Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Coming to Downtown Miami
Property Markets Group, a large real estate development company in New York City and Miami, has cemented a deal to bring Miami its first Waldorf Astoria. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami will be located in Downtown Miami at 300 Biscayne Boulevard, in a 1,049-foot skyscraper that Property Markets Group is planning to develop in the coming years.
Totaling 800,000 square feet, The Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami will be a mixed-use development with 400 condo residences; a 140-key, 5-star hotel operated by Waldorf Astoria; and ground-floor retail. At 1,049 feet, the development would be Miami’s first supertall skyscraper. Currently, Miami’s tallest tower, Panorama Tower, stands at just 868 feet. Designed by Sieger Suarez Architects, the tower’s design resembles nine staggered, large glass cubes.
Property Markets Group is co-developing the project with Greybrook Realty Partners and S2 Development. Sales are expected to begin towards the end of 2019 with sell-out projected to top $1 billion.
Vizcayne Condominium Associations Awarded Settlement for Construction Defects
It appears that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Vizcayne condominiums. According to Law.com, this past May, Vizcayne North Tower Association and Vizcayne Master Association were awarded $3,069,251 and $646,699, respectively. In November 2016, the aggrieved parties, citing a laundry list of construction defects, had filed a 184-page complaint against various construction companies. Over a year and a half after the initial filing date, and shortly before going to trial, the settlements were reached.
With the worst now behind Vizcayne, it will be interesting to see how quickly real estate prices improve for condos in the two towers. The litigation had been a big black cloud over the development, making it near-impossible to secure financing for condos there. With the cloud now lifted, lenders will likely be more open to providing financing for qualified buyers.
The Ultimate Market Stat Monday: Downtown Development Authority’s Mid-Year Report
Despite the fact that many media outlets and whispers in the marketplace would leave you to believe that the cards are stacked against us in the Miami condo market, things really aren’t so bad according to the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Mid-Year 2017 Report. As they state in the report, “2017 has not been the best of times, but it hasn’t been the worst of times either.”
I have included the full 28 page report below, but also a synopsis…
RENTALS
The report separates the rental market into two sub-categories. Conventional rentals are the rental-only buildings that are all managed by one company. 2017 has brought 969 new rental units to the market, leaving just under 3,600 under construction. The condo rentals are considered shadow inventory since there is no way to tell whether a unit would be a rental, resale, or final sale until after delivery.
Amazingly, despite increased inventory, rental prices have increased slightly in conventional rental communities. I had previously been skeptical about the rental community market with so much inventory going up, but our neighborhood is very attractive and people are flocking in.
The segments of the rental market showing the biggest price gains are 1 bedrooms and 3 bedrooms, showing 3.4% and 3.6% growth since last year respectively. Studios are showing a slight decrease in price, but I suspect that this is due to the fact that tenants who would typically take a studio are now taking one bedrooms. Three bedrooms are less plentiful in the neighborhood, so are almost always a good investment opportunity.
PRE-CONSTRUCTION
The market in new developments is also hanging on. The researchers report that 2016 and 2017 YTD have garnered about 50% of the sales experienced in 2015, which experienced 25%-50% less than 2014. It’s undeniable that things have changed, but we will survive and the projects will be sold.
While the market has slowed markedly, projects that are currently under construction and 55%-60% sold do not seem to be in distress, according to the researchers.
One submarket that could flourish in the upcoming 18 months is the smaller-scale boutique project market. According to the report and our experience, these developments tend to capitalize on infill lots between the larger developments and do very well when the larger buildings slow down.
RESALES
Our resales are facing a tremendous amount of inventory with a 6% decline in overall pricing since last year. From July 2016 to June 2017 there were an average of 99 resales sold. That rate needs to be raised by an additional 500-700 listings sold per month to reach pricing equilibrium.
The conclusion of the report is that because so many new construction projects continue to be delivered and fewer projects are announced, we could see some stability in 2018 if nothing crazy happens.
New Renderings Emerge Of PMG’s New Supertall Condo Tower At 300 Biscayne
Property Markets Group has revealed renderings for their new super-tall tower that will be constructed at 300 Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami. The project will be named 300 BiscayneWaldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences, according to their new website and the renderings were produced by ArX Solutions.
A sales center is currently under construction on the site that is expected to open in early 2018. Once completed, the tower will offer a five-star hotel and residences in the tallest residential tower south of New York City.
Although approval has not yet be granted, the developers have submitted a request for approval of a 1,041-foot tall tower with 88 stories.
What do you think of the design?
Inside One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid: A Construction Tour
Now that the vertical construction is nearly completed and the fully finished (albeit not furnished) model is open, we were invited for a hard hat tour of Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum in Downtown Miami. After touring the finished model on level 17, which is a 4 bedroom plan that occupies half of the floor, we were also able to preview the views from the 50th floor. On this level, the apartments are 10,000+ square foot full-floor layouts but are still too much of a construction site to be able to preview the finishes.
The project is currently 60% sold, with remaining opportunities in the duplex town homes from $12 million, half floor residences with 4 bedrooms plus staff quarters for $5.5 million to $7.5 million, full-floor residences from $18 million and the penthouse, which has its own helipad for $49 million.
