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South of Fifth – Miami Beach’s Ultra-Luxury Neighborhood

May 23, 2010 by Lucas Lechuga





The video above is meant for the non-local buyer who may not be familiar with the various neighborhoods throughout South Florida.  South of Fifth, also known as SoFi, is a neighborhood that encompasses the five southern most blocks of South Beach (and therefore Miami Beach).  Once regarded as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in South Florida, South of Fifth is now considered to be one of the safest and most luxurious for condo living.  The revitalization of the area within the past two decades has been remarkable, attributed mainly to visionary Thomas Kramer.





One of the main attractions for South of Fifth condos is South Pointe Park which reopened in March 2009 after undergoing a $22M renovation. The neighborhood also has world-renowned restaurants Joe's Stone Crab and Prime 112 as well as local favorites Devito South Beach,  Smith & Wollensky and China Grill.  South of Fifth is reputed for being a clean, quiet, exclusive neighborhood away from the congestion of South Beach but within walking distance to all else that South Beach has to offer.  The beach at the southernmost point of Miami Beach, in my opinion, is also one of the most beautiful beaches in South Florida.





Below, you will find a list of the South of Fifth condo buildings that were featured in the video. Click on each link to view the condos currently available for sale.





South of Fifth Condos:
Apogee South Beach - 800 South Pointe Drive
Continuum North Tower - 50 South Pointe Drive
Continuum South Tower - 100 South Pointe Drive
Icon South Beach - 450 Alton Road
Murano at Portofino - 1000 South Pointe Drive
Murano Grande - 400 Alton Road
Ocean House - 125 Ocean Drive
Portofino Tower - 300 South Pointe Drive
South Pointe Tower - 400 South Pointe Drive
Yacht Club at Portofino - 90 Alton Road


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Joe

Thanks, Lucas. This video = real estate porn.

why bother

The guy shooting the video needs some filming lessons.
It was supposed to be a film on SOFI, it ended up showing buildings and zooming in on restaurant names. I could have shown gorgeous shots of street scenery which is very pretty in SOFI and south pointe park. and if you are really showing all the buildings, why did you leave out the cosmopolitan?

why bother
gables

why bother-its a great time to refinance. although most people who are able to do so, have already done so at the urging of financial geniuses. but as interest rates rise, do you think home prices will rise, stall, or fall? unless the economic recovery kicks into high gear (and europe is creating a problem for this) it may be hard to see home prices recover much with future rise in interest rates. combinations of rising interest rates on debt but steady or falling asset values, such as homes, creates a deflationary environment. this is why governments around the world… Read more »

Mark

Regardless how cool SoFi looks in comparison to other areas on the beach or Miami, it is very far from being perfect or to justify over 1000 usd/sqf. Think about drunkards leaving Monty’s, ghettoland parking on the streets to go to the beach, unexisting parking, nikki beach… South Pointe Park is already showing signs of deterioration due to misuse by the population that commutes to the place for family “getaways”, if you know what I mean. Trust me: my judgement is not based solely on cute views of fisher island or sunsets..I lived in the area for about 1 year… Read more »

From the Miami Herald
South Florida Existing Home, Condo Sales Rise

gables

From the same article Lucas posted:

“Condo sales had big jumps over last year, but with plenty of inventory still to choose from, prices continued to fall. In Miami-Dade, 723 units sold, a 33 percent increase over the same time a year ago. But the median price dropped 3 percent to $130,000”

“Miami-Dade condo sales were down 13 percent, with prices down 6 percent from March.”

Just keeping your forum fair and balanced Lucas 🙂

Joe

Lucas — Speaking of SoFi, have you heard anything about Continuum North lately? Unless it’s just a website glitch, it appears the developer has pulled all of the listings off the official Continuum site, and I noticed the number of “available” units at Continuum North has dropped by about 15 on your Continuum page (from around 65 to 50), but *without* any known closings to account for the decline in inventory. (A penthouse priced at $17 million is among the newly missing listings, but I imagine we would have heard something if it sold.) I’m guessing they’re just churning the… Read more »

gables

For those who have not spent time in SoFi, you should really check it out. This is the prime area in SoBe. Work still needs done to improve the interior areas of SoFi-a few more coffee shops, stores, etc will do wonders. But the new park is amazing and the jewel of the area. Spend an afternoon sipping drinks at S&W while watching boats travel through the cut is a relaxing experience.

Drew

Agree w/ Mark, in part. And I don’t necessarily consider that area “exclusive” or “ultra-luxury”…that sounds more like realtor puffery rather than an accurate description.

There still is alot of weekend riff-raff South of Fifth that brings down the quality of life, esp around Nikki Beach. And don’t forget there’s a fair share of older low-budget buildings on the interior and along Ocean Drive that are not high-end by any stretch of the imagination.

