A combined five-unit condo at The Setai South Beach hit the market earlier today for $25M. The 33rd floor residence spans approximately 5,400 interior square feet and includes four bedrooms, four full baths, two half baths, a formal living room, casual dining room, spa and entertainment lounge area. The unit also comes with five valet parking spaces.
Earlier this week, Foster + Partners released additional renderings of Faena House. They have now released a fly-through video (see below) which showcases Faena House and the Faena District in Miami Beach. The 18-story, ultra-luxury development is truly stunning. Faena House is scheduled for completion in fall of 2014. 50% of its condos are already under contract.
The developer, Alan Faena, is asking $50M for the penthouse pictured above. Without a doubt, once completed, the penthouse will be one of the most highly acclaimed pieces of property in South Florida. It will have 8,273 interior square feet and approximately 10,000 square feet of terrace space which will accommodate an outdoor kitchen, cabana and 30-foot-long infinity-edge pool.
While driving through Downtown Miami earlier this week, I noticed a number of signs at each corner of the sites for 600 and 700 Biscayne Boulevard. The signs say “Another Luxury Development by Chateau Group”. A telephone number is also included. Despite a number of calls, however, I have yet to obtain any additional information. Just assurances that a sales person would contact me soon. The lots are located immediately south of Marina Blue and just north of the Freedom Tower. I have heard rumors for months that pricing will range from $600-$800 per square foot for non-penthouse units at each of the two developments but I’m sure at this point not even the developer knows for certain. It will be an interesting addition to the array of preconstruction condo developments that have been announced for Miami within the past year. With the exception of One Thousand Museum, no other luxury condo developments have been announced for Downtown Miami. The vast majority of them are located in Brickell or Edgewater.
Update: I just saw the exact same Chateau Group sign at the entrance of Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. There’s a a large lot at the intersection of NE 10 Ave and Hallendale Beach Blvd. Is Chateau Group planning to build a luxury condominium development at that location as well?
It appears that the market for Miami penthouse condos is not all sunshine and rainbows. Despite a red hot Miami luxury real estate market which has seen an array of record-breaking penthouse sales during the first half of this year (See Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C and Exhibit D), the Bristol Tower penthouse currently owned by hip-hop sensation, Pharrell Williams, has seen its price slashed $5.9M since hitting the market this past November. Initially set at $16.8M, the tri-level mansion-in-the-sky was recently marked down to $10.9M – a whopping 35 percent price reduction!
Formerly the residence of Bristol Tower developer, Ugo Colombo, the 5 bedroom, 6.5 bath penthouse features 9,080 interior square feet, private elevator entry, grand living spaces with impressive floor-to-ceiling glass walls, a 180-degree wrap-around balcony, 7 assigned parking spaces and rooftop terraces with summer kitchen, pool and Jacuzzi. The one-of-a-kind penthouse also sports a sensational view! It offers sweeping 360-degree views of Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and sparkling city lights at night along with the opportunity to enjoy both the sunrise and sunset each day.
According to property records, Mr. Williams acquired the penthouse in March 2007 for $12,525,000.
It appears that a luxury pre-construction condo development named Echo Brickell will begin accepting reservations next week. The Miami Herald reports that the skyscraper will rise 750 feet , or 60 stories, and feature large floor plans with up to 250 total units. The penthouses are expected to span over 7,000 square feet – unusually large by Brickell standards. Once completed, Echo Brickell will be the second tallest building in the neighborhood.
Unlike the handful of other pre-construction condo developments in Brickell that have been announced over the past couple of years, Echo Brickell will be located directly on the famed Brickell Avenue. The development will be erected at 1451 Brickell Avenue – a corner lot between The Four Seasons and St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church. Echo Brickell will be developed by Property Markets Group – the same development group which recently had a very successful launch of a 190-unit condo development in Aventura called Echo Aventura. World famous architect, Carlos Ott, has been chosen to design the luxury high-rise. Units at Echo Brickell will feature 10, 12 and 14-foot ceilings. The article states that plans for Echo Brickell include a swimming pool, which will encompass an entire floor about midway up the building, along with a fitness center and spa above it. The units will be sold move-in ready.
No mention of pricing was included in the article. However, in the coming days, I plan to get more information regarding Echo Brickell…so stay tuned!
In an earlier blog post, I had mentioned that several big changes with my real estate business had taken place over the past couple of months. Well, one of those big changes was transferring my real estate license to a new broker. I now have my real estate license hung with Luxe Living Realty. While many may have never heard the name, those who keep close tabs on the Miami luxury real estate market, and its practitioners, likely will have heard of Dora Puig. She has over 23 years of experience in selling high-end, luxury real estate and, over the past couple of years, has grabbed huge market share from her competitors (ie. other local brokers and agents specializing in Miami luxury real estate). She is the same Dora Puig who sold a penthouse at Icon South Beach last December for $21M. At this time, Dora personally has over $140M worth of real estate listings, including the $39M penthouse listing at Continuum South Beach South Tower, the $18.5M penthouse listing at Ocean House and, recently, a $14.5M combination residence at Continuum South Beach North Tower with just under 5,000 interior square feet. Dora has beat out competitors when interviewing for big listings such as these by continually thinking outside the box and coming up with innovative yet glamorous ways to market her luxury real estate listings. It was a no-brainer for me when presented with the opportunity to work under her new brokerage and learn from one of the best in the industry.
Just a few weeks ago, Dora was one of three finalists for the “Most Innovative Method of Marketing Award – Real Estate Agent” presented by the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. Her nomination came as a direct result of her social media efforts over the preceding year. In my opinion, when it comes to social media, no one in the local real estate market does it better than Dora Puig. The level of engagement she has with her followers on various social media platforms is quite impressive. These outlets have allowed her to stay connected with past and current clients by keeping them informed of any news affecting the local real estate market. Social media has also allowed her to expand her network and earn new followers who at times later convert into business. In a world where a friend’s referral or public “Like” can mean all the difference, the importance of social media can no longer be ignored.
Unfortunately, Dora did not take home the crown last month for the “Most Innovative Method of Marketing Award – Real Estate Agent”. She did not sulk about it though. Instead, Dora began to question “Is there a better way of doing things?” – not for the sake of winning an award but for the sake of effectively marketing her listings and, therefore, providing an even higher level of service to sellers. I have always been a proponent for using video to market real estate. I suggested that she give it a try. Being open minded and innovative as she is, Dora jumped on it. I wanted her to do real video though. Picture slideshow videos would no longer cut it for these types of listings. Her $10M+ listings deserve true-to-life, HD-quality video tours – something akin to what you would see on Million Dollar Listing. Her video crew delivered in spades. The video below is a guided video tour of her $14.5M combination residence listing at Continuum South Beach North Tower (50 South Pointe Drive #3301-03, Miami Beach, FL 33139). I don’t know of a single other real estate agent in Miami who is doing video quite this way.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the future of real estate marketing – especially for a market like Miami where the impact of the foreign buyer is so obvious. No one is saying that these luxury real estate videos will entice foreign buyers into purchasing a $10M+ property sight-unseen. However, I am certain that these types of videos stand a far better chance of convincing a potential buyer into booking an airline ticket to Miami to take a look in person than pictures do alone. Take a look for yourself and see what you think. I would love to hear your comments.
Preliminary floor plans for the penthouses at SLS Brickell Residences have been released. You will see below that there will be a total of seven floor plans on the penthouse level but only five of them will have unique layouts when compared to the other floor plans in the building. The five uniquely designed floor plans will essentially combine one and two bedroom floor plans from other levels to create larger spaces which will range from 1,845 to 2,332 interior square feet. Unfortunately, these units will not have a rooftop terrace or other distinguishing features which are typically associated with penthouses. There will, however, be a rooftop pool but that will be for all residents in the building to enjoy and not just those who own a penthouse. Regardless, if you are excited about SLS Brickell Residences but feel that the floor plans are too small, the penthouses might be a great opportunity to look into. However, being that there are only five combination units in the entire building, I do not expect availability for these to last long.
