Despite reports that Brickell Flatiron had lost one of its tower cranes during Hurricane Irma, the project did not suffer damage and remains on track for completion in the summer of 2019. As of this week, they have reached the 16th floor of vertical construction and continue to build at a rate of one floor per week.
The development broke ground in March of 2016. After ten months of site work, the foundation was poured in January 2017 during a ceremonious 24-hour process. Sales have remained steady as well, with 70% of the units already under contract.
Tower Residences are currently available from $480,000 to $1.62 million. The Penthouse Collection offers residences from $980,000 to $1.78 million, and in July the opulent Upper Penthouse Collection was unveiled with prices ranging from $6 million to $15.5 million.
Brickell Condo Tour and Construction Update [VIDEO] – February 14, 2015
It has been about four months since my last video tour covering the fast-paced development taking place in Brickell. Since then, a lot has happened, so I figured it was time to get back out on the road and provide everyone with another update. As you will see, this video is much more comprehensive, covering not only current and future construction, but also existing condo developments for those who may be unfamiliar or newly acquainted with the Brickell condo market. In the video, I even highlighted two, large commercial properties in Brickell which recently traded hands – the SunTrust building located at 777 Brickell Avenue, which sold earlier this week for $140M, and the former Capital at Brickell site located at 1420 South Miami Avenue, which was acquired this past December for $74.74M by CCCC International USA LLC, a subsidiary of Beijing’s China City Construction and American Da Tang Group of New York.
A little over a month ago, Akon shot a music video for his new hit single “Right Now (Na Na Na)” at Marina Blue. I came across the video and wanted to share it with everyone.
The opening scene is shot in the loading dock area of the parking garage at Marina Blue. It then appears that he is entering a nightclub but is actually entering the lobby of Marina Blue. 3 minutes and 3 seconds into the video, you will also see Akon singing on a couch in a living room. This was shot in a penthouse unit at Marina Blue. Notice the 20-foot floor-to-ceiling glass windows and the Miami Beach skyline in the background.
Miami Condo Market Highlighted by the Major Media
Kevin Tomlinson, of the South Beach Condo Blog, hit a home run yesterday with his post entitled “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Miami & Miami Beach Real Estate: A Video Round-up”. The “Today Show” was in sunny Florida yesterday morning to report about the Miami and Miami Beach real estate market along with Barbara Corcoran, the queen of real estate. Barbara’s words are highly regarded in the real estate industry, so be sure to watch the video to the end to hear what she has to say.
Miami has evolved over the years. It was once regarded by many as a flashy and dangerous place to visit. It still remains flashy but it is no longer considered dangerous. The following video portrays the new Miami:
Prices have come down 25-30% since late 2005 to early 2006. Recently, some foreclosures have been purchased at a 50 percent discount. I receive phone calls every day from investors and end-users who want to buy at 50 cents on the dollar. If they want to buy at a 50 percent discount from today’s prices then forget about it. That would amount to buying at 25 cents on the dollar from the height of the market. There are now opportunities to buy at 50 cents on the dollar from 2005/2006 prices.
Ten Museum Park – Picture & Video Review of an 08 Line & the Pool Deck at Ten Museum Park
Wednesday afternoon I previewed an 08 line at Ten Museum Park for someone in Dallas, Texas looking to fly into Miami next week to acquire this property. I took a bunch of pictures and some video of the unit as well as the pool deck for him. I wanted to share this with everyone as there is much interest in Ten Museum Park.
Again, the pictures of the unit are of an 08 line. The 08 line at Ten Museum Park has 898 square feet of interior space and a 143 square foot balcony. The 05 line at Ten Museum Park has 886 square feet of interior space and a 143 square foot balcony. They are both 1 bedroom/1.5 bath units. The views from the 05 line look into the building just north of Ten Museum Park called Marquis, which will be completed in 2008.
Flip through the picture slideshow below to view 19 pictures of this 08 line unit.
From the 08 line at Ten Museum Park you will see 900 Biscayne Bay directly in front of you. As you will see, you will also have views of the American Airlines Arena, street views of Biscayne Boulevard and water views of Biscayne Bay. You can also see skyline views of South Beach in the distance. The kitchens have stainless steel appliances by Sub-Zero and Bosche as well as stainless steel countertops. There is a glass-enclosed shower with body jets and rain shower in the master bath as well as a bidet and toilet. The bathroom fixtures in the master bath are from Duravit and Dornbracht. Every floor plan at Ten Museum Park has these kitchen appliances and master bath fixtures.