Gixxer 1000

While SoFi is not exclusive in the essence that they actually restrict anyone from walking down the street I would still consider it “exclusive” and “ultra-luxurious” in the essence that the majority of people simply don’t venture into SoFi because they can’t afford most of it. I disagree about the riff-raff but I guess that might be because I’m the riff-raff that you might be referring to 🙂 I actually really like Nikki Beach, especially their brunch on Sundays. And while I’m definitely just “common folk” the foot traffic definitely dies off once you pass that friday’s near 5th as… Read more »

Drew

Gixxer, is there any commodity you don’t compare real estate to? Ferraris, jeans, fruit, widgets………..next time maybe you can use a dildo or crack rock comparison. And I doubt you’re the riff-raff I’m referring to, since riff-raff doesn’t typically walk around with a calculator, laptop and statistics textbook. If Miami Beach wants an exclusive/ultra-luxurious image then they need to clear out the addicts and psychotic homeless who prowl South Pointe Park. A few months ago 2 chicks were stabbed by some nut in South Pointe Park. I was there about 6 months ago on a Sat afternoon and some crazy,… Read more »

Gixxer 1000

Drew, “next time maybe you can use a dildo or crack rock comparison.” Sure thing. Snorting cocaine is an “exclusive” drug habit in the sense that most people simply cant afford it. The fact that you can cook cocaine with baking soda and therefore get an extremely intense high (and more addicting thereby making it a different drug) off of a crack rock that is probably only .02 grams of cocaine doesn’t make a cocaine habit any cheaper. Which explains why you can run into a lawyer with a cocaine habit or a bum with a crack rock habit but… Read more »

Gixxer 1000

gables, I agree that the title of this article is misleading. Sales are up 33% from last year and the median sales price is 3% lower. Again with this information there is no way to tell whether prices are actually higher or lower, the only thing to know for sure is that we sold 723 condos this April and 543 condos last April. So that’s an increase of 180 condos. Again, if the majority of those condos were lower priced condos then that would move the median down even if prices of individual condos aren’t going down. To be fair… Read more »

Joe

Gixxer 1000 said: “This is you’re own personal view. Seeing a homeless, mentally ill person talk to themselves while walking down a public street doesn’t “ruin” it for everyone. When I catch a show in NY or party at grab brunch at Nikki Beach I don’t say “man that day would have been nice had I not seen that crazy dude walking down the street talking to himself”.” — This is because you, like most people, probably tend to be more forgiving when you’re visiting someplace than when you live there full-time and have to deal with said people and… Read more »

Joe

This should spur an interesting debate:

“Anyone Who Is Still Bullish On Housing Clearly Isn’t Paying Attention To The Real Numbers” — BusinessInsider.com

http://www.businessinsider.com/anyone-whose-still-bullish-on-housing-clearly-isnt-paying-attention-to-the-real-numbers-2010-5

The numbers therein are kind of scary vis-a-vis the long-term U.S. r.e. market. Unless the author pulled the numbers out of thin air, he makes a strong argument.

gables

gixxer, i thinks its safe for both of us to agree that the difference between 144 and 146 basically tells us nothing about the direction of the market-its flat.

Skeeta

Gixxer doesn’t think Sofi has quality of life issues! Has he been living under a rock? SoFi is a nice place to live, but like all urban neighborhoods it has its positive and its negatives. However, there have been major problem for years late at night when places like Nikki Beach and Klutch (formerly Opium) let out their drunken patrons who hoot and holler, urinate, defecate and have sex in their front yards and their parking lots! I was at a Commission hearing a Miami Beach City Hall a few weeks ago and the chambers were packed with SoFi resident… Read more »

Drew

Joe
Memorial Day Weekend is here. I assume you’ll be riding your scooter up and down Ocean Drive, correct?

Lucas, go take a video of SoFi this weekend and try to make an argument that the neighborhood is exclusive/luxurious. Ha!

Drew,

That holds true for all of South Florida over Memorial Day weekend, not just South of Fifth. There’s a reason why everyone who lives in South Florida leaves town every Memorial Day weekend. In fact, I’m catching a flight to NYC in about six hours for the weekend.

Makes Me Think

joe -“If I lived in SoFi and was paying $10,000 or $20,000 (or a lot more) per year in property taxes, I’d be screaming about the number of homeless that hang around on a day-to-day basis. People are paying “upscale” prices, but there’s nothing upscale about climbing around homeless people every day, or being accosted on the beach when trying to have a quiet stroll, etc.” Yeah, but when you bought you knew there were homeless people hanging around the area on a day to day. you also knew you were buying into an unrestricted area (non private). If you… Read more »

mishka

I was in south point park twice this past week. I have not seen anything close to what has been described. I saw no homeless people at all. Not in the park, not in SOFI. I did see some Hialeah crowd with their beer coolers walking past Hilton and Nikki Beach. But it has always been that way for years. Whether you consider them riff raff is upto you, but I think they are an absolute eye candy. I wish I had a unit facing the beach in Continuum North. I would have had a ring side view of a… Read more »

Drew

“I have never seen anything as beautiful and as tranquil a setting as south point park. The high point of south florida or even all of Florida.”

