “Hank” Rodstein and Kim Rodstein, of Miami-based H.R. Mortgage & Realty Company, partnered with Fleetwood Capital Trust of Washington, D.C. acquired the buildings from George Reycraft of T & C Associates for $12 million. Rodstein and Fleetwood plans to renovate and convert 86 of the 135 total apartments into studios, 1 bedrooms and 2 bedrooms units ranging in size from 600 square feet to 1,100 square feet Sales are scheduled to begin in February, 2005. Prices have not been released yet.

It’s been a busy year for Rodstein’s H.R. Mortgage and Realty with more than $400 million in financing and real estate brokerage deals on such transactions as the $140 million sale of The Bay Club, the $41 million sale of Lincoln Pointe Apartments both in Aventura and securing $69 million in financing for the sale of The Bonaventure Resort and Spa in Weston.


On the Boulevard


3050 Biscayne Boulevard

Grubb & Ellis have taken over the leasing assignment of the 10–story office building at 3050 Biscayne Boulevard. The 90,000 square foot, glass paneled building in the newly popular area, is currently 80 percent leased with a variety of tenants. Stephen Rutchik and Adam Hurwitz of G & E’s 801 Brickell Avenue office are handling leasing for the office space.

The Boymelgreen Co., new owners of 3050, has plans for the adjoining property, fronting Biscayne Boulevard – Soleil, a mixed-use building. Majestic Properties plans to begin sales for the residential units next February.


News



Coming up in the next couple of months are sales for two new condos: Marquis at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard, on the old Howard Johnson site and Vitri on the corner of 5th Street and Alton Road in Miami Beach.


Kudos



To: Developer Michael Dezer on receiving the Israeli Film Festival’s 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his vision, leadership and support of humanitarian causes. The award was presented at the opening night gala for the film festival’s 20th anniversary at the Sunrise Intracoastal Cinema in North Miami. Dezer, and his son Gil, together with Donald Trump, are developing some major properties on Sunny Isles Beach and they have also teamed up with developer Jorge Perez’ Related Group on the vast new Trump Towers luxury oceanfront condo project in Sunny Isles Beach.



To: Al Piazza and Mike Neal of Coscan Construction, LLC, an affiliate of Coscan Homes, for receiving two prestigious industry awards within this past month. The Florida Builders Association recognized Coscan as Contractor of the Year at its Community Advancement Awards event at Fisher Island recently. At Southeast Construction Magazine’s Best of 2004 event recently held in Orlando, Coscan received an Award of Merit in the Multi Residential category for excellence in constructing Atlantic One at the Point of Aventura. Coscan Homes operates as a fully integrated residential developer and construction company and has built more than 5,000 homes in more than 20 communities.



To: Luis P. Rabell, president of LPR Builders, for winning the title of Builder of the Year and JC Calleiro of Rinker Materials for becoming Associate of the Year at the Builders Association of South Florida (BASF) recent Gala at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa. Another winner: Deborah A. Reyes of Capital American Mortgage Company who received the Al Singer Spirit of the Industry Award recognizing BASF members for their contributions to BASF, the industry and the community. Hall of Fame Inductees were Andrew M. Witkin of Witkin Design Group and Robert L. Bonnet of Florida Savings Bank.



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.

renner, you da man !

True Street :)

renner, you da man !
TRUE DALE :) , RENNER You the MAN :cheers:

RENNER :) , BRO :) , Happy NEW YEAR !!! :cheers: , it's Another WEEK, We Need a GROUNDWORK Update, Thank's, ME Johnny 5, we Need INPUT, lol :)

lool,
rennar u da man

delete

aha trump is topped out great news

Any chance Trump will build something in downtown Miami??

Hey, that's a good question !

man i wish,he was in miami for a heat game.

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork1.jpg
Vue at Brickell: fully furnished and ready to move in.



By Helen Hill
Columnist



Harbour House



The recent sale of Harbour House South at 10275 Collins Avenue means that the oldest, and last remaining luxury oceanfront rental building in Bal Harbour is destined for conversion to condominiums. The Related Group of Florida paid $125 million for the landmark 465-unit apartment building on 5.46 beachfront acres; probably one of the best oceanfront sites in South Florida, with the added allure of a tony Bal Harbour location.

For sellers, Smith Property Holdings Harbour House LLC (associated with REIT Archstone-Smith), it was a satisfactory conclusion to ownership of a property bought in 1993 for $53 million.

The Related Group plans to convert 452 units on 14 living levels with upgrades such as new flooring and kitchens with Italian cabinetry. Architect Sieger Suarez is working on the project design and The Interiors Group is re-designing the public spaces including the lobby, spa and meeting room. Sales are set to being approximately in February.

For the village of Bal Harbour, (population 3,312), the Harbour House conversion will add more units to the million-dollar condos currently under construction nearby – 81 residences at Bellini and 185 Tower Estates in WCI’s 26-story One Bal Harbour, which will also feature a Regent Bal Harbour in an intersecting 17-story, hotel/condominium tower. Further south on Collins Avenue, Starwood is considering redeveloping one of the Sheraton Bal Harbour’s towers into a St. Regis hotel and condominium complex. More news on the project is expected in the next couple of months.



From View to Vue



With the sales launch scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, January 7), Vue at Brickell at 1250 S. Miami Avenue, comes with an inviting feature – buyers can move in almost immediately. Hollywood-based SunVest Communities bought Brickell View, a recently completed rental apartment complex, from developers Summit Properties (NYSE listing SMT) and Miami's BAP Development for $82.5 million; about $255,417 a unit. The 36-story, 323-unit property sits on a 1.2-acre site, just west of Brickell Avenue.

The renamed Vue at Brickell offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units and penthouses with nine-foot ceilings (some go up to 11 and 14 feet) in a choice of 15 floor plans, ranging from 737 to 1,551 square feet. Many units offer city or bay views. Building amenities include a fitness center, rooftop swimming pool, business center and covered parking garage. There’s also a concierge and 24-hour valet service and 16,000 square feet of street level retail space. The developers have hired interior designers Bibi Chasens and Roberto Rocca and Karo Design to revamp the lobby with a mix of fabrics and materials, highlighted by a fountain and some oversized artworks on the walls. Condos are priced from the low $200,000s to $700,000.



Wynwood Gains a Gallery



A new gallery and exhibition space is planned for a 1960 vintage showroom-warehouse at 2999 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami’s up-and-coming Wynwood Arts District. Noted French art gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin paid $1.575 million for the 14,341-square-foot building, which comes with terrazzo floors, glass walls and double-height spaces. Miami architect Chad Oppenheim is designing a MiMo (Miami Modern)-inspired makeover for the building. Jay Levy, a sales associate in the Miami Beach office of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc., arranged the sale.


Off-site Marketing



In the competitive world of new residential developments in Miami some companies have established locations beyond the usual on-site sales office.

Turnberry International Realty was first in establishing manned sales kiosks in major shopping malls in South Florida and at one time had kiosks in Aventura, Dadeland and Town Center Malls. (The latter two were sold to Prudential WCI in 1999.) Their condominium sales and marketing kiosk in Aventura Mall has been open for the past seven years, designed to tap into the Mall’s 19 million-plus visitors a year. The kiosk is an actual branch office with 30 realtors working in three shifts and open every day during regular mall hours. The kiosk markets properties from Fort Lauderdale to South Beach and beyond, catering to a mix of locals, national and international buyers and generating thousands of leads a year with more than $40 million in sales. About 20 percent of the company’s business comes from an average of 60 leads a week from the Aventura Mall location with some contracts signed overnight and others taking up to two years to complete.

At the other end of the county, Fortune International’s unmanned kiosk in Dadeland Mall has become one of the company’s leading marketing tools. The kiosk introduces different projects to the thousands of shoppers passing by and is reported to have had a positive impact on sales of units in 1390 Brickell Bay recently.

Fortune International’s new South Beach Developers Showcase at 1629 Alton Road is designed as an accessible walk-in location targeted to visitors in the Lincoln Road area. The storefront office features intricate scale models (five at a time) of current projects including The Ivy, 1800 Club, Jade Beach, The Bridgewater and The Residences at Wyndham Resort & Golden Door Spa Weston. A large screen rotates video and virtual reality information on new projects. Besides viewing the scale models, potential buyers can pick up brochures and reservation forms, speak to sales people and get full information on new developments and other Fortune projects. The showcase is open until 10.30 p.m. seven days a week – just right for popping in to buy a condo in between South Beach dining and clubbing.



KUDOS



To: Prestige Builders Group (PBG) of Miami for winning an award for Kendall Commons. The 160-acre traditional neighborhood development project was recognized in the Existing Real Estate – Land Deal category at the recent “2004 Real Estate Deals of the Year Awards” sponsored by the South Florida Business Journal and Union Planters Bank.

To: Stuart I. Meyers, chairman of Coral Gables-based Cornerstone Group, the eighth largest multifamily developer in the country, for The Florida Builder’s Association’s Community Advancement Award recognizing his outstanding direction and leadership of Cornerstone Group in 2004.



To: Arturo Belkind, owner and president of Salini Design in North Miami Beach, on being nominated for a Silver and/or Regional National Sales and Marketing Award at “The Nationals 2005” sponsored by the National Association of Homebuilders. Salini, designer of several upscale South Florida sales centers, was nominated for the design of the 8,000-square-foot Sales and Model Center at Orion, an ultra-luxurious condominium development in Houston, Texas, where residences start at $8 million. The awards will be presented at a black tie gala to be held at the International Builders Show on January 13th in Orlando.