As you will see, the plunge pools at Ten Museum Park are functioning but the landscaping around the outer-edge of the swimming pool deck has not yet been planted. The deck furniture and cabanas are scheduled to arrive this weekend. The rain shower area has not yet been fully completed as well. Overall, everything reminded me of something out of ancient Greece. I love it!
The green land that you see across the street from Ten Museum Park is the park formerly known as Bicentennial Park. It is now known as Museum Park and has the Miami Art Museum and the Miami Science Museum collaborating to make it into one of the best parks in the nation.
By the way, there is a big price difference in an 08 line and 05 line at Ten Museum Park. This 08 line is priced at $380,000. I can get someone an 05 line on a low floor for $315K. Residences start on the 10th floor at Ten Museum Park. The water views from an 08 line are much better, however. You can even see the pool deck from the 08 line off the balcony as you will see in the pictures and video.There are a total of 6 units per floor at Ten Museum Park. The one bedroom units are staggered along the building with the large 2 bedroom units that have 20-foot lofted ceilings. The large 2 bedrooms with 1,906 to 1,949 square feet are my favorite layouts at Ten Museum Park. I can get you one of those for $850,000. The original contract holder paid $905,000 in January of 2004. It is an 02 line with 1,949 square feet.
This was probably my fourth or fifth visit to Ten Museum Park since closings began. During one visit I saw at least 6-7 different floor plans. I think I’ve pretty much seen all of the floor plans that Ten Museum Park has to offer including the Penthouse units with the rooftop plunge pools. The views from the rooftop are simply amazing.
I can’t wait until the building is 100 percent complete. It will be an amazing building! I guess there is a lot of interest in this building because when I went up today there was a group of 9 others that wanted to see other units. (Damn! I was hoping to corner the market at Ten Museum Park…LOL). I guess the word is out.
I hope the pictures and video has satisfied everyone’s curiosity. I’ve been told that the gym, which is one of the biggest that I’ve seen in a condominium building, will be completed in about 2-3 months. The Clinique La Prairie spa should be done in about 6-8 months as far as I’ve heard. The restaurant space below Ten Museum Park is still vacant and awaiting an outstanding restaurant to fill the space. There are also condo offices available for lease at the base of Ten Museum Park. From what I’ve been told, lawyers and doctors, including plastic surgeons, have been jumping at the chance to have an office with an unobstructed view of Biscayne Bay and South Beach.
Within the next couple of days I will reveal photos and video footage of a townhouse unit at 900 Biscayne Bay, so stay tuned to the best source for Miami condo news.
Okay, okay….I’ll give you a sneak peak:
Pictorial & Video Review of The Fantastic Four in Miami
Today was a beautiful sunny day in Miami so I decided to revisit my favorite skyline-gazing spot at the southwestern tip of Watson Island, along with my trusty digital camcorder. It is the perfect location to view the progression of what I have dubbed The Fantastic Four, made up of, from left to right, Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis. It may appear as though there are five developments but the smallest of the buildings is located further off of Biscayne Boulevard to the west. Wikipedia refers to these four developments as the Biscayne Wall, but to me it is far shy of a wall when you compare it to fully built-out skylines in cities such as New York City and Chicago.
The name The Fantastic Four came to mind though as each of these four developments are fantastic ultra-luxury high-rise buildings revitalizing the Downtown Miami neighborhood now known as Park West. Park West was recently developed to be Miami’s equivalent to Manhattan’s Park Avenue. In years to come it will become known as Miami’s luxury neighborhood. It is located directly west of I-395, also known as the MacArthur Causeway, which leads straight into South Beach.Museum Park, formerly known as Bicentennial Park, which is the green piece of land directly east of the The Fantastic Four, will be redeveloped by the Miami Art Museum and the Miami Museum of Science and Planetarium to be transformed into a world-renowned park. It may not seem like a lot of land from the picture above but it is actually comprised of 30-plus acres. The luxury condo buildings in Park West are walking distance to the American Airlines Arena, the newly constructed Carnival Center for the Performing Arts and Bayside Marketplace.
In future months, as closing dates approach, there will be many opportunities to buy into these four buildings at discounted prices. Condo units in these buildings, as well as the thousands of other units coming to market in Miami over the next 18 months, were heavily purchased by investors. Their plan was to flip each condo unit for a profit prior to closing, but demand dried and prices headed south. Many will end up walking away from 20 percent deposits and instead write it off on their taxes. Closings at Ten Museum Park have already begun and Marina Blue should begin theirs towards the beginning of August.