Check out our video to see the views and finishes for yourself!
Aston Martin Residences Announces Construction Start Date; Releases Video Preview
Staying true to their word that construction will begin this fall, Aston Martin Residences has announced that the actual date will be October 18. A notice of commencement was filed August 10 to begin construction, despite the fact that their $10 million sales gallery just opened on the build site in June.
In conjunction with the announcement that construction is set to begin, the developer has also released a teaser video, highlighting the level of service and quality of finishes that owners will experience once the building is complete in 2022.
Residences will range from 1-5 bedrooms, including duplexes, penthouses and a triplex penthouse. The edifice will have unparalleled amenities and services include Sky Amenities, which is 42,275 sf of amenities divided into four floors (52-55), connected by an elegant glass staircase. The team has masterfully designed Aston Martin Residences Miami for those who want to a live a world-class lifestyle.
Residences range from $600,000 to $7,000,000 and penthouses are available from $16 million to $50 million. Have a look at the video preview below.
Market Stat Monday: Almost $50 Million In Contracts Signed Post-Irma
It has been a few weeks now since the skies have cleared in Greater Downtown Miami after Hurricane Irma’s brush, and despite a little bit of flooding and debris, we were very lucky. Now that cleanup is under way, how have the condo sales fared?
Not too bad, if I must say. Despite having only two functional weeks in September, nearly $50 million in resale contracts were signed on 79 total units.
The least expensive listing to find a buyer was at the Loft II Downtown, where a 770 square foot one bedroom was listed for $175,000. Of the 79 units that went to contract, 50 of them were listed for under $500,000. We will find out the final sales prices once they close.
In the luxury segment, there were a total of 6 properties listed over $1 million that found buyers. Among them was the crown jewel penthouse #1 at Asia on Brickell Key. With nearly 5,000 interior square feet through three levels including a dramatic rooftop terrace with a private pool, the sellers had asked $8.5 million, or $1,715/square foot.
Comparing September of 2017 to September of 2016, you will see that 2016 brought both a higher number of transactions as well as a higher volume of listings sold, but not enough to make it an overall better month considering that September 2017 was short due to people being distracted by the hurricane and Hurricane Matthew didn’t brush South Florida until October of last year. September of 2016 brought just over $60 million of listings sold, with 119 total transactions.
To celebrate the end of a successful yet stressful September, let’s check out some photos of that Asia Penthouse!
Aston Martin Residences Prepares For Groundbreaking
Aston Martin Residences is preparing for groundbreaking, according to The Next Miami. On August 10th, they filed a Notice of Commencement with the county, which is the first step toward actual dirt moving. The developer had previously said that they would begin construction of the site in the fall of 2017, although they just opened their $10 million sales center on the same site two months ago and they are still waiting for their application with the FAA to be approved at the proposed 816-foot building height.
Unit prices at Aston Martin Residences now range from $600,000 for a one bedroom condo to $50,000,000 for the penthouse.
Downtown Miami Set To Unveil Miami’s First “Complete Street”
In an effort to improve transportation, the City of Miami is beginning to adopt the “Complete Streets” program in downtown and the first one is set to open this week. By creating dedicated lanes for cars, public transit, bicycles and pedestrians, more people will be able to be moved in the same space and time, while being safer and more convenient.
The first “Complete Street” is set to open this week, with a ceremony on Thursday at 10am on the corner of SE 1st Street and SE 2nd Avenue (at CENTRO). If you are unable to make it to the ceremony, you can already see a preview of the setup. The high visibility lane changes are already in place. The lane painted red is reserved for busses and the lane painted green is reserved for bicycles. Cars will now only use the center lane and bicycles are no longer allowed on the sidewalk.
Do you think the revamp will help to alleviate congestion and safety?
A Look at the Largest Non-Penthouse Floor Plan at Marinablue
They don’t build ’em like they used to is a phrase often said these days when comparing today’s condo floor plans to those of yesteryear. Nowadays, a 2 bedroom floor plan encompasses 1,000 to 1,300 interior square feet, up to 1,500 if it includes a den. Back in the Golden Age of Real Estate development (circa 1980s), it wasn’t uncommon to find a 2 bedroom floor plan with upwards of 1,800 interior square feet (e.g. Villa Regina #T105 built in 1982). While gone are those days, let’s rejoice in the fact that present-day developers, while albeit trying to maximize every square inch they can, still tend to sprinkle in a few larger floor plans throughout the building to appease the “throw-back Thursday” crowd. Take unit 5405 at Marinablue for example. It is one of just 21 unique, over-sized 2 bedroom floor plans in the building. In fact, it is the largest and the only one of its kind that exists in entire building. Per developer floor plan, unit 5405 is a 2 bedroom + den/2.5 bath unit with a whopping 1,784 interior square feet. It also has 223 square feet of balcony, 10-foot high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, Biscayne Bay, and Downtown Miami skyline. Below are the property photos for those who would like to have a look-see. It recently hit the market for $789,000.