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics. Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to

I really like the way VUE turned out.

great vue or "brickell view" is great

i like it but i'm getting tired of the same white building with green glass

brickell view,jade,santa maria etc etc

Any chance Trump will build something in downtown Miami??
GOOD QUESTION BHK :) , He would Build in MIAMI, If the Mayor was From NEW YORK,LOL. :) , Like the Sunny Isles Beach Mayor, and the West Palm Beach Mayor. :cheers:

its a decent building, adds density, but nuttin special, wouldnt mind if it got lost among other better buildings around it, generic looking without any architectural flair, very bland, but inland density is always great, so gotta luv it for that

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork1.jpg
Tivoli: a future low-rise residential oasis

By Helen Hill
Columnist



LaVogue in Vogue



The last waterfront site at Williams Island in Aventura is designated for a new luxury condominium. Minto Communities, which recently completed the sold-out WaterGarden on Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, has crossed the county line for its first venture in Miami-Dade. LaVogue, a 24-story, 70-unit “boutique” condominium designed by architectural firm Cohen, Freedman, Encinosa & Associates, has a distinctive elliptical shape with wrap-around glass balconies. The four residences per floor each occupy a corner and 10-foot ceilings are standard. All the expected high-end finishes such as Snaidero kitchens with Sub-Zero and Miele appliances will be included.
http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork3.jpg
Uptown Marina really breaks ground, thanks to Coscan

The development, next to the marina and close to the Williams Island Club & Spa, will have all the trappings of the Florida luxe lifestyle with a residents’ club featuring salon and champagne bar, cocktail lounge and dance floor, multi-media screening room and sports lounge. Children will have their own playroom. Residents have their own fitness center and outdoor pool as well as access to the Williams Island Spa, tennis courts and restaurants. Cost for all this indulgence – from the $700s to over $1 million. Sales are scheduled for the first quarter of 2005.





Bougainvillea-Strewn Gazebos and More



At last a new condo project that keeps a pleasing low-scale design in a 112-unit residential enclave. Tivoli, an urban neighborhood mix of condos, lofts and townhomes, will replace an office building and two old apartment buildings at 3915 Biscayne Boulevard, close to the Miami Design District, the Julia Tuttle Causeway and minutes from Downtown, consists of two four story buildings, one three story low-rise and four townhomes. Tivoli will be built on a 3.15 acre, courtyard setting with lush tropical landscaping, fountains, bougainvillea-strewn gazebos and wrought iron stairways with Mediterranean tile risers.

Architect Kobi Karp has designed 2,444-square-foot townhomes priced between $999,500 and $1.06 million and eight 2,500-square-foot penthouses with private, 1,500-square-foot terraces and private elevators, priced from over $1 million. One-, two- and three-bedroom units are priced from the mid-$500,000s while lofts start at just under $300,000. Building amenities will include a fitness center, high-tech business center and meeting room. Outdoors there will be a heated pool and shaded lounging areas. Private parking will be located on the ground floor of each building. Thirty Ninth Street Investors Group, LLC, whose partners include Thomas W. Fawell, Stephanie Herman and David Hirschfeld, is developing the project. Expect sales to begin in January 2005 with completion scheduled for winter 2006.



Going Upriver
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Club-No-Longer: Opus on the River

It was the Miami Yacht River Club. Now the former club at 1740 NW North River Drive has a new name and a new incarnation as a condominium called Opus On The River. The waterfront location features riverfront terraces and a fishing marina plus the usual fitness center, clubhouse, pool and spa. Sales start on January 23rd for the 164 units with a choice or five floor plans for one- or two-bedroom units and fully updated kitchens. Developer Omar Hernandez heads up BH Capital, which is also developing Brickell View. No prices have been released but they may start in the very low hundreds.



Doing the Groundwork!



The recent groundbreaking of Uptown Marina, Aventura’s first loft project, was more than a symbolic shovels-and-hard-hats event as general contractor Coscan Construction, LLC, moved in with bulldozers and heavy equipment. For developer Claudio Stivelman, it was also a reunion of sorts with Coscan; they had partnered in building Ocean Point, the first hotel condominium in Sunny Isles Beach some six years ago. Since then Coscan Construction has been pretty busy as general contractor for The Point of Aventura’s five towers, and currently, Trump Palace in Sunny Isles Beach and Ice in Miami, as well as several projects in Broward County and Orlando.

Uptown Marina’s 11-story waterfront building at 3029 NE 188th Street will feature 216 loft residences priced from $300,000 to $700,000 and 30 marina slips to accommodate yachts of up to 60 feet



Green is Good
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The environmentally friendly Baylights

At last Miami-Dade County is to get its first environmentally friendly, “green” boutique condominium. Developer Kimberley Rodstein-Pizzuto is planning Baylights on a wide bayfront site at 1910 Bay Drive on Normandy Isle, Miami Beach. Architect Kobi Karp designed the 5-story, 12-unit, ultra-modern building with many “green” elements that should gain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council. A “Green” building rating system is valued as national standard for the development of high-performance, sustainable buildings.

“I think LEED-certified buildings are the future in real estate development. As developers we have a responsibility to be environmentally conscious,” said Rodstein-Pizzuto. “We are going to work with recycled products, local and regional materials, have careful waste management and a new environmentally friendly cooling system. I believe that the whole green concept is very important and contributes to a healthier environment.”

Baylights will offer two-bedroom, two-bath and three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath configurations ranging from 1,500 to nearly 2,500 square feet. Unit features include European kitchen cabinetry with stainless steel appliances; luxury recycled products for all countertops and flooring; whirlpool tubs; wine coolers; and SMART integrated systems for high-speed Internet, data/voice, and cable TV access.

The lobby and garden at Baylights will embody the serene, earthy textures that are the essence of the building, with a waterfall flowing into black river rock for a relaxing Zen-like ambiance. Outdoors, the pool deck made of stone pavers with grass flowing through the cracks and landscaped with bamboo, surrounds an Infinity swimming pool with a heated spa. There is also a fitness center, 24-hour camera security and covered-garage parking with two reserved spaces for each unit. Pre-construction prices at Baylights range from the low $600s to more than $1 million.



Olde Worlde -- New World



The word “European” to describe new residential projects is cropping up everywhere. I’ve seen projects described as loaded with European charm, intended to conjure up an olde worlde kind of understated, yet classy, ambiance. European kitchens? What pizzazz! And European-style pools could be a hint that the water is colder than we’re used to!

It appears that designers (or publicists) are moving away from the celebration of Spanish and Mediterranean-style (although Spain and Italy were in Europe when I last looked at the atlas) to a more ascetic aesthetic. We’re even beginning to see decidedly modern architecture (Bauhaus lives!) showing up in some new developments and single-family homes. Any forward design makes a welcome change from the same old, same old — and our community will be far more attractive for it. Only one constraint, though: European-style is fine, unless it’s the plumbing!



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics. Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com

Hmmm....glad someone likes it. The name is goofy, half of the apartments have terraces with aluminum rails and half are glass...it's like they ran out of money to build glass balconies all the way around, or maybe with a half full glass perspective, they took a rental building and tried to add glass balconies as an after thought. Either way, it is a very cheap building and they are selling it for $365 a square foot. I hear you on the white with green glass, but man, Vue doesn't hold a candle to Santa Maria or Jade... It's more like The Club or Mark without any Vue's.

renner01 -

What's with all this low-rise crap ? Really, you'll have to do better ! :bash: :jk:

Thanks again !

December 15, 2004

Consideration of a Major Use Special Permit for the Ellipse project, located at approximately 1776 Biscayne Boulevard. (Wynwood/Edgewater NET District) construct a 273-foot, 24-story high mixed use structure to be comprised of approximately 267 total multifamily residential units with recreational amenities, approximately 6,793 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 438 total parking spaces.

Consideration of a Major Use Special Permit for the Marquis project, located at approximately 1100 Biscayne Boulevard. (Downtown NET District)construct a 679-foot, 63-story high mixed use structure to be comprised of approximately 334 total units (310 residential units + 24 x 2 hotel rooms) with recreational amenities, approximately 5,765 square feet of retail space, and 525 total parking spaces.

http://www.miamigov.com/hearing_boards/index.asp

Can you post the websiute where you get that info please?

good info

RX :) , RENNER :) , MIAballinboi :) , DALE :) , ROARK :) And ALL Other Men :) and Any Women Out there :) , THIS IS GREAT INFO !, WOW , 4 TALL Towers going up on 4 CITY BLOCKS just south of the I-395, ALL over 550 FEET TALL :) , I can't WAIT till January, 2009 WHEN all 4 TOWERS should be COMPLETED !!! :cheers:
GO CRANES :) !, and They will all be built , Because the INTEREST RATES are still HOLDING at 5.52 % at www.interest.com WE WILL BE THERE, Cheering to the TALL TOWERS of the NEW MIAMI in 2009, YES !!! :cheers:

If I'm not mistaken, there isn't another city in the world (except maybe Tampa and Orlando) with this kind of growth!!! 5 TALL buildings on five consecuitive blocks.
Biscayne Blvd.
700 Paramount
800 Marina Blue
900 900 Biscayne
1000 Ten Museum Park
1100 Marquis
All over 500 ft.!!! Chuck, how many pickups get loaded (construction jobs) are created for each one of these buildings? It is a great time to live in Miami!!!

dont forget everglades on the bay and 50 biscayne plus the two buildings going up next door to evergaldes on the bay on the holiday inn site across from md college.

woow thats amazing,

thats like buildings on that road in dubai, in 5 years all lined up one by one tall scrapers lol!!


so how many pickup trucks chuck lool

woow thats amazing,

thats like buildings on that road in dubai, in 5 years all lined up one by one tall scrapers lol!!


so how many pickup trucks chuck lool


except in dubai there over a 1000ft
http://img44.exs.cx/img44/4190/dscf01222kr.jpg

That's exciting!

except in dubai there over a 1000ft
future skyline
http://img44.exs.cx/img44/4190/dscf01222kr.jpg
crappy renderings-
http://img10.exs.cx/img10/1392/dscf012249by.jpg

Nice future renderings uptown. Met 3 looks a little too tall for it to be between 800-900 ft, but you never know, maybe it will look that tall in a few years next to the wachovia tower.