The following pictorial review will give you a closer look at each of these buildings as they appear today:
Note: Watson Island offers the best views of both the Miami and Miami Beach skylines. With the exception of Parrot Jungle and the Miami Children’s Museum, it is a wonder how this land has remained vacant for so long. Flagstone Property Group is supposed to develop a mix-used project known as Island Gardens, with hotel, restaurant and retail space as well as a a “50-slip mega-yacht marina that would accommodate yachts of up 450-feet long”. I haven’t heard of any progress in over twelve months and it doesn’t appear as though anyone has broken ground on the land that I stood on today.
Ten Museum Park – Pricing & Availability Update with Pictures & Video
I revisited Ten Museum Park yesterday with another client. I was able to take a few pictures and shoot a short video but our time was very limited. You can find a picture slideshow at the end of this post along with a short video clip of a unit at Ten Museum Park.
I discovered that there have been a total of seven closings so far at Ten Museum Park. I also received an update on which of the units left to close are problematic cases. They are considered problematic because the contract holder either keeps delaying their closing date and/or they have voiced a strong desire not to close. These represent opportunities as they afford the best pricing currently available at Ten Museum Park. Keep in mind that the prices below only represent the list price. They are not firm prices. Contract holders who are truly motivated or those looking to possibly walk from their deposit may be willing to take a significant loss. They were required to deposit 20 percent of the purchase price into escrow. These were originally placed under contract in January 2004.
First I will show you the 1 bedroom/1.5 bathroom units that are available at Ten Museum Park. As you can see from the floor plan above, the 08 line has a southern exposure while the 05 line has a northern exposure. The one bedrooms have 858 square feet of interior space, a 143 square foot terrace and 10-foot ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass. The following were originally purchased in the $350,000 to $400,000 price range in January 2004.
Next, we have the smaller 2 bedroom/2.5 bathroom units at Ten Museum Park. The 07 line has a southwest exposure while the 06 line has a northwest exposure. These units have 1,239 square feet of interior space, a 122 square foot terrace and 10-foot ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass. These were originally purchased in the $450,000 to $505,000 price range in January 2004.
Finally, we have the large 2 bedroom/2.5 bathroom units at Ten Museum Park. These units have the best water views. The view from the southeast corner is my favorite, which is the 01 line. The 02 and 03 lines have a direct east exposure while the 04 has a northeast exposure. These units have 1,949 square feet of interior space, a 192 square foot terrace and 20-foot ceilings with a split-level floor plan and floor-to-ceiling glass. These were originally purchased in the $825,000 to $995,000 price range in January 2004.
The one bedroom units at Ten Museum Park come with one parking space while all two bedroom units come with two parking spaces. There are a total of four elevators to service six units per floor. The maintenance fee is 55 cents per square foot. The Clinique La Prairie spa will be located on the 8th and 9th floors of Ten Museum Park. Other amenities found on those floors include a yoga room, cardio room and weight room. The swimming pool deck has a total of five pools and Jacuzzi, cabanas and aromatherapy stations. A total of ten percent is required at contract signing with the balance due at closing.
The picture slideshow and video clip below are from one of the large 2 bedroom floor plans at Ten Museum Park. It has 1,949 square feet of interior space, a 192 square foot terrace and a split-level floor plan with 20-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Video & Picture Review of Platinum Condominium
I took a look at Platinum Condominium today and, overall, I was pretty impressed. Platinum Condominium is located at 480 NE 30 Street in the Design District of Miami. It is not a waterfront property but is situated just one block off Biscayne Bay, so the majority of units have a nice view of the water. Towards the end of this post I will provide my analysis on the building and discuss the availability for both sales and rentals at Platinum Condominium. I will also use the comments section to post any future listings that I feel are priced to move.
I shot a lot of video today and took a ton of pictures. The videos and pictures below will show you the exterior of Platinum Condominium as well as the lobby, swimming pool, hot tub, men’s locker room, and a few condo units. Be patient because the slideshows may take a little while to load, depending on your connection speed. I was able to shoot video and take pictures of a 2 bedroom unit located on the 7th floor. I also gained access to a 1 bedroom unit on the 10th floor but was only able to snap off a few pictures. The amenities and common areas looked about 95 percent complete which is very impressive. I would love to hear your thoughts on the building so please feel free to leave comments.
I found the exterior of the building to be quite beautiful with its curved balconies and high use of glass. The video and picture slideshow below will show you the exterior of Platinum Condominium.
I was very impressed with the lobby. It seems that white and silver are the prominent color themes throughout Platinum Condominium. It made for a very bright and clean looking lobby as you will see below.
