We are in the process of revamping our neighborhood pages. It has been a project that I have kept on the back burner for about two years. The new neighborhood pages are geared towards non-locals and others unfamiliar with the various neighborhoods throughout South Florida. My intent is to provide quality content which will allow people to familiarize themselves with the area and get a sense for what each neighborhood has to offer.
One way in which I hope to educate these people is visually. The above video/picture slideshow is one such example. (I suggest changing the quality setting to 1080p HD and switching to full screen mode when viewing the video.) My goal when taking these pictures was to provide those unacquainted with the area the type of scenic tour one would receive if walking the neighborhood by foot. I also included some amazing shots that were taken from a boat that we rented as well as others that were taken from various high-rise buildings throughout Brickell. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and it made me fall in love with Brickell all over again. Brickell is truly a beautiful neighborhood and one which seems to keep getting better with time.
Creating the content for each neighborhood page is very time consuming so we are going to roll out each neighborhood one at a time starting with Brickell. We hope to have the Brickell neighborhood page launched early next week then move on from there. We are also working on a few other website enhancements which should go live later this week. I will discuss those at a later time.
MyBrickell Construction Update
I had a chance to walk by the myBrickell construction site this afternoon. 3 floors down, 25 more to go.
1101 Brickell Has Been Approved; Construction to Start by Year’s End
An 80-story condo development called 1101 Brickell has been approved by the City of Miami and will be spearheaded by Florida East Coast Realty. The announcement was made by President Tibor Hollo in an interview with Miami Today News. Hollo expects construction to begin by year’s end. 1101 Brickell, which will rise 849 feet, will become the tallest building in Miami, a title now held by the Four Seasons Residences. The development will have 724 residential units and is estimated to cost $500M-$600M.
Florida East Coast Realty is the development team behind several unforgettable residential towers in Miami such as Opera Tower, The Club at Brickell Bay, Bay Parc Plaza, Venetia Condo and The Grand. 1101 Brickell will no doubt be just as memorable.
For the second time this year, a condo development in Brickell has broken ground. A ceremony was held this morning at the development site of BrickellHouse to celebrate the start of construction. BrickellHouse will be a 46-story, luxury condo development located at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive, across the street from Jade at Brickell Bay. The amenities will include a rooftop pool on the 46th floor, a luxury health spa and fitness center and a fully-automated robotic parking garage. Prior to breaking ground, BrickellHouse already had over 95 percent of the 374 total units pre-sold. I was told by a sales associate that, as of yesterday, only 15 units remain. The available inventory includes a few penthouses as well as other units located on high floors. BrickellHouse is scheduled for completion in 2014.
The Related Group announces Pre-construction Sales for 1100 Millecento Residences
The Related Group has formally announced plans to develop a 42-story tower called 1100 Millecento Residences. The 382-unit development will be located in Brickell at 1100 South Miami Avenue, just steps from Mary Brickell Village and the upcoming 4 million square foot Brickell Citicentre. Carlos Ott, an internationally recognized architect who designed Jade Beach and Jade Ocean, will be the architect of 1100 Millecento Residences. The interiors will be done by Pininfarina, the legendary designers behind the avant-garde designs of Ferrari, Maserati and Rolls-Royce. Amenities at 1100 Millecento Residences include a 9th floor elevated pool deck with a club room, state-of-the-art fitness center, private theater and 42nd floor rooftop infinity pool with private cabanas.
The building will feature studios, 1 bedrooms, 1 bedroom + den units and 2 bedrooms. Reservations are now being accepted with the following price ranges in mind:
Studios from $226,000-$290,000
One Bedrooms from $286,000-$390,000
One Bedroom + Den units from $326,000-$440,000
Two Bedrooms/1 Bath units from $347,000-$490,000
Two Bedrooms/2 Bath units from $397,000-$550,000
Two Bedrooms/2 Bath + den units from $415,000-$550,000
The deposit structure for 1100 Millecento Residences is as follows:
10% of purchase price at reservation
10% of purchase price at contract (expected to be in June 2012)
15% of purchase price at groundbreaking (expected to be at the end of 2012)
15% of purchase price at top-off (expected to be at the end of 2013)
Balance due at closing (expected to be at the end of 2014)
Contact us if you have any questions about 1100 Millecento Residences or if you would to reserve a unit.