GREAT Drawings ( PICS ) Uptown-Midtown :) , YOUR Great BRO :) , I love it, Welcome Back and Please stay here, LOL. MET 3 LOOKS Great, and those Blue and green Colors are REAL on MARINA BLUE, its gonna look like that when COMPLETED in 2007, WOW, Fantastic, GO CRANES !!! :cheers:
And MIAballinboi :) , Have you checked out the Pickup Truck Traffic on I-95 During RushHour at around 7:30 am on any Channel at the Cams looking at N.W. 79th Street and see about 200 Pickup Trucks with 4 Helmet Construction Men in the Back bed of Each Vehicle Smoking and polluting :bash: I-95 and spitting their mouths out on the road, lol. :cheers:

haha, uptown u got waaaaaay 2 much free time, great job man!

DT Miami will be unrecognizable in a few years!!

great pics uptown, good colors,


lool chuck yup i see the traffic

YES STREET :) , Downtown MIAMI Will NOT be the way it Looks TODAY, OVER 50 TOWERS will Change DOWNTOWN MIAMI and BRICKELL By 2010, Its Going to be SO BULKY With TOWERS and CRANES Up and Down BISCAYNE BVLD. and BRICKELL AVENUE will Change Completely With 500 BRICKELL and Plaza on Brickell, and BOTH AVENUE TOWERS and PARK PLACE TOWER # 2 with THE BEACON TOWER, the TWO SHERATON CONDO TOWERS, and the Second BRICKELL on the RIVER TOWER, It will Look like the CHICAGO I've JUST seen in DECEMBER on my Vacation. ITS WILD, and GO CRANES !!! :cheers:

Here is a Slightly better version:

http://www.miamigov.com/Planning/images/AreaComposite.jpg

That's pretty cool.

Uh-oh. It seems to show a short, squaty Met 3. I trust it's pretty conceptual ?

great pic toucano,

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork1.jpg
This is how 1680 Michigan will look when complete.

By Helen Hill
Columnist



Golden Property



A new condo building called Privé is planned for the site at the rear of the Golden Sands Hotel, 6901 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. The 1951-vintage hotel with 105 rooms and five stores was purchased recently by Transacta Privé Developers, Ltd. for $9.9 million. The property, which comes with 125 feet of oceanfront, sits on the corner of 69th Street, the only street in the area with direct access to the beach, and is a neighbor of the new Canyon Ranch project.

Because the hotel is located within the North Beach Historic District, the new owner has to preserve much of the Miami Modern (MIMO) original design, and the new tower will probably go no higher than 17 stories. The transaction was handled by Miami real estate broker Bard Brenner of Sam Brenner, Inc. which has been selling Miami Beach waterfront since the 1950s, and Mario Borda and Sylvia Coltrane of Real Estate Transactions, Inc.

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/Groundwork3.jpg

Brian Street of Boca Developers checks out the company’s new promotional taxis.

Bard Brenner was co-broker (together with Beth Carlson and Jay Carrier of Addison Mizner Realty, Inc in Boca Raton) in the sale of the Club One motel at 17141 Collins Ave. in Sunny Isles Beach. The transaction was complicated because some of the motel’s 55 units had been sold off as individual condos, a popular real estate arrangement a decade ago, before Sunny Isles Beach reinvented itself as an upscale destination. Mully SB, LLC of Virginia Beach paid $12.75 million for the 1950s building on .86 of an acre with 100 feet of oceanfront. The developer, Waterbrook of Deerfield Beach, is planning a 35 story tower of 80 units, with only three residences per floor.





Condo Conversions Rule



1. Miami-based Prodigy International Development Sales is launching sales later this month for Phase 1 of the about-to-be-converted condos at Parc Central, formerly the Bay Club, at 3300 NE 192nd St. in Aventura. Phase Two will follow later. The developer, New York investor Joseph Chetrit, paid $140 million for the Bay Club last year.

The two 20-story towers with a total of 700 units will be renovated and updated under architect Kobi Karp and interior designer Steven G. One- and two-bedroom units of 1,065 – 1,302 square feet are priced from the $280,000s and the project should be completed by the end of the year. Sellout is anticipated at $250 million.

2. Prodigy will be launching sales in February for Paradiso, at 2399 Collins Ave., Mimai Beach, which Chetrit bought as the distressed Roney Palace last year. The 17-story building sits on more than 600 feet of oceanfront and offers 586 units—studios and one- and two-bedroom condos ranging from 650 to 1,900 square feet and priced from the $280,000s. Project sellout is anticipated at $265 million.

New Condo Offices on Miami Beach



Professionals and businesses now have a choice of new condo offices in a prime South Beach office building at 1680 Michigan Ave., a block north of Lincoln Road. The 11-story, 82,000 square foot building features recently upgraded amenities such as contemporary lobby and restroom designs, state-of-the-art elevators and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Commercial real estate company SMK CAPE HORN Development Group has begun additional renovations and upgrades to the building, which also has a covered, 160-space parking garage. Interior public spaces are getting a makeover from designer Carolina Kemig of Ba-haus/KNF I nteriors. The 45 available condo offices, ranging in size from 1,000 to 15,000 square feet, are priced from the low $300,000s to $4 million-plus. Brothers Samuel and Michael Konig with Eduardo Romero and Eduardo Covarrubias are co-developers of the project.



Taxi!



You can admire the London taxi cabs driving around South Florida roads, but you can’t hail them. The ten traditional cabs are here as mobile billboards for Boca Developers’ residential projects and are wrapped in images of water views from the projects’ sites. The company is Florida’s largest private real estate developer with more than 5,000 units built in less than a decade. The taxi promotion was officially launched last week at Biscayne Landing, which is being developed by Coconut Grove based Swerdlow Group and Boca Developers of Deerfield Beach. International Sales Group is the exclusive sales and marketing organization for the new project in North Miami.





Ear to the Ground



*Reports that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are buying the glam 8,000 square foot, six-bedroom penthouse at Icon (yes! the one featured in Groundwork last October) are a trifle premature. It seems that the celeb couple is still searching for their dream home, but meanwhile JLo’s Miami Beach estate on North Bay Road is being discreetly marketed to carefully screened buyers able to come up with the $14 million asking price.

*Opus on the River, featured in last week’s Groundwork, sold out before the official grand opening. Apparently brokers and “VIP” buyers snapped up the condo conversion units in an early buying frenzy.

*Most conversions these days are to condos but the Ramada Resort Miami Beach (the former Crown hotel) at 4041 Collins Ave. is being refurbished into luxury rental apartments. The developers, a group from Texas, will create one of the few upscale oceanfront rentals in Miami Beach.

*With the sale of the old Seacrest hotel at 121 Ocean Dr. in Miami Beach, more super luxury condos – said to be starting at $4 million -- are planned for South of Fifth.

*Heading north to Surfside, Sylvia Coltrane, a broker and the developer of luxury condo Azur, paid $6.1 million for the site of the former Surfside Six motel on the west side of Collins Avenue at 92nd Street. Reports are that she’s planning to build townhomes/villas on the site, which is zoned low-rise.

*Silver Heel Inc. and the Micheli Corporation, headed by Eugene J. Howard and Ralph Williams, paid $1.25 million for a 12-unit apartment building at 10101 West Bay Harbor Dr. in Bay Harbor Islands recently. The new owners say they have no plans to convert to condominiums.



Coming Up

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The Wolfsonian, at 1001 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach, was designed in 1927 by architects Robertson & Patterson with an addition designed by Robert M. Little added in 1935. The building originally housed the Washington Storage Company and was renovated in 1988-92 to house the museum and administrative offices.

Big days ahead for architecture and design aficionados when the Wolfsonian- Florida International University celebrates A Very Wolfsonian Weekend on Friday and Saturday, January 21 and 22. The annual series of events at different venues is designed to raise funds for the museum's exhibitions and public programs. Festivities begin on Friday evening with a cocktail party and silent auction at the gala preview of the Miami Modernism show, which features 75 outstanding exhibitors of all major design and fine art movements from 1900-1970. On Saturday at 2 p.m., The Wolfsonian will present an international design symposium open to the public at no charge. A panel of experts will discuss New Visions of Industrial Design at the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, 591 NW 27th St. In the evening a series of dinners in "An Extravaganza in Seven Spaces" will take place concurrently in locations epitomizing design and architecture. A Cuba Fiesta Tropical-themed after-party will round off the Wolfsonian weekend at the landmark Bacardi building, the one with the blue and white ceramic tile murals, at 2100 Biscayne Blvd. Bacardi USA’s headquarters blends art and architecture in a complex that houses corporate offices and a museum of family history dating back more than 140 years.

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/groundwork2.jpg

The Bacardi building will welcome some Wolfsonian festivities this weekend.


Real Estate Expo



Anyone shopping for a new home or mortgage will be able to interact face to face with industry professionals, says Paolo Sadri, president and founder of the Real Estate Expo, which is coming to town this weekend. Now in its fourth consecutive year in Miami, the Expo will showcase some of the industry’s leading developers, mortgage brokers, financial institutions, and industry-related products and services. Tickets are available in advance for $10 at www.realestateexpo.us, or buy them for $20 at the show at the Eden Roc Resort & Spa, Miami Beach, Saturday, January 22nd and Sunday, January 23rd from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.



Kudos



TO: Willy A. Bermello, chairman, CEO and founder of Bermello, Ajamil & Partners Inc.(B&A), for being named Architect of the Year 2004 by the American Institute of Architects, Miami Chapter. The company has designed commercial and residential projects public and private for the past 20 years. Bermello also heads up BAP Development, Inc., a real estate development company specializing in mixed-use urban in-fill projects, with seven (including Onyx 1 and 2 in the Biscayne Corridor) underway in South Florida and Fort Myers.

Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com

great news...I hope 1680 Michigan looks better in person!

Here is a Slightly better version:

http://www.miamigov.com/Planning/images/AreaComposite.jpg
OKAY :) , How in the WORLD :) , DID I miss this GREAT PICTURE :) , How did you Get this TOUCANO :) , FANTASTIC FUTURE VIEW of MAMI, I like the ISLAND GARDENS TOWER PROJECT, WOW . :cheers:

chuck lool look @ the gap between ten museum and 900 biscayne loooool we know whats there

chuck lool look @ the gap between ten museum and 900 biscayne loooool we know whats there
YES MIAballinboi :) , THAT DAMN BP :bash: GAS STATION :bash: , Gosh I wish JORGE PEREZ :) will buy that Gas Station and THE UGLY LOOKING PAWN SHOP :bash: Building Right Behind it and BUILD another TALL SLEEK looking TOWER :) to be the TALLEST !!! :cheers:

i'm surprised someone hasn't bought this land,wouldn't this land of been a better investment than the herald land or the sheraton hotel.

^maybe theyre too worried about the gas laws, i heard theress some strict laws bout knocking down a gas station,

but if theres a will theres a way

EARTH TO RENNER :) , Where's Our Groundwork, We need INPUT, INFO, me johnny 5, LOL, :cheers:
Also Renner :) , Find out Something for me :) , DID the POINTE AT BRICKELL 42 STORY :) , 442 FOOT CONDO TOWER get APPROVE by the CITY of MIAMI for 1100 SOUTH MIAMI AVENUE :) With a TOTAL of 330 UNITS, Thanks, RENNER, You da MAN. :cheers:

http://miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm
stiLl same olD GROUNDWORK CHUCKY CHEESE GIVE IT A few days

guys prob holding out to sell the gas station for a few years... hes prob dirty rich already from him dade county gas station empire, and can wait the 5 or 10 years for us to get a serious office boom and then theyll pay three times for that last bit of ocean view land that theyll pay now for yet another condo... more power to him, i say god bless that gas station owner, hes gonna pay off for us in the long run

true, that can be the future 1000 footer site, or lets say 900 footer

not only that but think about all the new condos from brickell ave all the way down to 395 the gas statiion will be everyones one time stop to refuil if there going to sobe or work and catch195 or sumthing peope will be pulling in there every morning at 8:30 am to get gas... im sure hes thinking that too, but that pawn shop can freaking leave and that gas station can repave that bumpy street that have there!

Don't Worry Everyone :) , About the Gas Station :bash: and the Ugly Pawn Shop :bash: off 10th Street and Biscayne Blvd, Because the 4 Mexican ILLEGAL Construction Workers in the Back Bed of my R.A.M. ( Running Around MIAMI :) ) Pick-UP Vehicle HAVE A Sneaky PLAN of their Own, LOL. It Should be Cleared in about 5 YEARS. :cheers:

http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/groundwork1.jpg
The aftermath of the Everglades demolition
By Helen Hill
Columnist



A Brandy Toast to Condo Conversions



Brickell Key’s cachet rose significantly when its name was changed from Claughton Island a few years ago. Now one of the remaining upscale rental buildings on the island just off Brickell Avenue is due for a conversion to condominiums. Developer Elliott J. Sharaby, of Baltimore-based Falstaff Group Inc., recently purchased Courvoisier Courts following on his sell-out of the Island Pointe conversion in Bay Harbor Islands last year.
http://miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/groundwork4.JPG
Courvoisier Courts

Courvoisier Courts has a major advantage; the 28-story tower in British Colonial style architecture was built in 1997 and is in move-in condition. However, the public areas will be redecorated, under the guidance of interior designer Perla Lichi who envisages a tropical waterfront oasis on the water using faux finish effects and custom stencil designs in each elevator lobby with a coordinating faux finish on the elevator ceiling. She will also design three “wow” model residences.

Buyers have a choice of 10 original floor plans of one, two and three bedroom units ranging from 850 square feet to 3,700 square feet, many with unobstructed panoramic water or city views. Spacious grand master suites have nine to thirteen foot ceilings and large balconies. Prices start in the $300,000s. A two-story fully furnished five- bedroom penthouse unit is priced at $2.5 million dollars.

Amenities include a Chinese-fan shaped pool, two-story health club and spa salon, squash, racquetball and croquet courts, a surround-sound plush private movie theatre, a billiards and party room, and fully equipped Business Center with conference room, available to residents. There is 24 hour concierge, valet parking and a five story enclosed parking garage.

In addition there are three commercial spaces available for sale on the ground floor of the building, perfect for an array of businesses and specialty stores

Sales are due to start in three weeks at the on-site sales office at 701 Brickell Key Boulevard.



Apres l’implosion!



It looks like a disaster area but fortunately, there was no disaster after 50 pounds of dynamite, coupled with 137 pounds of steel cutting charges thundered through Miami’s Everglades Hotel recently. This rubble is all that remained of the vintage downtown building after it was imploded to make way for Everglades on the Bay’s new, luxury condominiums.

Developer Jacobo Cababie of Cabi Developers invited the City of Miami Fire Rescue, Technical Rescue and Hazmat teams, the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team, and the City of Miami Police Department to utilize the site for training drills immediately following the implosion. Rescue teams conducted training exercises with search dogs used to locate and rescue test-dummies placed around the site.

After the site is cleared, two 49-story contemporary towers clad in limestone and granite with a blue/green glass façade, will rise on the site at 244 Biscayne Boulevard site facing Biscayne Bay. Plans are for 849 luxury residential units well as 60,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in a pedestrian-friendly environment.



Down by the Riverside
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Terrazas River Park Village

The proposed Terrazas River Park Village shows off recycling at its best in the City of Miami. A two tower project – the 27-story River Tower and the 21-story Park Tower – will replace the former Windmoor Hospital – also known as “Old Dodge Hospital” which closed three years ago.

Developers Terrazas International Group, a joint venture of BA Investment Group, headed by Fernandez Prieto, Julio Comparada, and Miguel Angel Barbagallo, paid $4 million for the 2.15 acre site with 210 feet of waterfront on the south bank of the Miami River just west of Downtown. Terrazas’ residents will have a private entrance to the adjacent E.G. Sewell Park, a quiet sanctuary containing some of Florida's oldest trees and the only natural hardwood hammock preserve in the area. A 200-year old Kapok Tree on the project site, will serve as a centerpiece for the main entrance.

The gated, pet friendly development of 324 residences will offer lofts, one, two and three-bedroom units with private terraces and floor-to-ceiling windows, priced form ranging in price from $200,000 and up. The developers are targeting some of the 30,000 people who work in the Civic Center area with the University of Miami School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital and other institutions just a bridge away.

Terrazas’ indoor and outdoor amenities include a clubhouse, a landscaped pool and sun deck and meditation garden plus a state-of-the-art health and fitness center, saunas and shower areas and a multi-function room for social occasions. There will be retail shops and services on the ground level. Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2005, with completion expected in mid 2007.



Space
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Atlas Plaza

The Miami Design District looks better every day. Latest renovation with retail space to lease is the reworked Atlas Plaza at 114 & 130 NE 40th Street. Janet Atlas and Rusty Atlas of Miami’s Carson Realty Group’s Commercial Division have taken the former Buena Vista Design Plaza and created a new facility of two vintage buildings with a courtyard between and private parking at the rear. Current tenants include artists’ studios, a marble and tile showroom and FOOD restaurant with exposure on both 39th & 40th Street. Two spaces of 1,800 and 2,212 square feet are available for a triple net lease with rates starting at $25 a square foot.







Kudos



To: Oscar Barbara, president of Coral Gables-based Quantum Homes and immediate past president of the Builders Association of South Florida, for being included in the 2005-2006 edition of National Register's Who's Who in Executives and Professionals. The Quantum firm has developed more than 5,000 residential units throughout South Florida and is ranked among the top five builders in Miami-Dade County.



Diary Date



The Urban Environment League of Greater Miami series of "Dine & Discuss" evenings are designed to encourage public participation in the electoral process, urban planning and growth management. The next event is on Tuesday, February 15th at the Miami River Inn, 118 South River Drive. Topic “New Urbanism – Applied and Misapplied” focusing on gentrification and affordable housing. Guest speakers are Nathanial Belcher, assistant dean and associate professor, FIU School of Architecture and Dr. Charles C. Bohl, research associate professor for the University of Miami School of Architecture, director of the Knight Program in Community Building, and author of “Place Making: Developing Town Centers, Main Streets and Transit Villages.” Andres Viglucci of the Miami Herald is moderator. A limited number of seats are available at no charge for the discussion only. Information and dinner reservations 305-325-0045

Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

http://miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

EARTH to RENNER :) , Great GROUNDWORK Update :cheers: , Thanks, Bro, Ya Da man :) !!!, lol, Looking forward to the Next Update, ALSO, The Interest Rates ARE STILL HOLDING :) , lol. You Can GO AHEAD and Say it Again, LOL !!! P.S. You Want the Website ???, Haha. :cheers:

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Sold for $127.5 million: The Royal Palm Hotel



By Helen Hill

Columnist



The Aristocracy Comes to Biscayne



Marquis, the first of the new Miami projects by developer Leviev Boymelgreen, is set to rise at 1100 Biscayne Blvd. on the site of the old HoJo Hotel. Arquitectonica has designed a 67-story tower that appears as intersecting and overlapping volumes of crystalline glass. The 306 condominium residences and 56 boutique hotel rooms will start with a 1,600-square-foot, one-bedroom-plus-den unit and rise up through two- and three-bedroom units to a 7,500-square-foot penthouse. Marquis also will have a series of poolside cabana-style townhomes set 12 stories above the boulevard.

