It’s Not About the Money…It’s About the Sun, the Fun and the Rings!!!
They say Rome was not built in a day. I tell you tonight that the Three Wise Men of Miami have built Downtown Miami within a night. The Three Wise Men offer not gold, frankincense and myrrh but instead development, commerce and beer. The drinks will flow in Downtown Miami. The crowds will cheer, the people will spend and those who might be fortunate enough to witness NBA’s greatest team will be merry. This is an era of Miami basketball that will be long remembered, but never forgotten.
As I sit in Downtown Miami listening to the sounds of car horns filling the sky, I can only think of one thing. This is the single greatest moment for the City of Miami. Bigger than the movie Scarface, which put Miami on the map. Bigger than Miami Vice. Bigger than all of the rock stars, models and paparazzi who followed the celebrities in the 1980s to their paradise enclave. That was their Miami. Today, I present to you the new Miami. This is the beginning of something bigger and better than any developer or city official had ever envisioned for the city. This is Miami Bitch! And Miami’s Three Wise Men will proliferate an era within Downtown Miami within two years that could never be achieved within two decades.
Miami was the hotbed of the recent national real estate crisis. The epicenter of investor speculation. The Godfather of mortgage fraud. Prices tumbled here 50-70 percent from the peak. It was ripe for the picking. Miami was where real estate investment dreams were made. This was it. This was the moment where five years from now everyone who was fortunate enough to be connected to the City of Miami could say, “Damn…I coulda, shoulda, woulda”. Tonight was the moment where In one fell swoop, that was all washed away. Long forgotten.
LeBron and his crew, made up of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, made the statement that it’s not about the money…it’s about the sun, the fun, the glitz, the glamour, the neon lights and the championships. The three perennial athletes proved tonight that it’s more about their legacy than it is about the benjamins. It has been written that Benjamin Franklin once started off his day by asking the question, “What good shall I do this day?” and ending it with “What good have I done this day?”. There’s no question that the newly crowned Kings of Miami have done very much good for the City of Miami and ohhhh so much good for Downtown Miami. It’s not about the money. It’s about the good of the city and, as I’ve said for weeks, LeBron James joining the Miami Heat, will do more good for the city than ten condo developers building ten glitzy high-rises could ever do for the city.
Rumor: LeBron James Makes Offer on $49.5M Gables Estates Home
Rumors swirled earlier this afternoon that LeBron James had made an offer on a $40M waterfront home in Coral Gables. My sources tell me that the offer was made on a 20,862 square foot mansion located at 11 Casuarina Concourse in the Gables Estates neighborhood of Coral Gables. The 8 bedroom/11 bath/2 half bath palace sits on a 3.6 acre lot with 880 feet of water frontage and comes with a dock to accommodate a 150-foot yacht. The Miami luxury home was previously listed for $49.5M before the listing expired on May 31, 2010. The Gables Estates waterfront home, which was purchased in July 1987 for 2,018,000, is currently owned by luxury auto dealer Alan Potamkin of Potamkin Auto Gallery.
Homes Fit for a King – Top 5 Coral Gables Homes That LeBron James May Have in Mind
If the rumors are true, and LeBron James did in fact make an offer on a luxury waterfront home in Coral Gables earlier today, then chances are that he made an offer on one of the following luxury homes located in Coral Gables:
620 Arvida Parkway – Asking Price $24.5M. 7 Bedroom/7 Bath/3 Half Bath with 16,435 square feet of interior sitting on a 46,609 square foot lot. This luxury mansion comes with 2 staff rooms, formal living room, formal dining room, 4-car garage, generator and swimming pool. While this may be the most expensive home currently available in Coral Gables, it is unlikely that LeBron James would make an offer on it simply because it will not be completed for another year and a half. That is unless, of course, he doesn’t mind being put up in LeBron’s Future Miami Penthouse across the street from the American Airlines Arena at Marina Blue for the next year and a half.