I seriously hope this is a joke. If not, this mishka person clearly has not traveled or experienced much in her life, and I truly feel sorry for her.

Joe

Makes Me Think said: “Yeah, but when you bought you knew there were homeless people hanging around the area on a day to day. you also knew you were buying into an unrestricted area (non private). If you bought on fisher Island then your screaming might be justified.” — I’m not sure I’m buying this argument. SoFi residents are taxed at upscale, “luxury” prices, so it seems they’re entitled to expect some bang for their buck. (I know the SoFi tax *rate* is the same, but the net effect is that the residents pay big bucks in taxes for receiving… Read more »

Joe

Drew — Who so snarky today? Your favorite Miami weekend is here; why not go outside and enjoy it?

Seanjohn

All the talk of “Ghettoland” & “you know what I mean” ETC strikes me as having a racist undertone. SoFi unquestionably is a luxury area in a city on a beach. What makes Miami Miami, to me, is the coexistance factor in areas like this. Its not for everybody for sure but its dynamic & attractive to many who can afford to be anywhere & a truly unique American locale. Regarding homeless people. They are attractted to liberal,warm, resort locations & who could blame them? I do think the police could do a better job with ticketing & enforcing people… Read more »

Joe

Seanjohn — No offense, but I doubt there are many areas in the world with less racism than SoFi. I doubt many hardcore racists wake up in the morning and say, “Gee, I think I’ll move to an area where huge numbers of blacks and Hispanics (and gays!) congregate 52 weeks per year.”

Bashing bad behavior does not = racism.

Makes Me Think

joe- “the net effect is that the residents pay big bucks in taxes for receiving even less in services than the typical owner of a $250,000 single-family home.”

excuse me?

They get a $2o,000,000 park + the cost of maint. outside their doorstep.
I’d like to think that is a lot of service for such a small area. Wonder how many people living in 250K home communities the size of sofi gets a park of that caliber with their tax dollars.

Joe

Makes Me Think — Was the $22 million paid out of property taxes? I thought most if not all of it came from the federal and state governments.

Renter Tom

I have to agree with Joe #27. SoFi and SoBe in general is more of a free spirit type of place. Any resentment regarding X or Y or Z is earned by the offenders for being inconsiderate pigs. Hopefully this will be a smooth weekend for all in SoBe and that the few don’t ruin it for the many. I may head down there to experience it for myself firsthand. With that said, SoFi still has a lot of development to go to be fully luxurious and there are some quality of life issues that the police and social services… Read more »

Gixxer 1000

Not that I completely agree but Seanjohn wasn’t talking about racism in SoFi. It pretty obvious when Seanjohn wrote:

“All the talk of “Ghettoland” & “you know what I mean” ETC strikes me as having a racist undertone.”

I’m pretty sure people don’t pay $1000 sqft and then walk around and call it ghetto. The comment was directed at people making over top comments here.

SeanJohn

Joe – Thanks for the tolerance in SoFi lesson. I agree, I Iived there. But I wasn’t referring to SoFi being racist, Just some comments made by bloggers here about the neighborhood & the kind of folks it attracts. Just because we are talking about a liberal area like SoFi doesn’t give bloggers who may have very little to do with the area themselves carte blanch , in my view, to bemoan the existence of people from the Ghetto or Hiahlea. I don’t see the bad behavior in zip codes…. bashing zip codes can = racism.

owneratinfinity

guys, since I am at ground zero and i ride my bike a few times i week to south pointe park, let me explain that the park is the best park i have ever seen in miami or miami beach. it has the fewest number of low lives of any park in miami or miamu beach, it hss the ocean on one side and government cut on the other side., and lots of grass. it’s the must beaufully park i have seen in miami and miami beach. here is link to several positive reviews on the park from other peolpe… Read more »

Drew

Looks like that severely under-utilized space will finally be put to good use. Hopefully this project goes through.

Makes Me Think

joe, yeah you are right! I am sure the property taxes the people of MB pays had nothing to do with the cost or maint. of the park. Regardless, I’d say they got a preety good park outside their doorstep for the taxes they pay. I hardly think that would be a reason to complain about not getting enough for their tax dollars. I’m sure there are many middle class nabes around miami that would settle for a patch of grass with a swing set so their kids could have a safe place to play. You are right though, the… Read more »

Joe

Makes Me Think — There you go again. Everything with you has to be over the top. Did it cross your mind that maybe instead of spending $22,000,000 on the park, they could have spent, oh, $18,000,000 on the park and $4,000,000 on a shelter?

jcrimes

Joe
my insensitive yet true comment of the day…

f%^k the shelter. we needed a park.

Anonymous

We spend half the year at the Yacht Club….heaven.

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