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No more HoJo. The hotel’s replacement: The 67-story Marquis.



Other features include an Asian-inspired water garden surrounding the swimming pools, lounging islands on the amenities deck and a nine-story opening in the tower, which will provide sweeping views of the bay and beyond. The building’s amenities will include a gourmet restaurant, an infinity-edge pool and an 8,000-square-foot spa. Interesting woods such as zebrano and teak will be featured in the kitchen and bathrooms along with limestone and Italian Mink marble. Prices will range from the $600,000s to more than $8 million. Hotel rates have not yet been determined.

Groundbreaking is set for fall of 2005, with completion expected in two to three years.



Condo-Hotel Conversion



The trend to condominium-ize (what a word!) hotel rooms continues with the $127.5 million sales last week of Miami Beach's fourth-largest hotel, the 417-room Royal Palm hotel at 1545 Collins Ave. The buyer: The Falor Companies, chaired by David Falor. The seller: Peebles Atlantic Development Corporation (PADC), run by R. Donahue Peebles. But PADC will continue to work with the Falor Companies in its bid to convert 160 of the hotel rooms into condominium hotel units. The Falor Companies, a diversified hospitality firm, is experienced in full and partial conversions to condominium hotels while PADC has experience in the Miami hotel industry. The new owners plan to renovate and reposition the property to a luxury hotel with a new boutique hotel operator to be announced shortly.

In December, the Miami Beach City Commission, the hotel’s land owner, unanimously approved the conversion of 160 hotel rooms to condominium hotel units in the adjoining Shorecrest property. Condominium hotel units are scheduled to go on sale in March with prices starting at $700,000.

Late last year The Falor Companies bought Ocean Drive hotels The Tides, Edison and Breakwater, as well as the Omni Colonnade in Coral Gables with plans to turn that 174-room downtown hotel into a condo-hotel property. The Chicago-based company has chalked up some seven Miami area hotel conversion projects in less than two years.

Meanwhile the Saxony Hotel, at 3201 Collins Ave. (a stunning MiMo property that also happens to be Miami Beach’s last remaining kosher hotel) is the latest candidate for conversion. The Patrinely Group, a subsidiary of Crimson Capital Ltd., a national real estate merchant banking firm that sponsors development and co-investment transactions for its partners in addition to owning real estate service firms, will be starting a three-phase luxury condominium and hotel project. In the first phase, the company will convert the Saxony to a 60-room five-star international hotel with 40 large luxury condominiums. Eventually they plan to build a new 50-unit tower (the area’s height limit is 200 feet) on the adjoining parking lot.



Q



Launched last week – a new $14 million condominium that will help revitalize a faded area with homes for low- to moderate-income families. Latin Q Towers will transform a vacant lot at t 420 SW 12th Ave. in Miami’s Little Havana Revitalization District into a 10-story building with 72 residential units, 60 of which will be affordable homes for sale.

A gaggle of VIPs gathered for the groundbreaking, including the city of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, director of the Community Development Department Barbara Gomez-Rodriguez and Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez. Also present were Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, officials from National Housing Development Corp., developer Salomon Yuken of Barcelona Management Corp. and representatives from Colonial Bank. The project is being financed through a for-profit/nonprofit partnership that includes the city of Miami’s Community Development Department, which is providing a $1.8 million construction loan from its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, as well as Miami-Dade County and the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC).

The one-bedroom/one-bath, two-bedroom/two-bath and three-bedroom/three-bath units range in size from 631 to 1,235 square feet and start at $139,000. New owners hope to move in early next year.



Celebrity News



J. Lo trackers will be happy to know that Jennifer Lopez has sold her lavish North Bay Road pad at the $14 million asking price. The house, which stands on 1.5 bayfront acres, cost her $9.9 million less than five years ago and reportedly underwent a zillion dollar makeover, so Ms. Lopez may be just breaking even on the deal!

Miami Beach real estate agent Nelli Santa Marina, who keeps a low profile for high-profile clients, represented J.Lo and the Jills of Coldwell Banker, Miami Beach acted as agents for the as-yet-unnamed buyers — a couple moving from Fisher Island to the mainland.
Kudos



To Harvey Hernandez of H&H Development Co., the developer of Mondrian, an arts-inspired condominium slated for the Arts District, who gave a $5,000 donation to the Miami Performing Arts Center. The check presented to PAC President Michael Hardy was part of the opening night celebration of the Brad Howe art exhibit at the Adamar Gallery. The exhibition will run through April 10.



Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.

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good update rennar

RENNER :) , again !!!, Great UPDATE :) , Check out TODAY's Miami Herald, Sunday, Feb.27th, 2005, PAGE 8H, THIS MARQUIS :) 67 FLOOR Condo-Hotel TOWER is going to be STUNNING :) , and ITS RIGHT Next to 1-395 to the SOUTH, WOW, so close the the EXPRESSWAY, at over 700 FEET :) . This is ONE PROJECT the F.D.O.T., LEFT out of its Exspansion PLANS, I'm supprised, I still say there's a OPUS CONDO TOWER going up Somewhere OVER the Rainbow of MIAMI, GO CRANES :cheers: , and RENNER :) , Guess What , The Interest rates Are still Holding at 5.45 % for a 30 year loan, LOL :cheers: . Do you need the website ??? :jk:

renner theres a new groundwork....
w/e i'll do it myself....here we go www.miamisunpost.com



Paramount Bay in Miami

By Helen Hill
Columnist



Flatiron on a New Track



The Metromover train track will still run through the middle of a planned Brickell Village building, but other plans for the project are likely to change.

The mixed-use Flatiron Building bound by Brickell Plaza, Southeast 11th Street and South Miami Avenue, is due to change hands this week. Original owners: a partnership consisting of real estate broker Edie Laquer, restaurateur Steven Perricone, trial lawyer Jay Solowsky and Turner Construction Senior VP Michael Smith.

New owners are Amir Ben-Zion and Asi Cymbal of Paradise International Development. Opinions are divided on retaining the original Flatiron Building name, homage to the famed New York structure that stands on a similar clothes-iron-shaped site. A new name on the lines of 1100 Brickell Plaza or Brickell Park is being considered while the developers tweak the original design, with architect Kobi Karp, to give a 50,000-square-foot retail component on the ground and mezzanine floors, and 200,00 square feet of office lofts in the 55-story building. Residential options include 535 condos and trendy lofts.

The site, which covers two city blocks, adjoins a city park on the northeast corner but will also have its own 40,000-square-foot sky park on the 18th floor, complete with trees, tropical vegetation and a café offering a bird’s eye view of the city.





Which Paramount Is Which?



Daniel Kodsi, president and CEO of Boca Raton-based Royal Palm Communities, has brought his company’s luxury high-rise division south to Miami-Dade with two different Paramount projects.

Paramount Bay, a $250 million mixed-use contemporary-style urban complex, will be built on nearly three acres in the Biscayne Corridor area, at 2066 N. Bayshore Drive. Arquitectonica has designed a 47-story building with 350 one-, two- and three-bedroom residential units ranging from 1,272 square feet to 2,349 square feet. Many have extra dens, which sounds like a retro trend in condo design. (The ’70s-style convertible condo lives!) Floor-through layouts and private elevator access make the building totally up to date not to mention the hi-tech, in-residence, wireless touchpad concierge for accessing amenities and services. And when the concierge panel or a computer needs reconfiguring or fixing, on-site “Techcierge” services will be available. Building amenities include a 6,000-square-foot health spa and fitness center with sauna and steam rooms, and an unusual amenities deck on the fifth level. Water features will include shallow lagoons surrounding cabanas and the walkways to the pools and the beach. Residents can walk through the "oasis" of water or sunbathe on lounge chairs surrounded by water. The residents’ social center will focus on the Paramount Club with all the leisure trappings such as billiard table, plasma TV, party kitchen and bar facilities.

Prices for units range from $600,000 to $2 million plus. Sales will begin in March with construction scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2005 and completion planned for the fourth quarter of 2007. A pedestrian-friendly waterfront plaza called Edgewater Square is planned next to Paramount Bay to provide retail space.


Paramount Beach in Sunny Isles Beach

In Sunny Isles Beach, the 45-story Paramount Beach is coming off the drawing board into sales mode this month. The $280 million oceanfront condominium at 16901 Collins Ave. with 300 feet of beach, will offer 232-residential units of three and four bedrooms, of 1,925 to 3,695 square feet, accessed by private elevators and priced from the high $900s.

Architect Fullerton-Diaz has designed floor-through layouts with glass-railed terraces offering ocean views, large living areas and eat-in kitchens replete with marble countertops, high-end designer cabinetry and stainless steel appliances. The building will be equipped with the same high-tech concierge panel as the other Paramount and will have similar amenities, though this time at ground level. Outdoors, the “Island Oasis” deck has an oceanside infinity-edge pool, direct beach access, two-story beach cabanas and a state-of-the-art fitness center and spa overlooking the beach.

Construction of the tower is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2005, with completion slated for third quarter 2007.





This ’n That



Majestic Properties is moving on with a fourth local office. The new digs at 35 NE 40th St. in the Design District occupy about 5,000 square feet at the penthouse level. The property is part of an 18,000 square foot building Majestic acquired last year and features a furniture store, the District Restaurant and Lounge and a garden on the first level.

In the 10 years since Jeff Morr founded Majestic as a commercial and residential real estate company, it has grown to 250 agents and brokers (who speak more than 10 languages among them). Still privately owned and operated, Majestic recently crossed the Broward County line to buy a 7,000 square foot office building on Hollywood Boulevard for a new future location in downtown Hollywood.



Water, Water Everywhere



South Florida submerged? Should we be worrying now?

