$10.5M Mediterranean Revival Tower Penthouse is Most Expensive Condo in Coral Gables
If you’ve ever been to the Al Capone Suite at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL, in an ancient-feeling tower straight out of Medieval Spain, there’s a feeling of being on top of the world even though the suite is only on the 13th floor. That’s the feeling the designers of this tower must have had in mind when they designed the crowning penthouse of the Segovia Tower, an 8,492 square foot aerie not far from the Biltmore that’s bedecked in crenelations and cupolas. It’s a thrilling feeling of escapism, even though this place is only two floors higher. The unit comes with eight bedrooms, a whopping 12 baths, a just as whopping 5 parking spaces, and two kitchens. At $10.5 million, this is also the most expensive Coral Gables condo.
Boutique Townhouse Project ‘One Bay’ Underway in Micro-Hood East of Design District
On the far side of Albert Pallot Park from the offramp to the Julia Tuttle Causeway, nestled in a little-known micro-neighborhood east of the Design District with a variety of architectural styles and some cute surprises, a townhouse development called One Bay is currently under construction. With unit sizes ranging from 800 to 2500 interior air conditioned square feet, all units come with private entrances leading onto a private road going through the center of the community. Most also come with private garages and private roof decks, except for some single story units. There’s a community pool, and walking distance to the park and the Design District.
Ritz Carlton Residences Miami Beach Drops New Renderings of Its Lobby & Where That Staircase Goes
The Ritz Carlton Residences Miami Beach, designed by Piero Lissoni, has dropped a series of new renderings of its lobby and library to accompany the already released money shot with that fabulously suspended staircase. (see the last image, below) “Its library will be comprised of collectibles, artifacts, modern design pieces, art and design books, and a canoe artifact paying tribute to Seminole Tribe of Florida.” says Curbed Miami. The renderings look gorgeous, and the canoe is admittedly very cool. It’s a beautiful piece of (authentic?) Native American craftsmanship on display, but a tribute? Well, first maybe someone can explain why there are two of them in the renderings..
The development’s 111 condos and 15 villas make up one of Miami’s most unique and interesting projects, although at times it’s probably a rather tough sell. (it was an old hospital, after all) The Ritz Carlton Residences Miami Beach is currently about 65% sold out.
While everyone else in Miami is busy talking about the market slowdown, Ugo Colombo is busy selling condos. We were invited into their sales center this week for a lunch and pulse check of the project, now that they are under construction.
We last checked in with the project back in May, when they were around 50% sold. Today, they are 52% sold. That may not seem like an enormous gain, but let’s also remember how many condos they have to sell. According to my math, that’s around 11 condos so far this summer. Not bad! (And anyone who says anything negative about an 11 condo summer needs to back their challenge up with some really impressive sales figures. Thank you.)
Here’s the thing. The market is really difficult right now for projects that have no unique selling proposition. This isn’t the case for Brickell Flatiron. Ugo Colombo is one of the best developers in Miami. If you need proof, take a look at our skyline. The buildings he built in the 1990’s still look newer than the buildings that competing developers built within the last 5 years. Have you heard any bad press about a construction defect in an Ugo Colombo building? No. He builds luxurious buildings and he does it well. We expect Flatiron to age just as gracefully as her sister buildings, Bristol Tower, Santa Maria, and the Epic Hotel & Residences. This wasn’t part of the sales presentation, just my professional opinion after working in the neighborhood for the last 8 years.
Since the groundbreaking in March, the construction crew has been hard at it with the site work and foundation form set. The pilings are all being set now and we expect to see a foundation pour in January of 2017. Sales are still happening with 1 bedrooms starting in the $400’s. For the smallest 1 bedroom, that works out to roughly $550/sf… an amazing price for Brickell in mid-late 2016! It is also the same price we would expect from the 2008-built Icon Brickell, who is getting ready to have a year without a pool… so there you go. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a price increase soon, but whatever. It’s still worth it.
See below for the renderings bonanza…
Corner Duplex at Jade Ocean Wants $5.499 Million
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‘White box’ condos in Miami may seem like one-in-a-million. They’re gorgeous, of course, and anywhere else except Miami, they’d be drooled over. Heck, they’re drooled over here too. But there certainly isn’t for a lack of them. Often used as second homes or investment properties, they’re typically spectacular units, with defining characteristics being great views, luxurious kitchens and baths, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and minimal interior decoration. White plaster is everywhere. When done well, they embody the ‘South Beach luxe’ look. When done poorly, you can tell they’re only occupied two weeks out of the year. This example, Unit 4401 at Jade Ocean, is done well. It’s listed for $5.499 million.
Another AC Hotel by Marriott is Coming to Miami, This Time in Edgewater
A decade ago, the only people who would dare get a hotel room along Biscayne Boulevard anywhere north of Downtown Miami and the city border were the occasional oblivious out-of-towner, and hookers. Boy has all that changed. Boutique hotels have moved in, with the Vagabond changing literally everything, and now the chains are following. Across the street from the under construction Hampton Inn, an AC Hotel by Marriott is being planned at 3400 Biscayne Boulevard, according to the Next Miami. It’s by the same developer as the Hampton, which is expected to open in September, and appears to have a somewhat similar design to the AC Hotel on Miami Beach, which is also a Kobi Karp… um, creation.
Grove at Grand Bay is Done, Receives Temporary Certificate of Occupancy
Grove at Grand Bay seen from Park Grove. By Sean McCaughan.
The two twisting towers known as Grove at Grand Bay, which in their short lives have already become iconic Coconut Grove landmarks, have received their temporary certificate of occupancy, with closings beginning this week. They were originally going to be Danish architect Bjarke Ingels’ first completed project in the Americas, but due to construction delays were beaten out by Via 57 West in New York. The buildings have been entirely sold out for a while, except for the last remaining penthouse, a $28 million unit which developer David Martin had originally intended to keep for himself. According to Martin, who spoke to Real Deal, interior build-outs should be completed within three months, with move-ins expected in the next four to six.
Subtropical Modernist Coconut Grove House by Shulman + Associates Hits the Market for $6.95M
A modernist Coconut Grove house which featured in Dwell Magazine, and which I featured on Curbed Miami, soon after completion has hit the market with a price tag of $6.95 million. The house, thick in the hammock of the Grove’s Camp Biscayne, was designed by local architect Allan Shulman of Shulman + Associates, and designed to embrace the outdoors with a reserved detachment from it. “It didn’t seem like the kind of landscape you wanted to go trudging through with your boots, but one that you wanted to observe with detachment,” Shulman told Dwell. “We were trying to emphasize how precious the landscape is.” by floating boardwalks around the very wet, sunken site, and cantilevering the living room over it. Then on the other side of the home is a much more traditional backyard, with pool and grill.
Chalks Still Working on Ambitious Seaplane Base on Watson Island
Chalks, which has plans to build an ambitious new seaplane base on Watson Island, recently submitted a new one page set of plans to the City of Miami with a new site plan showing how the structure would be oriented on the site. The surreal and spectacular building will be a towering multi-purpose structure, with a seaplane hangar and airport on the ground floor, commercial and exhibition space above, and the whole thing topped with a lighthouse, to a design by architects Wolfberg Alvarez. This is how the Herald described it January:
Vega showed commissioners a circular, nine-story building with a hangar and terminal on the bottom floor and a hanging garden in the center. Roughly 50,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space were included, an exhibition garden was planned on the fifth floor, and a media room and steakhouse completed the upper levels. The ninth floor was an observation deck, where people can watch seaplanes take off over Government Cut.
