Turkish Developer Okan Group Launches Okan Tower in Downtown Miami
Turkish developer and leading enterprise Okan Group announced yesterday the official sales launch of its first U.S. development – Okan Tower. The distinctive architecture planned for the 70-story mixed-purpose property is meant to emulate the silhouette of a blossoming tulip (Turkey’s national flower). Located in Downtown Miami at 555 North Miami Avenue, this innovative addition to the Miami skyline will feature a 294-key hotel by Hilton Hotels & Resorts, 64,000 square feet of ‘Class A’ office space, 236 condo-hotel units starting on the 36th floor, 149 condominium residences starting on the 51st floor, plus four duplex penthouses.
Okan Group Chairman and billionaire, Bekir Okan, credits the city of Miami’s vibrant energy and international fusion for his choice in the project’s location. “It is with great pleasure that we unveil Okan Tower as we embark on a journey to present a bold real estate product in one of the world’s leading destinations,” he added. “In selecting our projects throughout the world, we always seek to establish an impact that will make history. Not only in its design but through its level of experiential elements, Okan Tower will have a transformative effect on the metropolis that will forever change Miami’s skyline”.
The architecture firm behind the tower’s bold design in tribute to Turkish culture is Behar Font & Partners. Okan Tower’s studio, one-, and two-bedroom condo-hotel units will be delivered turnkey furnished, ranging in size from 447 to 1,245 square feet, while its condo-residence offerings will include one- to three-bedroom units plus a den, ranging from 698 to over 2,071 square feet; and 4 duplex-style penthouses ranging from 1,873 to more than 2,142 square feet. Okan Tower will also offer world-class amenities, including high-speed elevators with separate access for various mixed-use components, a sky pool with panoramic views from the 70th floor, outdoor lounge, Hammam spa, state-of-the-art health and fitness center, kids’ playroom, chef and gastro kitchen, movie theater, wine cellar and cigar room, as well as a rooftop restaurant located on the 67th floor.
There’s no doubt that this project will cater to the taste of the foreign buyers so highly accounted for in the past several years of Miami’s residential real estate sales. A 3,000 square-foot sales gallery for the tower already opened in Istanbul, Turkey on May 2nd, complete with a full model residence. The U.S. sales gallery will open on May 10th. Promising sophistication and convenience, Okan Tower’s location is close in proximity to business, entertainment, culture, and the arts – with Perez Art Museum, Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, American Airlines, the upcoming Miami Worldcenter, and the Brightline Train all within blocks.
Privately funded, the project is already slated to break ground this fall. Pricing for units at Okan Tower starts from $318,500.
A First Look Inside the Recently Completed Paraiso Bay
One cannot help but be awestruck by the rapid transformation taking place throughout Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Compared to just five years ago, it has grown tremendously in terms of development and density. With the pending completion of Related Group’s Paraiso District, Edgewater is about to get a whole lot bigger.
Paraiso District is Related Group’s largest residential development outside of New York City. The private, gated complex is situated on a close to five acre site with 500 feet of water frontage. It also includes a beach club (appropriately named Paraiso Beach Club), which is exclusive to Paraiso residents, as well as a waterfront restaurant by James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Schwartz called Amara at Paraiso. In terms of density, however, Paraiso District, with less than 1,400 total units, will be smaller than Related’s second largest residential development – Icon Brickell.
Earlier this month, closings began for units at Paraiso Bay – the first of four towers comprising Edgewater’s Paraiso District. The other three towers – Paraiso Bayviews, GranParaiso, and One Paraiso – will all be completed and delivered by year-end.
A few weeks ago, I met up once again with Related’s President of Condominium Division Carlos Rosso – this time for a grand tour of the Paraiso District grounds and recently completed Paraiso Bay. Paraiso Bay is a 55-story tower designed by Arquitectonica. It has 346 total units, each offering direct, unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay. Paraiso Bay has a laundry list of amenities which include: clubroom with billiards, catering kitchen, and multimedia facilities; state-of-the-art fitness center; full-service spa with men’s and women’s steam and sauna facilities; private screening room with state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment and theater-style seating; wine cellar and tasting salon; children’s playroom; teen’s game room; resort deck with circular, zero-entry heated pool, outdoor spa, poolside cabanas, and summer kitchen area; tennis center with 2 lighted tennis courts and multipurpose court; beach club; 24-hour concierge; and 24-hour valet parking. Additionally, residents of Paraiso Bay and GranParaiso will share a 2-lane bowling alley and full-service bar below their shared resort deck. At the time of my tour, I was told that just 25 percent of the amenities had been delivered. Keep that in mind when viewing the photos below…75 percent of the amenities are still in the works!
Just Listed – 3 Bedroom Condo at SLS Lux – Asking $935,000
“Better act fast” is a cliché sales pitch that has been used for generations…but for my newest listing, you better! On Friday, I listed for sale unit 2009 at SLS Lux – a luxurious 3 Bedroom, 3 Bathroom condo with 2,147 total square feet (1,657 interior square feet + 490 square feet of balcony) and 3 parking spaces (1 assigned + 1 parking lift + 1 valet space). Within 24 hours of being listed, I received an offer…and for good reason! At $935,000, the unit is priced very aggressively; it’s priced better than four of the five 2 bedroom residences currently on the market (keep in mind, unit 2009 is a 3 Bed, 3 Bath residence), and priced considerably better than any of the other 3 bedroom residences that are listed for sale. Besides unit 2009, there are currently two other 3 Bedroom residences listed for sale. The first is located one floor lower than unit 2009 and asking $1.19M, and the second is located four floors lower than unit 2009 and asking $1.375M. If you’re looking for a deal, this is it! Contact me if you have any questions or would like to schedule a time to view the unit before Tuesday. I may be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 786-247-6332.
SLS Lux is a full amenities building located in the heart of Brickell at 801 South Miami Avenue. The amenities at SLS Lux include: expansive pool deck on the 9th floor with cabanas and poolside bar, rooftop pool and sundeck located on the 57th floor, BBQ area with summer kitchen, lighted tennis court, club room, full-service spa, state-of-the-art fitness center, full-service concierge, children’s playroom, outdoor theater, rock climbing wall, executive business center, and much, much more.
The condo dues for unit 2009 are $1,101 per month. That amount includes high-speed internet, cable TV, water, and use of all building amenities. The assigned parking space and parking lift are located on the 2nd floor.
One Thousand Museum Tops Off; Stunning New Renderings Released
Sky Lounge
On February 3, 2018, One Thousand Museum officially topped off, marking a major milestone not only for construction of the elaborate and intricately designed tower, but also for the city’s ever-expanding skyline. “We’re now one step closer to revealing Zaha Hadid’s forward-thinking design,” says co-developer Louis Birdman. “Even in its current state, the building already stands out as the most iconic architectural work on Miami’s skyline. We’re excited to have developed something so unique and special for Miami.”
The developers of One Thousand Museum will celebrate their milestone accomplishment this week with a private evening event on the rooftop of the Frost Science Museum, located across the street from the project. Attendees will enjoy unobstructed views of the tower, flowing champagne, and passed hors d’oeuvres.
The process of constructing One Thousand Museum has been arguably one of the world’s most challenging builds. According to a recent press release, “the project’s curved exoskeleton is comprised of 5,000 pieces of lightweight glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) manufactured in and imported from Dubai. This is the first skyscraper in the world to utilize GFRC as a permanent formwork in the construction of the tower’s structure.”
While developer Louis Birdman had the foresight for One Thousand Museum and Pritzker Prize winning architect Zaha Hadid had the vision, general contracting firm Plaza Construction played an instrumental role in making both a reality. “This is a project that will not only enhance Miami’s skyline, but also redefine the standard of luxury for residential projects,” said Brad Meltzer, President of Plaza. “We do not shy away from challenging projects, as such we were immediately interested when we saw the overall complexity of the job. To date, the project team has faced some major tests, but the project has remained on schedule and we’re looking forward to the successful completion.” To learn more about the complexity of this groundbreaking process, make sure to watch “The Scorpion Tower” episode of Impossible Builds, a PBS documentary featuring 1000 Museum.
Now that the “heavy lifting” has been completed, it’s time for the building’s interior build-out to begin. For those who can’t wait to see the finished product, perhaps these newly released renderings will sate your appetite. Enjoy!
aquatic center
fitness center
spa
sauna
lobby
pool deck
pool deck
MCI Has Recording-Breaking Month: 60K Unique Visitors!!!