The Urban Environment League of Greater Miami thinks its time to tackle the topic of “Miami-Dade and Global Warming.” Their next dinner forum on Tuesday, March 15, at 6 p.m. at the Miami River Inn, 118 S. River Drive, is billed as a conversation with Harvey Ruvin. The Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts is a leading advocate on the impact of development on our environment and head of a county task force examining the impact of global warming on building codes. Reception and dinner is open to members and nonmembers for a charge. A limited number of seats for the discussion only will be available free to the public. Info: 305-325-0045.



Attention Foreign Investors



In case there’s anyone out there who didn’t know: South Florida is ranked among the top five most attractive places in the United States for foreign real estate investors to put their money (as reported in The Miami Herald), so it’s not surprising that developers reach out to those investors on their home turf. The Miami-based Real Estate Expo is presenting three real estate shows in cocktail party format to invitation-only, upscale potential buyers in tony European venues such as The Ritz in Paris on April 2, The Hotel De Paris in Monte Carlo on May 21 and the Four Seasons in London on May 24. Local projects on the menu include Fortune International’s Jade 1 and Jade 2 and Avenue.



Oops! On a Scoop



Last week’s “Groundwork” item on J. Lo’s residence being sold should have stated that the North Bay Road house on 1.5 acres, which cost $9.9 million and underwent a zillion dollar makeover, is still at the selling stage for the $14 million asking price. Stay tuned!



Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com





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cynergi
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http://miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

So the Flatiron will be 55-stories, the original design was only 20 or so. A triangular 55-story building with a metro-mover line going through the middle should be interesting.

wow that would be awesome

Thank You Uptown-Midtown :) , Great Update on the Groundwork. I guess RENNER 's on Vacation in Walt Disney World. :cheers:
P.S. I really Can't see FLATiron :) Going Up in my Dreams, The SIGN has been there for over 4 Years NOW since I work in the area of Coral Way and South Miami Ave. Its just like the CORAL STATION :) Condo Sign, they are BOTH Just Rusting :bash: and Fading AWAY, I doubt IF these two Projects EVER get Started. :cheers: :) :cheers:

Putting that sign/rendering on the site was about all you could do to get some people's imaginations in gear. You know, some people just go ga ga over renderings.
That is a challenging piece of land, but most challenging are owners that wanted to stay in the deal. It seems like this is an outright sale...so guess what? A building gets built.
Committee meetings and nurturing egos are not very productive uses of energy if your goal is reaching for the sky....

Good Morning ROARK :) , yes , thats' True, I had to work late last night DUE to the HEAVY rains Over Brickell, Its that SIGN :) !!!, been there for years, I just WISH something Could be Built there, BUT OFFICES are OUT :bash: of Business NOW, its a Condo Market in Brickell, If This FLATiron Went Total Condo :) , then I can see it going up in about 3 Years, But to me , its Just another Developer's Dream, We'll see the same property in 3 Years with the Same sign. Believe ME :) , when we talk about it in 2008. :cheers:

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Real Estate Columnist Helen Hill enjoys the view during a hot air balloon survey.



Riding High



The hard hats and shovels were out for last week’s groundbreaking of Miami’s new Avenue project but the party took off, literally, with guests riding in a hot-air balloon to survey the site. Well, OK, the balloon only rose high enough to eyeball passengers in the adjoining Metromover (and give them a conniption at the unexpected sight), but it was high enough to appreciate the location at 1060 Brickell Ave.

The two-tower, 570-unit development will include 24,000 square feet of on-site retail and a 12-story parking garage. Residential units range from 570-square-foot studios and lofts up to 2,500 square feet in size to duplex penthouses with prices ranging from the low $200,000s to more than $1 million. The developer is IMICO Brickell LLC led by New York-based president Gary Barnett. Moshe Spitzer and Henry Terech head the local development team with Fortune International handling sales.

At the party, guests were reminded of the building’s amenities with a gift of wine stoppers or golf balls to be used on the virtual golf tee or in the cigar and wine lounge, to be located on Avenue’s main amenities floor, (next time maybe swimsuits, bikinis and flip flops!). One guest, Ernesto “Ernie” Cassis, was awarded a two-night, three-day trip for two to the Corals Sands Beach Resort in Harbour Island Bahamas, provided by Home Miami Magazine, a co-sponsor of the event.

All in all it was an original approach to launching a new Brickell project.





River Breezes for Wind
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Wind makes its neon mark on the Miami River

For Lissette Calderon, the recent party launching Wind was a double celebration. With her new baby daughter at hand, she could survey the results of her first development “baby” — bringing life to the Miami River. Four years ago, Calderon, then only 26, launched Neo Lofts, the first residential project to be completed on the Miami River in a century. Neo-Vertika, designed with innovative two-story Splits-style condominiums spaces in nearby Brickell Village, followed last year. Now as chief executive officer of NEO, she is building Wind in a joint venture with Antonio Cabrera Jr. Wind will be the first building to rise in River Front, downtown Miami’s first gated community that is described as a 13.5-acre mixed-use urban oasis on the North Bank of the Miami River.

Around 1,000 guests (though not all at the same time!) jammed the rooftop cocktail party for a BlueGirls Swimwear runway fashion show and well-lubricated conversation. (Some guests, like your columnist, mistakenly wandered into a lively Latin-themed party in the club next door before locating the Wind event.) Up on the rooftop, the view of the river and twinkling city lights looked like a scene from a movie – a dream lifestyle for the developers and city VIPs including Mayor Manny Diaz, and Commissioners Johnny Winton and Angel Gonzalez, who were present.

On the ground level, big screens showed what Wind is all about: a 41-story building designed by Miami architect Luis Revuelta with 489 units designed for flexibility according to residents’ lifestyles. Multifunctional air conditioned K-Rooms are spaces that can be used as dens, offices, entertainment centers or whatever! The 11-foot-deep Exo-Rooms are designed for outdoor living. The clubhouse will feature a professionally equipped gourmet kitchen that residents can reserve for private events, sports lounge, cigar parlor and kid’s playroom; a men’s and women’s spa with aromatherapy steam room and sauna, and a wellness center with a gym and holistic center to help soothe away the rigors of a Miami lifestyle!



Hip Meets Luxury
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Caught in the clutches of condo conversion: The Carlyle.

The Carlyle, a South Beach Art Deco icon at 1250 Ocean Drive, is gaining a new incarnation with the emphasis on vintage glamour and service.

New owners Carlyle Beach Associates, headed by Paul Anton, paid $12.5 million for the 50-room hotel that defined a new Miami Beach’s image (it was the location for films such a The Birdcage, Scarface and Bad Boys 2, and various fashion shoots) and are transforming it into a boutique building of 19 uber-luxurious condominiums on four floors above a lobby and rare Miami Beach basement.
The Carlyle’s façade will remain but the interior will be completely redesigned by Miami architect by Bernard Zyscovich in a style that mixes 1930s-inspired crystal doorknobs, terrazzo countertops and mint-green oak cabinets with the latest smart building technology.

Though it will no longer be a hotel, the Carlyle will function with the same kind of services for residents such as a butler, concierge services of Quintessentially and staff on-call at all hours. Promoting itself to buyers who are seeking a full-service and ultra-hip life, residents will also get private membership at the exclusive The Club at Casa Casuarina (the former Versace mansion) located a block away.

Seven units have already been sold and the remaining 12 average $1,000 per square foot. The price of service and luxury for the 1,000- to 3,000-square-foot residences starts at $1 million..


New Record Prices



Up, up and away is more than a balloon ride these days as real estate volume and sales prices head ever upwards.

According to the new Coldwell Banker’s 2004 Luxury Market Report, the nationwide real estate company had $3 billion in luxury homes sales in Florida, the second-highest volume after California.

Miami Beach ranks in the top five hottest cities in the nation for luxury home sales. Total sales volume increased 138 percent from 2003 to 2004 with Miami Beach rising 23 spots to a ranking of 15th nationally.

The fifth-highest closed sales price by a Coldwell Banker sales associate in 2004 was a $19.8 million property in Miami Beach. It was the only property sold outside of California in the top 20.

Meanwhile a South Beach oceanfront penthouse is being sold for an unprecedented $2,100 a square foot, beating a previous record of $1,695 per square foot set in October 2003. The Il Villagio pad at 1455 Ocean Drive is set to be a new home for movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, currently the executive producer of TV show CSI Miami.

The 3,100-square-foot apartment, billed as a magnificent mansion in the sky, has a 1,500 square foot rooftop terrace with Jacuzzi, pool and outdoor cooking center. Perfect for Hollywood-style parties!

The penthouse, which sold preconstruction in 1997 for around $1 million, brought $5.25 million in a previous sale. In the most recent transaction, it was listed at $7.5 million and sold for $6.7 million. For the record, condo maintenance is $2,341 a month and property taxes (subject to change), a hefty $79,785 a year.



Meanwhile, in Miami



The Civic Center and Jackson Memorial Hospital is an area of Miami where thousands of people work in a decidedly urban neighborhood of medical facilities, research institutes, civic offices and a courthouse. Located close to the Miami River, with easy access to highways and downtown, and served by scads of buses and a Metrorail line, it’s not surprising that this section has hit the development radar. What is surprising is the new price point achieved with the recent sale of the planned Miami Riverhouse Condominium at 1170 NW 11th St. — $11.3 million, one of the largest transactions in that area to date.

The original owners, the Burstyn family of Seabrook Development Properties Inc., bought the property in 1994 for $1.8 million and have operated a Travel Inn on the site ever since. The Burstyns are retaining an unspecified interest in the property which was just bought by Lauris Boulanger and Mark Rousso, of Miami Riverhouse Ltd.

Plans are for a 23-story, mixed-use project with 199-residential units and amenities such as swimming pool, a sports court, fitness and aerobic center and executive center, along with 24-hour security. No prices yet (condos were originally offered last year preconstruction, from the $200s) but sales are due to launch in April 2005.



