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.
Dwyane Wade’s Downtown Miami Penthouse is For Sale
For just $2,995,000 you too can sleep in the same bedroom once occupied by Dwyane Wade himself. Back in 2011, the developer of Vizcayne Condominium in Downtown Miami outfitted the penthouse especially for Mr. Wade’s use. The property was later sold to an investor from Miami Beach who sold it to an investor from New York who is now happy to sell it to you.
The photos provided to us by the MLS are not the high-quality ones that we typically like to see in a $3 million penthouse, but the features are. The apartment spans 3 floors on top of Vizcayne’s North Tower and includes 3 full bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, 2 living areas, a study, sky loft and 5 terraces with one being on the roof overlooking the AA Arena where Mr. Wade works.
Inside the building itself, residents enjoy over-the-top amenities. The pool deck includes 3 resort style pools, a sunset pool, Jacuzzi and catering bar. Inside the amenity center is a fitness center & spa that rivals even some of the popular chain gyms, a movie theater, game rooms, business centers, board rooms and a padded jogging deck with a view of the Biscayne Bay. There is also 24 hour doorman, valet and security.
The current owners certainly seem excited to part with their investment, offering incentives for a quick closing and even offering to lease the property for $12,900/month. Have a look below at the additional photos courtesy of the MLS and floor plan:
Downtown Miami Rental Market
Below, is a spreadsheet I compiled earlier this afternoon that shows various statistics regarding the Downtown Miami condos rental market. Click on the link below the spreadsheet to view it in its entirety. I calculated the months of inventory figure by dividing total units available by the average units rented over a three month period from December 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. You will see that Downtown Miami currently has 2.55 months of rental inventory.
Downtown Miami Rental Market as of March 15, 2011
Everglades on the Bay Officially Renamed Vizcayne
The 849-unit, two-tower, mixed-use development located at 244 Biscayne Blvd and 253 NE 2 St in Downtown Miami has officially been renamed Vizcayne (comprised of Vizcayne South Tower condos and Vizcayne North Tower condos). The name change, in conjunction with a multi-million dollar completion program, is an effort to rebrand the development and revitalize sales. An official relaunch event is scheduled for next month where the public will be able to tour Vizcayne as well as decorated model units.
Everglades on the Bay – The Wait is Over
Like many, I’ve been waiting for the dust to settle at Everglades on the Bay(now known as Vizcayne North and Vizcayne South) Rockwood Capital, as you may already know, acquired the development in a $141M cash transaction this past November. Since that time, I’ve eagerly anticipated the relaunch of sales and, of course, to get my hands on pricing. The wait is over! The development will be sold in phases with 60 very well priced units to be released in the initial phase. The objective is to get sales off to good start. Over the next couple of months, Rockwood will also be focused on performing capital improvements and improving building operations. I’ve been asked not to publicly discuss pricing at this time but I will say that I haven’t seen pricing this good since the developer blow-out sales at Marina Blue and 1060 Brickell in 2009. I anticipate these initial 60 units to be sold within the first 3 weeks. Contact us if you have an interest in purchasing a condo at Everglades on the Bay or to learn more about the 849-unit mixed-use development.
Fannie Mae Approved Condo Buildings in Florida
As of June 1, 2009, Fannie Mae updated their website to reflect the condo developments in Florida that are now approved for financing.
The following is a list of recent condo developments in South Florida that are now Fannie Mae approved:
Downtown Miami has changed tremendously within the past 4-5 years. I just wanted to share a few pictures that I took earlier this week. As you can see, the construction cranes are gone from the Downtown Miami skyline.
New Downtown Miami condo developments 50 Biscayne, Vizcayne, Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis can be seen in the pictures above and directly below. The American Airlines Arena, Bayside Marketplace and Bayfront Park appear in the picture above as well.
(Below) A look south down Biscayne Boulevard.
(Below) The view east from a Downtown Miami condo high-rise.
New Miami Condos – Closing Rates for February 2009
It’s been a few months since my last Miami condo closing rate update. The percentage of closed units for 25 major condo developments are provided below, starting with the first development to begin closings. Four condo developments have been added: Icon Brickell, Everglades on the Bay, Infinity at Brickell and Epic. You’ll find these towards the bottom of this post.
Below, you will find the date that each condo development began closings followed by the number of closed units in each condo development:
With the exception of Onyx on the Bay and 50 Biscayne, the first group above has remained unchanged. Onyx on the Bay was able to close one additional condo while 50 Biscayne was able to close two.
Quantum on the Bay and Plaza on Brickell once again were able to show a decent improvement in their closing rate. Quantum on the Bay closed an additional 14 condos while Plaza on Brickell was able to close 21. 1800 Club did not have any new closings but I did find another deed that had been recorded twice. This is the reason why the total number of closed condos in this update is one less than the total stated in the December 2008 post for 1800 Club. It needs just 7 more closed condos to hit the all-important 70 percent mark.