The amenities are located on the sixth floor of the building. I found my way into the men’s locker room which had a sauna, steam room, and massage room.
The doors providing access to the club room, business center and fitness center were locked but I did take a peek through the windows. All three were done nicely. The fitness center was a bit small but that is common with most condominium buildings, especially in this price range. I then made my way outside to the swimming pool and sundeck area of Platinum Condominium. Take a look for yourself.
The pictures and video below are of a 2 bedroom plus den with 2 full bathrooms. It has 1,383 square feet of living space and a 386 square foot balcony. As you will see, the unit comes “decorator-ready” which means that the condo comes without flooring, baseboards, light fixtures or painted walls. The unit faces east and has magnificent views of Biscayne Bay. This particular unit is listed at a little under $360 per square foot.
Here are the pictures that I took of the 1 bedroom. This particular unit has 826 square feet of living space. There are also two triangular shaped balconies, one off the living room and one off the bedroom. This unit is only available for rent and is listed at $1,700 per month.
Analysis
Keep in mind that this analysis is based on comparing Platinum Condominium to similar buildings that have units with prices in the same ballpark. I am comparing apples to apples. This is my own subjective review and should be accepted as such.
Overall, I think Platinum Condominium is a great building. I like the fact that it only has a total of 119 condo units in the building. It isn’t a monster building with 400-plus units like we’ll be seeing in the coming months from developments such as Latitude on the River and The 1800 Club. Platinum Condominium has a total of 22 floors with 7 units per floor (the first 5 floors are used for parking). Almost every unit in the building will have some sort of bay view because of the way the building is angled and the fact that there aren’t any tall buildings in that area.
I’ve seen buildings with a lot better amenities and common areas but for a building of this size I think they did a great job.
In my opinion, the condo units were tastefully done. The kitchens are really nice with their granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and custom wood Italian cabinetry. There is plenty of cabinet space and I liked the fact that there is an island with additional cabinet space below.
The bedrooms and living rooms weren’t huge but they weren’t small either. The walk-in closets were rather large though. I liked the floor-to-ceiling windows which extended 9 feet high and spanned the length of the condo unit.
The bathrooms were okay. I didn’t care too much for the marble floors that they went with but that’s just my taste. I also felt that they were a bit small as they lacked sufficient storage space to keep towerls and toiletries.
The only downside to Platinium Condominium is the neigbhorhood. It isn’t a bad neighborhood, but there isn’t a whole lot to do within walking distance but that is slowly changing. A Starbucks is opening at the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and NE 30 Street by the end of the year and the Shoppes at Midtown should also be completed by the end of the year as well. As of now, about half of the stores at Shoppes at Midtown have already opened. These include: Super Target, Loehman’s, Marshalls, West Elm, Circuit City and several others. In my opinion, the area is still about 3-5 years away from being one of the premier neighborhoods in Miami. There are a lot of future development plans for Biscayne Boulevard which will eventually make it a happening neighborhood. Platinum Condominium is only 15 blocks from the Entertainment District of Miami and the new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, a 5 minute drive to South Beach, and 12 minutes from Miami International Airport by car.
Grade:
Lobby: 8.5/10
Amenities: 8.5/10
Kitchen: 9.0/10
Bathrooms: 7.5/10
Space/Size: 8.5
Neighborhood: 6
Pricing:
For the most part, the units listed for sale are still priced a bit high, in my opinioin, but there are a few exceptional deals. There’s a 2 bedroom on the 16th floor with 1,007 square feet that was just listed yesterday for $349,900. That comes out to about $348 per square foot. For this type of building, that is already a solid deal, but if you can negotiate that down to around $330 per square foot then I think you can’t go wrong. The one bedrooms in the building right now start at $340,000. That is for a condo unit that is 819 square feet. That shows just how well the 2 bedroom for $349,000 is priced. I think condo prices at Platinum Condominium will settle into the $340-$420 per square foot range.
The one bedroom rentals at Platinum Condominium are pretty well priced but I feel that the 2 bedrooms need to come down quite a bit. The one bedrooms range from $1,500-$2,200 per month. I think those will settle into the $1,300-$1,800 price range. The two bedrooms range from $2,500-$3,200. I think those will end up going for $1,800-$2,400 per month. The building is nice but it isn’t located in Brickell, so anything higher isn’t justifiable.
If you would like to receive current listings in the building, please feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to email them to you.
Crisis Looming in the Arts District of Miami?
I busted out my camcorder today and headed out to beautiful Margaret Pace Park to take in the nice Memorial Day scenery. Okay, okay…so I had another agenda on my mind. I wanted to give everyone a firsthand look at the condo developments in Edgewater Miami along North Bayshore Drive.
Margaret Pace Park is a large park situated along Biscayne Bay from NE 17th Street to NE 20st Street. (The picture above doesn’t quite encompass the entire park). A variety of activities can be enjoyed there such as tennis, volleyball, basketball, running/walking/jogging, BBQing and condo construction watching. Along this park, from NE 17th Street to NE 20th Street, there are three major condo developments under construction: Opera Tower, The 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay. Combined, these three condo developments will bring a total of 1,856 new condo units to the Miami real estate market by year’s end. That is just within three blocks! The picture slideshow below will show you a variety of pictures that I took of these three condo developments. The video footage that I shot can be found at the end of this post.
OPERA TOWER Opera Tower, located on the corner of 17th Street and North Bayshore Drive, will bring a total of 635 new condo units to the Miami real estate market. Closings are scheduled to begin in July.
THE 1800 CLUB The 1800 Club, which stretches from 18th Street to 19th Street along North Bayshore Drive, will bring a total of 469 new condo units. Closings are likely to begin around September.
QUANTUM ON THE BAY Quantum on the Bay, which is comprised of two towers and stretches from 19th Street to 20th Street along North Bayshore Drive, will bring a total of 752 new condo units to the Miami real estate market. Closings will likely occur by year’s end.
Last week, The New York Times published an article entitled, “As Condos Rise in South Florida, Nervous Investors Try to Flee”, which discusses how panicked investors are increasingly looking for ways to get out of their preconstruction contracts. When those hopes vanish, many end up walking away from hefty deposits. The article notes that an attorney in Boca Raton, Florida receives two to three phone calls a day from investors looking for some way out of their contract. A second attorney, working on behalf of developers in Miami, also added that “in some projects, up to 20 percent of buyers want their money back”. The article states that 8,000 new condos units are expected to be completed by the end of the year in Miami-Dade County alone. Another 12,000 condo units are expected to be completed by the end of 2008.
It seems that Opera Tower, The 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay will represent a little over 20 percent of the 8,000 new condo units mentioned in the article for 2007. That is a huge chunk, especially when those units are located within three blocks of one another.
There will definitely be some great deals available in the coming months in Edgewater, as well as other Miami neighborhoods. I will do my best to report these deals as I find them. If you, or anyone you know, purchased a preconstruction condo and is looking to find a replacement buyer to close, please feel free to contact me.
The video below will show you the footage that I shot of Opera Tower, The 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay. Notice how close the buildings are to one another.
The following is a video of Margaret Pace Park. The park runs along Biscayne Bay, so any condo units facing east in any of the buildings directly across from the park will have unobstructed water views.
A 1 bedroom pre-foreclosure unit at Flamingo South Beach has recently been listed in the MLS. I think this is going to be the first of many pre-foreclosures and foreclosures that we’ll be seeing at Flamingo South Beach in the next 12 months. In my opinion, Flamingo South Beach will turn out to be a solid investment in the long-term, but with 1,688 total units in the three towers that comprise Flamingo South Beach and current real estate market conditions, it is going to take a long while for the demand to catch up with the supply.
Flamingo South Beach is the largest condo-conversion ever to occur in the United States. MCZ Development Corp has completed the conversion of the south tower, which total 562 units, and has recently begun the sale of the 614 units in the north tower. MCZ Development Corp will likely begin the sale of the remaining 512 units in the center tower early next year, if they choose to exercise their option to purchase that tower.
Unfortunately, the recently listed 1 bedroom pre-foreclosure at Flaming South Beach is grossly overpriced. At a list price of $369,000, and an average price per square foot of over $500, it isn’t even close to being the best priced resale in the south tower. With minimal views from the third floor facing the open courtyard, I think we’ll see this unit move once the owner becomes truly motivated to avoid foreclosure.
Prediction…a list price of under $300K will get it sold. View all South Beach condos.
The video below will show you a typical 2 bedroom at Flamingo South Beach to give you an idea of how the interior of the units look. This is NOT the pre-foreclosure unit. The unit in the video is much larger and has fantastic views of Biscayne Bay, Star Island and the Miami skyline from a much higher floor.
One of best amenities at Flamingo South Beach is the 15,000 square foot, state-of-the-art fitness center. It has recently become the newest addition to the David Barton Gym chain and has been renamed accordingly. The video below will show you the fitness before the transition was made from being called the Flamingo Athletic Club to David Barton Gym.