Kudos



TO: Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. for gaining the “2004 Trend Setter Award” from the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches (RAMB). The award, recognizing high professional standards among real estate companies, was presented at the recent Installations and Awards luncheon at the Biltmore Hotel.



Helen Hill is a free-lance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com

Groundwork


Cynergi comes to Wynwood.



By Helen Hill
Columnist



Building up Pillars



More than 400 of South Florida’s leading real estate people, including architects, brokers, builders, brokers, contractors, developers and investors, turned out for the recent GMJF Pillars of Pride Campaign Event at the Radisson Hotel Miami. The Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Commerce & Professions Real Estate, Builders and Allied Trades Division annual event featured keynote speaker Pinchas Cohen, the CEO of Africa-Israel Development, an international investment company (operating in 11 countries on four continents) that is partnering with Leviev Boymelgreen in developing nearly $1 billion of residential and mixed-use projects in downtown Miami and on Miami Beach.

Cohen indicated that his company has a long-term commitment to the community and after the current three projects, Marquis, Soleil and Vitri are under way, they would embark on Phase Two with long-term master planning for the district around the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and Park West. One project in the pipeline, west of the PAC, will mix residential, office, retail and entertainment in a complex that would have 1,000 underground parking spaces for the PAC.

Power broker Edie Laquer chaired the event with Ike Fisher, Jim Fried, Stevan Pardo and Charles Treister serving as vice chairs. Michael Stein of the Aztec Group, head of the real estate division, and Kevin Kaplan of the Commerce and Professions Division were among the guests that included GMJF president Michael M. Adler, who is also president of The Adler Group; Shaya Boymelgreen; Ezra Katz; Diane Lieberman; Brad Meltzer; Jeff Morr; Hank Rodstein; Kim Rodstein; Hank Sopher; Lisa Treister and Peggy Tredler; and Edie Laquer’s mother, who blew out the candles on a surprise cake to a chorus of “Happy Birthday” from the guests. A record sum was raised to help fund the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s social and humanitarian services locally, in Israel and in 60 countries around the world.



SoHo in SoFlo



New York’s SoHo-style lofts continue to inspire new Miami buildings, this time in the heart of Wynwood’s up-and-coming art district. Cynergi at 2700 N. Miami Ave. will feature 100 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units with generously sized elevators, exposed ceilings and large industrial stainless steel appliances in the kitchen area. Building amenities include a private pool and state-of-the art gym while the lobby will feature an art installation designed by Miami artist Richard Boprae. Units range from 680 to 1,700 square feet and are priced from the $200,000s.

Architect Kobi Karp has designed a 10-story building to blend in with the urban scale of its surroundings. There will be 6,500 square feet of retail space at street level opening onto the sidewalk (ideal for an outdoor eatery) that will add to the neighborhood atmosphere.

Developers Ron Davidson of Trust USA and Izhak Orgad of Del Trust have appointed Majestic Properties to handle sales. The sales center is slated to open on Thursday, April 7.



Fishing for History


South Beach’s Angler’s Hotel is going resort condo.

In its day, Miami Beach’s Angler’s Hotel at 634 Washington Ave. was a noted and glamorous vacation destination. The Mediterranean Revival-style building, designed by 1920s architect Henry Maloney, has been through some ups and downs in the decades since, but now the property is due for a new life as the Angler’s Boutique Resort Condominium.

Miami architect Alan T. Shulman has designed a four-building complex of 55 fully furnished resort residences, ranging in size from 460 to 1,070 square feet, including two original three-story buildings and two new buildings of five and two stories to give a stepped effect when viewed from the front. The five-story building will feature 15 two-story townhomes. Those on the ground level will have private decks or gardens; those on the upper level will have private rooftop decks. In between will be single-level floor-through flats with east and westerly views. Landscaped courtyards, a swimming pool and a garden lounge will create a tropical atmosphere in a sophisticated urban building. The resort residences are priced from $350,000 to more than $1 million. Sales inquires are made by appointment only.

J. Wallace Tutt III, who is returning to South Florida after many years in the Bahamas, is collaborating with Gregg Covin Real Estate Development and nightlife impresario Michael Capponi (known as a club host with an international network of friends) to re-create the Angler’s glory days. Tutt, who was interior designer of the Versace mansion, will attach his signature style to the Angler’s. Tutt, who’s known as a celebrity magnet, will also open the Miami Beach outpost of the Rock House Bar & Restaurant, a celebrity favorite in the Bahamas.



The Many Parts of Miami Real Estate



Commercial real estate activity doesn’t always attract as much attention as residential but when an international company leases a total of 180,000 square feet of office and industrial space in a northwest Miami-Dade industrial park, it deserves a welcoming fanfare. Over the past year Mobis Parts America LLC, a subsidiary of Hyundai Mobis, which belongs to Hyundai Automotive Group in Korea, has established its Latin American headquarters at Flagler Station Business Park, a 980-acre distribution center at 10805 NW 100th St. in Medley.

In late February, real estate attorneys Eric D. Rapkin in Fort Lauderdale and Burton A. Landy in Miami of Akerman Senterfitt, negotiated a 60,000 square-foot sublease for the Korean auto parts distributor. This was in addition to the 122,000 square feet that Mobis Parts America earlier leased in the same building directly from Flagler Development, owner of the park. The terms of the original lease and the new sublease were not disclosed.

The presence of such a major international company may presage a new trend.

According to Landy, chairman emeritus of Akerman Senterfitt’s International Practice Group, “South Florida is a fertile region for Asian investments and will continue to attract the attention of expansion-minded companies from South Korea, Japan and China.”





Coming Up



“The Condo Conversion Craze – How Will It Affect Your Development and When Will It Happen Next?” is the featured topic at the Builders Association of South Florida’s (BASF) quarterly High-Rise Council Forum. The panel of experts will include Jay Massirman, executive vice president at CB Richard Ellis, Barbara Salk, vice president/senior project director at the Related Group of Florida and Arthur Slaven, senior vice president at Centrum Properties. Katrina Campins will moderate the discussion. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26 from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Tower Club on the 28th floor of the Regions Bank building, 1 Financial Plaza Fort Lauderdale. Cost: $40 for BASF members and $100 for nonmembers. RSVP to Lilia Camejo at 305-556-6304 by Tuesday, April 19.



Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com

Groundwork



By Helen Hill
Columnist



The Far East Comes to Miami



The Mandarin Oriental hotel was the first to bring a touch of the Orient to Brickell Key. Now comes Hong Kong–based Swire Properties. Swire is developing a 40-story condominium tower called Asia on 1.7 waterfront acres overlooking the downtown skyline and the mouth of the Miami River on the northern shoreline of manmade Brickell Key.

Designed by J. Scott Architecture, the tower of just 123 residences will feature a green glass façade, accentuated by patina copper detailing at the cornice lines. Twelve-foot-high ceilings will be standard in all the residences which are a mix of palatial-sized two, three and four bedrooms. The smallest two-bedroom flat, at 1,600 square feet, starts from $875,000. Prices for units range up to $6 million. The project is 80 percent sold and a new price point for Brickell Key is showing up with an average price for residences of $1.5 million.

All the expected luxuries are included: a striking lobby, private elevators, touch screen lifestyle management technology, multiple pools, private fitness center with state of the art machines, private storage rooms, tennis, valet and concierge. Construction has started with completion scheduled for February 2007.



Raising Roofs in Las Vegas



The Miami-Las Vegas connection is gaining ground as South Florida real estate people take their expertise west. Bruce Weiner of Turnberry Associates is heading up the development of Turnberry Place on Paradise Road in Las Vegas where three of the 40-story towers are complete and the fourth is due soon. Prices for the luxury condos range from $500,000s to nearly $6 million. Turnberry Associates’ Jeffrey Soffer launched the first condominium-hotel complex on the famed Las Vegas Strip in a joint-venture with the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Now under development are The Residences at MGM Grand. Again, the first 40-story tower’s 576 residences priced from $350,000 to $1.5 million sold quickly and units in the second tower are reported to be moving fast. Another four towers may follow.

Sunny Isles Beach developer Gil Dezer’s company, Dezer Las Vegas LLC, recently purchased a 12-acre site on Industrial Drive. Still in the planning stage, the as-yet unnamed project of 1,200 to 1,500 luxury condominium units in three or four buildings will feature direct and unobstructed views of The Strip’s glitzy buildings and dazzle. Dezer anticipates the project getting underway in the next six months.

Related Las Vegas, a partnership between The Related Companies, L.P. and The Related Group of Florida, introduced their first high-rise condo project in the Las Vegas marketplace last month. ICON Las Vegas will feature two 48-story towers, totaling 514 units priced from $450,000 to more than $2 million. Bernardo Fort-Brescia, principal of Miami-based Arquitectonica, is the building’s design architect and New York-based Rockwell Group are designing the public spaces.

The biggest project of all — a $1 billion, 1.5 million square-foot hotel/condominium project on 24 acres adjacent to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has Miami architect Chad Oppenheim of the Oppenheim Architecture+Design firm working on the design. When combined with the current Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the two properties will cover a total of 41 acres. Peter Morton, chairman and founder of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, plans to build a mixed-use, master-planned development of five towers consisting of three luxury residence towers, two “condotel” towers and more than 40 poolside bungalows, plus a collection of restaurants, top drawer retailers, health club and spa and a variety of other recreational facilities.

Jeff Morr of Miami’s Majestic Properties is planning a foothold in Las Vegas too, with a sales office set to open later this year. With all the activity in luxury real estate, plus palm trees and bright lights, Las Vegas seems set to become an outpost of South Beach!




Winning Artists



It looks like the Wynwood area just southwest of the Miami Design District is on a roll as “the” emerging Arts District! Lionstone, developer and owner of the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and other properties in Miami and the Caribbean, is developing a new custom designed art gallery complex on Miami Avenue and Northeast 20th Street. The building, to be designed by Miami-based architect Juan Lezcano, will house up to 15 art galleries, a restaurant, and café.