A $100,000 deposit is required to reserve a penthouse at SLS Brickell Residences. The balance of 20% will be required at contract, which should take place sometime between May and July. Contact me if you have an interest in reserving one (or heck, all five) penthouses at SLS Brickell Residences.
I have to admit, until just hours ago, I hadn’t been overly excited about the recently announced SLS Brickell Residences. The first rendering, which was released to the public about a month ago, was rather boring. Being a foodie, the only thing that really excited me about the development was the fact that three amazing restaurants would be on-site: Bazaar by Jose Andres , Katsuya by Starck and a restaurant by Michael Schwartz. I’m a big fan of Michael’s Genuine so to have a brand new restaurant by Michael Schwartz only an elevator ride away sounded very appealing to me. Oh, and having a 250-foot long elevated pool – which I’m sure will be surrounded by some of Miami’s most beautiful women – didn’t sound so bad either. However, I just couldn’t get my mind off that very unexciting rendering of the development that made its way into my inbox last month.
That was the past though. With the latest rendering above, I’m back on board and am very excited about SLS Brickell Residences. It looks visually stunning and whoever created it did an outstanding job! Street-level, the rendering gives off a sense of activity and energy, which I have no doubt will be delivered true to life given the inclusion of the SLS Hotel, the three aforementioned restaurants and on-site Jazz bar. Mark my words, this is going to be the “in” place to be and live in Brickell once this development is completed. The party starts here!
As I had previously posted, reservations for condos at SLS Brickell Residences are now being accepted. Prices are expected to average around $500 per square foot. I had previously been advising clients to stay away from the west-facing units because they will look straight into units at Infinity at Brickell. However, the rendering above shows that the west-facing units will also have the privilege of checking out the activity down below at the pool deck. If you are planning to buy a west-facing unit, my advice is to go for a low floor. There is no point in buying a high floor on the west side of the building when the action will be down below. The price per square foot will be much lower as well.
Contact me if you have an interest in learning more about this exciting pre-construction condo and hotel development which will be located at 1300 South Miami Avenue in Brickell. You can find the brochure, floor plans, video and other information regarding this development on my SLS Brickell Residences page.
The wait is over. SLS Brickell Residences is now accepting reservations. The recently announced pre-construction condo and hotel development will be located at 1300 South Miami Avenue, within walking distance to the shops and restaurants at Mary Brickell Village and upcoming Brickell CityCentre. The luxury tower, which has been designed by Arquitectonica, will rise 51 stories and be comprised of 450 condo residences and 133 hotel rooms. The SLS branded hotel component will take up the first nine floors. The residential units will be located on floors 10 through 51 with 11 units per floor. The ninth floor will house most of the amenities such as a 200-foot long elevated pool, spa deck, HYDE Bar and Lounge and CIEL Spa. The building will also have an 8,000 square foot ballroom, state-of-the-art fitness center, screening rooms and 3,000 square foot business center with private meeting rooms. A residents-only rooftop pool and lounge will encompass the entire top floor. On the ground-level, there will be three incredible restaurants, including Katsuya by Starck, Bazaar by Jose Andres and a restaurant by Michael Schwartz of Michael Genuine. Each unit will come with one assigned parking space.
Please refer to my SLS Brickell Residences page for more information. There, I have a full-color brochure, floor plans and video for the development.
To purchase a condo at SLS Brickell Residences, the payment structure is as follows:
Contact me if you have an interest in reserving a unit at SLS Brickell Residences. You may reach me on my cell at 786-247-6332 or via email at [email protected].