400 Arvida Parkway – Asking Price $20.5M. 8 Bedroom/9 Bath/4 Half Bath luxury home with 13,469 interior square feet sitting on a 41,382 lot. This waterfront mansion has 180 feet of water frontage and includes a dining room, wine cellar, media room, library/music room, garden room, 2 staff rooms, gym, Infinity-edge pool and spa and Chihuly chandelier.
181 Leucadendra Drive – Asking Price $17.9M. 7 Bedroom/7 Bath/1 Half Bath with 14,946 interior square feet sitting on a 48,274 square foot lot. This Mediterranean-style home was completed in 2004 and has 270 feet of water frontage.
5 Tahiti Beach Road – Asking Price $16.9M. 10 Bedroom/9 Bath/0 Half Bath waterfront mansion with 11,533 interior square feet sitting on a 37,374 square foot lot. This Tahiti Beach luxury home has a private beach overlooking Biscayne Bay. My vote is that LeBron James decided to go with this home in Coral Gables. Tahiti Beach is known for having spectacular security. It may not be the most expensive home of the five but security must be at the top of King James’ list when weighing out his options.
200 Edgewater Drive – Asking Price $13.9M. 7 Bedroom/5 Bath/1 Half Bath home with 11,865 interior square feet sitting on a massive 130,680 square foot lot. This historically designated estate has a tennis court, swimming pool, 4-car garage and staff quarters. The lot may be huge but the water frontage is very small.
LeBron James Makes Offer on Multi-Million Dollar Waterfront Home in Coral Gables
BleacherReport.com source reveals that LeBron James made an offer today on a multi-million dollar waterfront home in Coral Gables. If this holds to be true then it only makes sense that King James has plans to join the Miami Heat along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
He may be in the market for a waterfront home in Miami but we still have LeBron’s penthouse across the street from the American Airlines Arena waiting for him. It would make for a nice party pad or for nights when he’s too tired to make the drive home.
Say It Aint So “O”
Yahoo News! reported earlier today that there are rumors that Shaquille O’Neal will be traded to the Phoenix Suns. I hope these rumors don’t prove to be true but it does sound like the Miami Heat will part ways with Shaq in the near future. I think everyone will agree that Shaquille O’Neal has been a great addition to the Miami community. He will definitely be missed.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Miami luxury home on Star Island, is currently on the market for $32M. There were rumors on November 1, 2007, from the South Beach Real Estate Blog that Alex Rodriguez was looking to buy Shaq’s humble abode. I heard from other sources that the deal fell apart because Alex Rodriguez’s wife wanted to be closer to her family in Coral Gables.
I haven’t fully thought this out yet, but I may, (still need to think about this one), consider stepping outside of my own personal boundaries of only listing condos and consider listing a Star Island luxury home like Shaq’s if his listing agreement expires before his home gets sold. Don’t hold me to this though because I am only contemplating it. I’m a very niche-oriented person so if I don’t return your phone calls Shaq, don’t hold it against me. I need a few days to think this one through.
Opera Tower, LLC & Tibor Hollo Sues Me for $25M
As some of you may already know, my employment at EWM Realtors was terminated this afternoon. The Miami Herald published a story this evening on their website revealing that developer Tibor Hollo of Opera Tower has sued EWM, and myself, for $25M.
The interesting thing about this case is that I did not have my license hung with EWM when I wrote that post. In my opinion, Tibor Hollo and Opera Tower, LLC are coming after EWM because their parent company is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. I have no ill feelings against EWM. I fully understand their position on the situation, given that they are owned by a much larger entity.
The reason why I wrote the post is because I was receiving a lot of phone calls from contract holders at Opera Tower telling me that they had no intention on closing on their condos. In my opinion, a blog is a vehicle to share opinions, thoughts and concerns. I was merely sharing these concerns with potential buyers and contract holders. About three weeks ago, a local newspaper disclosed a story about a class-action lawsuit against the developer filed by contract holders wanting to get out. This topic was an area of concern, and one that I felt needed to be addressed to my readers.
I had no malicious intent against Tibor Hollo nor the condo development. I was merely sharing my opinion with the readers of my Miami real estate blog and the concerns of current contract holders. I see myself as a real estate agent on the street that is sharing the concerns and opinions of others.