Lorenzo A. Rudolf, former managing director of Art Basel from 1991 to 2000, who helped conceptualize and launch Art Basel Miami Beach, will be in charge of selecting the galleries and coordinating branding and promotions.



The Art of Living in Aventura



The developers of Artech, Edgardo Defortuna of Fortune International, Claudio Stivelman and Gilbert Benhamou of Shefaor Development, are smiling because they managed to fuse art, architecture and fashion in a sparkling celebration at SAKS Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour last week. A sophisticated crowd of friends and purchasers dressed to suit the surroundings nibbled on fancy hors d’oeuvres, sipped lychee martinis and scanned the cutting-edge fashions by Issey Miyake, while taking time out to admire contemporary jewelry creations by Pianegonda and Antonini Milano. Models clad in the “wearable art” designs perched on silver pedestals. The evening gave the developers the opportunity to describe the lifestyle and amenities they are offering at Artech, the ultra-modern waterfront condominium designed by architect Carlos Ott in conjunction with Charles Benson on seven acres at 3020 NE 188th St. in Aventura.

The boomerang-shaped nine-story Artech spans 900 square feet of waterfront and features 232 condominiums. Amenities include a triangular shaped infinity-edge pool, boat slips, tennis court, state-of-the-art fitness center and spa, billiards room, reading and cards room, a community/party room, and movie theatre. The property is within walking distance of Aventura’s shopping area, community center and the charter school. Residences are priced from the $400,000s to more than $1.3 million.



MiMo Rules



Examples of Mid-Century Modern architecture (also dubbed Miami Modern or MiMo) are all around, some under threat of demolition and others functioning well. The small very MiMo Technomarine building on the east side of Biscayne Boulevard at 29th Street is alive and well, defined by a distinctive white screen block covering its façade. The building, with its existing tenants, has taken on new life as the space that housed a Miami-Dade Police station for the past decade, is transformed into architect Kobi Karp’s HQ. Karp has created a loft warehouse office and design studio that shows off the original concrete floors, exposed ceilings and bronze inlays for phone and electrical boxes.

Meanwhile, photographer Robin Hill (a fellow Brit, but no relation) has received accolades galore for his architectural pictures. He’s managed to capture the essence and artistry of once-reviled, now-celebrated mid-century modern buildings that show off the regional architecture that defined South Florida as a hub of postwar leisure, entertainment and style. Now a wider audience can see Hill’s work in a forthcoming exhibition at The Museum of Art/Fort Lauderdale, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Presented by the Museum in cooperation with the Urban Arts Committee of Miami, and the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation Inc., the exhibit is titled “Going, Going, Gone? Can We Still Save South Florida’s Mid-Century Modern Architecture?” The photographic journey through Broward and Miami-Dade highlights many buildings dating back to the 1950s, when space-age optimism and confidence in the future inspired architects to create dynamic, and often whimsical and playful, designs. The exhibition will run from Friday, July 8 to Sunday, October 30. 2005.



Kudos



To Maria Elena Milana, CEO and founder of the 10-year old Colonial Guaranty & Title Inc. for being rated 13th in the State of Florida and fourth in the tri-county area out of 967 companies in the same industry as announced by the Southeast Florida Region for Fidelity National Title Insurance Company. Miami-based Colonial, which boasts an all-female executive team, says that it’s the only full-service title, settlement and escrow company providing 24-hour service seven days a week throughout Florida.

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Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.
http://miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

"It looks like the Wynwood area just southwest of the Miami Design District is on a roll as “the” emerging Arts District! Lionstone, developer and owner of the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and other properties in Miami and the Caribbean, is developing a new custom designed art gallery complex on Miami Avenue and Northeast 20th Street. The building, to be designed by Miami-based architect Juan Lezcano, will house up to 15 art galleries, a restaurant, and café.

Lorenzo A. Rudolf, former managing director of Art Basel from 1991 to 2000, who helped conceptualize and launch Art Basel Miami Beach, will be in charge of selecting the galleries and coordinating branding and promotions."

THis was my favorite excerpt....I hope all the art galleries front the street...this is just awesome!!

Renner :) , my friend, we need a Groundwork Update, thanks, me johnny 5, need input, more input, I got to have it, lol. :cheers:

here you go chucky cheese
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South of Fifth: The quiet condo project

By Helen Hill
Columnist



Guess Where?



Some new condominium developments are launched with hoopla, newspaper inserts and ads galore. Others, like South of Fifth, designed by Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates, come in under the radar, discreetly attracting brokers and buyers in the know. The courtyard-style project at 135 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach has only 28 open-plan, flow-through units (which sounds even better as “sunrise to sunset design”) that include nine lofts, 10 condominiums, three penthouses, three cabanas and three two-story beach houses ranging from 1,300 to 6,200 square feet. Prices for residences ranging from $1.5 to $10 million put this interesting project in the super luxury range. South of Fifth comes with features like private elevators, floor-to-ceiling windows and all the latest smart-living technology including integrated wireless lighting controls and custom home-theater systems. Kitchens come with all the expected luxe equipment, bathrooms feature wenge or limed oak, wood cabinetry and limestone floors. Penthouse owners will also have their own 4,500-square-foot rooftop terraces with private pools and summer kitchens, as well as panoramic views of the ocean.

Majestic Properties, sales agents for South of Fifth, report that all but five of the 28 residences have been sold. Construction is scheduled to begin in September with completion set for Spring 2008

The developers: Michael Samuel, founder and principal of Matrix Design & Development, and his wife, Deborah Samuel, the project’s director of design development. This is the same Michael Samuels who is a principal of Midtown Group, the New York-based development company behind the $2.3 billion urban community of Midtown Miami. Quite a difference in scale but both projects fit right into Miami’s roaring real estate market!



The Living Looks Easy
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A Mosaic living room

A few miles north at 3801 Collins Ave., Mosaic, WCI Communities’ new condominium project, has opened a sales office that shows off a small-scale model residence In addition to the usual examples of bathroom and kitchen (here full size Poggenpohl), this sales center comes with fully decorated dining room and living room designed by Interiors by Steven G.

High above the 84 residences in the beachfront tower is a penthouse spanning 2,767 square feet and still available at $3.9 million. There are also “sky homes” that start at 2,749 square feet in size are priced from $2.3 million. One of the two commercial spaces has been sold to a coffee shop.



Golden Land



Golden Beach is one of the few communities in Miami-Dade where you can walk directly out of an oceanfront single-family house and onto the beach. Homes on the upscale town’s oceanfront strip sell in the range of $6.5 million up to a record $12 million. Now the last vacant lot on Ocean Boulevard has been sold by IEA Golden Beach LLC (led by Gene Howard, Michael Werner, Ken Israel and David Garfinkle) for $3.6 million. The buyer, Paul Groll, plans to build his home there.
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Development, such as the computer generated depiction of the future Metropolitan Miami, will surely be topics at the upcoming Real Estate Expo.

A Different Price Point



Just a reminder that not every buyer has to reach to the stratosphere for a home. A new condo conversion in Miami is in a different category with unit prices ranging from $99,000 to $157,000. For the money you can get a pad ranging from 500 to 770 square feet in The Bellaggio, a Mediterranean Deco-style building at 421 NE 68th St., two blocks west of Biscayne Boulevard in Miami’s vintage Lemon City neighborhood. The three-story building has nine lofts and six one-bed, one-bath units and is being totally renovated with Italian cabinetry, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchens. There is even a pool on the fenced, gated property. The developers are targeting buyers who will live on the property rather than investors and hope to keep the monthly maintenance at around $150. There’s a model apartment on site and the building should be ready to move into at the beginning of January 2006.



Kudos



TO: Publisher John O’Connor and his team, including Jim Baxter and Greg Sweeney, on the first anniversary of Home Miami. The magazine and its sister publication, the two-year-old Home Fort Lauderdale, focus on regional real estate, architecture and design through artistic photography, intelligent reporting and elegant typography. They have not only survived in a publishing market where nearly 60 percent of new magazines fail within the first year, but have increased readership, advertisers and editorial pages. O’Connor once worked with Andy Warhol at his infamous Factory in New York and was art director at the Harvard Business Review before moving to South Florida. [Editor’s Note: Helen Hill is a contributing writer for Home Miami and Home Fort Lauderdale.]



TO: William (Bill) Friedman, chairman and CEO of Tarragon Corporation, who will ring the opening bell on the floor of the NASDAQ exchange in New York on Monday, June 13. Publicly held Tarragon, along with subsidiary Tarragon South Development Corp., is one of Florida’s most active real estate players. One of Tarragon’s first South Florida projects was the 5600 Collins condominium conversion in Miami Beach some five years ago. Their projects now include Las Olas River House, Pine Crest Village at Victoria Park and Tuscany on the Intracoastal in Boynton Beach. With Coscan, it is developing Orchid Grove in Pompano Beach.



TO: Kevin Burns, the new mayor of North Miami who happens to be a real estate agent. Burns, a sales associate in the Alton Road, Miami Beach office of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc., was elected recently for a two-year term. “Enforcing code violations and promoting a healthy development in our city is at the forefront of my campaign,” said Mayor Burns on taking office.



Coming Up



The Fifth Annual Real Estate Expo at the Deauville Beach Resort at 6701 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19. See exhibitions of new developments and other real estate projects. Admission is $10 online, $20 at the door. www.realestateexpo.us



Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.

Thanks Renner :) , Great Update, my friend, South Beach is improving everyday with new projects on the horizon, also add Continuum II condo tower, now has started after the foundation is almost completed, another 39 floor, 412 ft. " Last Tallest " grandfathered-in by the old city of Miami beach before the 22 floor limit :bash: came into effect. :cheers: