Villa Valencia Condos in Coral Gables has Officially Completed Construction and Sells Out at 95%

Four years in the process, the Villa Valencia luxury condo development by Rishi Kapoor’s Location Ventures has officially completed construction.

With $100 million in closings so far, Villa Valencia, a 13-story, 39-unit project at 501 to 525 Valencia Avenue in Coral Gables, is 95% sold out. There are only three units available, one of which is under contract, a $14.9 million penthouse, and two others with an average price of $4 million each.

According to Kapoor, founder and CEO of Location Ventures, the project’s sales averaged $1,100 per square foot, setting a record for that neighborhood.

According to Kapoor, the majority of the buyers are locals from Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, and Coral Gables. In addition, 20% were from New York, 5% from California, and 4% from Illinois, with 2% from Latin America.

The plot was purchased by the developer for $16 million in 2018, and sales of Villa Valencia began the following year.

Kapoor recognized that labor shortages and delays on the project were made worse by the pandemic, but he claimed that setting building cost locks before the pandemic helped him keep costs under control.

Residences

• Private foyer with elevator entry
• 10-foot ceilings in living spaces
• 10-foot exterior sliding doors
• 8-foot European wood interior doors with concealed hinges
• Exquisite porcelain floors
• Custom finished closets
• Most residences have outdoor terraces with summer kitchens
• Master bedroom suite with spacious bathroom and separate vanity area
• Two assigned parking spaces per residence
• EV-ready parking spaces available

Amenities

• Entertainment space with billiards and golf simulator
• Cucina featuring kitchen and full bar for entertaining that opens to the pool deck
• Library with outdoor terrace overlooking the park
• Grand building entrance with lobby lounge
• Covered garden and valet waiting area
• Tea room with kitchen and bar for entertaining
• Executive room with video conferencing
• 10,000 SF onsite park and garden with shade trees
• Dog park and dog run
• High-Speed WIFI in all Common Areas
• Bike Racks
• Pool Deck featuring two summer kitchens, spacious sunbed relaxation areas
• 78-foot resort-style pool with lap lane and waterfall
• State-of-the-art fitness facility with yoga, Pilates and weight training area
• Spa and wellness center with treatment room, hammam / steam room, his-and-her sauna, and hydrotherapy plunge pools

The Coral Gables City Commission approved Location Ventures’ proposals earlier this week for a second, bigger condo development at 1505 Ponce de Leon Boulevard. The site will be sold by a Florida East Coast Realty subsidiary to Location Ventures, which has plans to construct a 16-story, 87-unit condo structure.

CP Group and DRA Purchase Miami Tower for $163 Million

The famous Miami Tower was just purchased by CP Group and DRA Advisors for $163 million.

Since its completion in 1987, the 47-story office skyscraper by the late Pritzker-winning architect I.M. Pei has served as a landmark in Downtown Miami, illuminating Miami’s skyline with light displays.

The 636,000-square-foot skyscraper has 37 levels of offices, 10 floors of parking, an on-site Metromover station, and street-level retail space. It is situated at 100 SE 2nd Street, a block from the Miami River.

Leading hedge fund Citadel and its sister company Citadel Securities, a market maker, recently announced plans to move from Chicago to Brickell, Miami’s financial area. The company’s creator, millionaire Ken Griffin, paid $287 million for the office building 1221 Brickell and $363 million for a beachfront property on Brickell Bay Drive where he plans to erect an office skyscraper.

Miami Tower traded with a loss, as opposed to 1221 Brickell, which reported an 85% gain from its most recent sale in 2017. According to public documents, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, the seller, paid $220 million for the property in 2016.

Losing a significant tenant contributed to Miami Tower’s depreciation. Last year, the law firm Carton Fields moved into the MiamiCentral building, leasing around 95,000 square feet. Currently, Miami Tower is only about 65 percent occupied, down from almost 100 percent in 2016.

According to a source, the property’s renovation by the new owners will probably cost more than $20 million.

The agreement is CP and DRA’s second joint venture in South Florida. For $320 million, New York-based DRA acquired CP’s majority ownership of the Boca Raton Innovation Campus office development. It continues to be the largest office trade in South Florida in terms of gross volume.