As a result of the 60-unit bulk sale, Marina Blue showed the most improvement of the above five condo developments since the last update. I did, however, find re-recorded deeds for Marina Blue that I had previously missed. The developer of Marina Blue has now closed around 82% of the total number of units.
In my opinion, the five condo developments above are all likely candidates for some sort of bulk deal taking place in the future. Met 1 was able to close 7 additional units, Asia 2, 900 Biscayne Bay 13, 500 Brickell 17 and Axis 8. As a result of the new Fannie Mae guidelines, it is not likely that we’ll see significant improvement in any of the condo developments that haven’t thus far reached the 70 percent mark.
Above, you’ll find the four newly added condo developments which began closings within the past 3 months. Timing could not have been worse for these four. They’re going to need to find a plethora of cash buyers who are willing to pay dated prices. Ivy at Riverfront, which began closings back in June 2008, was able to close 14 additional condos since the December 2008 update.
The bright side is that the condo construction cranes of Miami are gone. The cranes that remain are for commercial developments. Marquis and Paramount Bay, which should begin closings within the next 3 months, will be the last of the newly constructed condos to hit the market in Miami. It does appear, however, that Met 3 has begun to lay its foundation. Hopefully, the condo market will reach some sort of equilibrium by the time that development has been completed.
Disclaimer: The above closing rate information was derived from public County records. There can be a 2-3 week delay from the time that a closing occurs and the time that the closing is recorded. The information above is not deemed 100 percent accurate as a result of delays in the recording of deeds and deeds being re-recorded.
CVS/pharmacy to Open at Everglades on the Bay
A few weeks ago, when I drove by Everglades on the Bay (now known as Vizcayne North) I noticed the “CVS/pharmacy Coming Soon!” sign hanging in the window of their large ground floor commercial space. This may not be jawdropping news but I do think that it is a good sign for Downtown Miami. It shows that the much needed infrastructure for this neighborhood is finally on its way. Large chains are starting to see that Downtown Miami is a viable neighborhood with enough residents to sustain a business despite the current economic downturn.
As far as I’ve heard, Everglades on the Bay has not yet begun closings but closings will begin shortly. It’s great to see that Everglades on the Bay was able to acquire such a strong commercial tenant so soon. There are condo buildings in Miami that began closings over a year ago that still have commercial space that is unoccupied.
Miami Green Spaces
Living within close proximity to a public green space is usually a pretty important factor, especially for dog owners, when considering places to live in a large metropolitan area. Miami is no different, which is why I’ve decided to discuss various public green spaces within walking distance to many of Miami’s new condo buildings. This post will probably be more informative to nonlocals but it actually still amazes me how many people living in Miami haven’t heard of nice parks such as Margaret Pace Park.
Margaret Pace Park – Of the public green spaces mentioned in this post, Margaret Pace is my favorite. It is located in the Edgewater Miami within walking distance to Quantum on the Bay, 1800 Club, Cite on the Bay and the future Paramount Bay. Margaret Pace Park offers a number of activities such as tennis, volleyball, basketball and soccer. It’s typical to see volleyball and basketball games continue well until the sun goes down. You’ll also see runners dashing around the parameter of the park and dog owners playing with their pets and mingling with other dog owners. Those with small children will also appreciate the children’s park at Margaret Pace park.
Museum Park (formerly Bicentennial Park) – This public green space was recently renamed Museum Park. It will be a collaborative effort by the Miami Museum of Science and the Miami Art Museum. Museum Park is located just south of the I-395 expressway and just north of the American Airlines Arena. It is walking distance to Ten Museum Park, 900 Biscayne Bay, Marina Blue and the future Marquis in the Downtown Miami neighborhood of Park West. Currently, this is probably the most underutilized public green space by locals throughout Miami. You’ll occasionally see soccer games taking place, as you do in the picture above, but that’s about it. Museum Park is home to a variety of music events, with the largest being Ultra Music Festival held in March. It’ll be nice to see the transformation of Museum Park within the next 1-2 years.
Bayfront Park – This public green space has a children’s park, an amphitheater (not seen in the picture above) and a helium balloon ride, called Miami SkyLift, that unfortunately hasn’t taken off in quite a while. Bayfront Park is also home to the Flying Trapeze School and offers yoga classes three times per week. Bayfront Park is located in Downtown Miami just south of Bayfront Marketplace and just north of the Intercontinental Hotel. It is walking distance to condominium buildings such as 50 Biscayne, the Loft Downtown, Loft 2, One Miami, Met 1 and the future Everglades on the Bay (now known as Vizcayne).
There are a variety of other public green spaces throughout Miami not mentioned in this post. However, these are the ones located near many of the new condo buildings in Miami. Unfortunately, there currently aren’t any public green spaces in Brickell.