Paramount Bay and Brickell House Hit 60%
I discovered yesterday afternoon that Paramount Bay now has 60% of its total units either sold or under contract. That’s quite an accomplishment seeing that it was only four months ago that sales were launched. The penthouse units at Paramount Bay have all been sold. The next most popular unit has been the 02 line which is a 3 bedroom/3.5 bath condo with 2,353 interior square feet. That’s the largest non-penthouse floor plan at Paramount Bay. Only 3 of those units remain.
For those unfamiliar with the development, Paramount Bay is an all-glass, luxury, waterfront condo development located at 2066 North Bayshore Drive in the Arts District of Miami. The vast majority of the condos at Paramount Bay have a direct water view. A number of great units still remain so don’t hesitate to contact us if you have an interest in touring the building and viewing any current availability that interests you. Paramount Bay is a very high-end, exclusive building and will be a perennial favorite for years to come.
Brickell House, which began accepting pre-construction reservations in October, has 60% of its 374 total units under contract as of last week. The 46-story, luxury condo development will be located at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive across the street from Jade. Sieger Suerez was contracted to serve as the development’s design architect while Yabu Pushelberg and Artefacto will oversee interior design components. To learn more about this pre-construction development, please download the Brickell House brochure or feel free to contact us with any questions that you might have.
These type of success stories demonstrate the current level of demand for new condos in Miami. It’s no wonder that new condo developments are expected to soon be announced.
93% of All Newly Completed Condos in Downtown Miami Now Occupied
The Miami Downtown Development Authority recently released a study showing that of the 22,785 newly completed units in Downtown Miami, 93% of them were occupied as of December 2011. That number is up 7 percentage points from December 2010 in which 86% of the units were occupied. The study focused on those units completed after 2003 located within the Downtown Development Authority District and adjacent areas of influence as shown in the above map. A total of 77 newly completed condominium developments, as defined by the study, are located within these boundaries.
I read through the entire study and wanted to share a few highlights that I found to be rather enlightening:
84% of the newly completed units have closed. (The overall 93% occupancy rate in downtown area condominiums substantially exceeds the number of units sold as a result of developers’ rental of unsold units.)
In 2011, approximately 45% of total sales were first-time new unit sales in new buildings. On average about 140 sales per month were in new buildings in 2011.
Renters account for approximately 56% of occupied units. ( I figured that this would have been slightly higher.)
From 2010 to 2011, the average sales price of new units increased approximately 11.7% to about $420,000
The average price per square foot of new unit sales increased approximately 12.6% from 2010 to about $365 per square foot in 2011.
Grand Opening of the Brickell Bazaar & Fresh Farmer’s Market
Don’t miss the grand opening of the Brickell Bazaar & Fresh Farmer’s Market this Saturday, March 17th, from 8am to 4pm. The event is hosted by the Downtown Miami & Brickell Chamber of Commerce and will be located just south of Icon Brickell at the historic First Presbyterian Church of Miami at 609 Brickell Avenue. If you can’t make it out this weekend, the Brickell Bazaar & Fresh Farmer’s Market will return every other Saturday.
1814 Brickell Avenue Park Almost Completed
Earlier this afternoon while driving south along Brickell Avenue, I noticed that 1814 Brickell Avenue Park appeared close to being completed. The park was originally scheduled to be completed towards the end of 2011. The .81 acre park will fill a void for many Brickell residents living along the southern end of Brickell who have long awaited a usable green space.
Below, you will find the design for 1814 Brickell Avenue Park. The design called for a reading area, picnic area, children’s playground and open lawn space. You will also notice a number of trees and shrubs planted throughout the park as well. I was happy to see this afternoon that a water fountain was included and more lighting installed than was called for in the original plan.