Hard work and consistency have always been keys to success…and now we have the stats to prove it! Since launching the site on May 12, 2007, MiamiCondoInvestments.com has grown by leaps and bounds – both in website content and traffic. Over the years, the site has seen a number of iterations, the largest being in January 2015 when the website was redeveloped from scratch incorporating a much more user-friendly design and experience. That decision to re-launch the website seems to have paid off tremendously. Since re-launching the site, website traffic has more than doubled, with January 2018 achieving its most traffic ever for a one month period – 60,124 unique visitors!!!
According to SEMrush.com – an online service that estimates traffic for all websites – MiamiCondoInvestments.com has more traffic than ANY Miami-centric real estate website. In fact, it has more traffic than its two closest competitors COMBINED. Additionally, it has more traffic than the five largest Miami-based brokerages COMBINED.
I’m happy to share with you that another large website update is in the works and should be ready to roll out by late next week. The upcoming update will improve upon the already friendly user experience, introduce new features, and fix a number of bugs – all in an effort to ensure that MiamiCondoInvestments.com remains the #1 Miami real estate website for many years to come!!!
Bitcoin-denominated Penthouse Switches to U.S. Dollars
Well, that didn’t last long! The Bitcoin-denominated penthouse at Platinum Condominium has switched its denomination to U.S. Dollars. With Bitcoin’s recent plunge in value and high-risk volatility, this should come as no surprise. As of today’s trading, Bitcoin had lost 50 percent of its peak value set just last month.
The asking price of the penthouse is now quoted as $525,000. Had it remained listed in bitcoins, the price would be roughly equivalent to $355,000…$170,000 less than its current asking price but still $40,000 more than what the seller paid! The owner of the penthouse purchased it for $315,000 about one year ago.
Perhaps Bitcoin had its shining moment but, today, it’s all about the Benjamins baby!
Monthly Assessments at 900 Biscayne Bay Drop 12 Percent Year-over-year
The owners at 900 Biscayne Bay received highly favorable news heading into the new year – their monthly assessments would drop 12 percent when compared to the amount that they paid throughout 2017. A big reason for the unusually large reduction was the $15M that the condominium association received last year as part of the settlement agreement resulting from 558 construction defect litigation it had with the developer and other related parties.
That litigation had been a thorn in the condominium association’s side, but now, with such a sizable settlement, they can make some nice improvements to the building. They recently updated the spa and, later this year, will begin renovation on their pool deck.
The monthly assessments at 900 Biscayne Bay are now at 74 cents per square foot, which is outstanding considering the level of amenities and services that the building offers. Below are the 2017 vs. 2018 condo dues for three of the 1 bedroom lines at 900 Biscayne Bay:
03 line
2017: $765.85 per month
2018: $673.25 per month
05 line
2017: $780.16 per month
2018: $685.80 per month
07 line
2017: $787.72 per month
2018: $692.45 per month
Genting Group to Lease Submerged Land for Development of 50-slip Mega-yacht Marina
It looks like the Malaysia-based Genting Group is on their way towards developing a 50-slip mega-yacht marina on the former Miami Herald site, according to The Real Deal. In 2011, Genting bought the former Miami Herald site for $236 million, which also included an additional $185 million for the nearby Omni retail and hotel complex. While their ultimate goal has always been to build a casino, opposition to those efforts has shifted their focus to first developing a mega-yacht marina. The proposal shows that the marina could accommodate 50- to 175-foot long vessels.
The Miami City Commission recently cleared the way for the marina development, as they agreed to accept a deed for the submerged land in Biscayne Bay, which would then be leased for the marina development. Genting’s subsidiary Resorts World Miami LLC., is negotiating to lease the submerged land which is currently owned by the city of Miami and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
Besides the marina, Resorts World Miami is also planning to include two residential towers, a hotel, and retail shops with 800-foot long walkway along Biscayne Bay. No word yet as to when they plan to begin development.
ECHO Brickell Closings Have Begun
instagram.com/echobrickell
Starting today, Brickell is getting a lot more luxurious. Property Markets Group is beginning closings on the newest ultra-luxury building in the greater downtown area, ECHO Brickell. The sleek tower was designed by Carlos Ott and offers the ultimate of luxury lifestyle.
Each residence comes with 9-14 foot ceilings, terraces that are 8 feet deep with summer kitchens, paneled Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances and a Bosch built-in espresso machine. The units will be delivered with marble floors indoors and out and there is a 50,000 saltwater fish tank in the lobby. Security is paramount in the building as well. Rather than fobs, residents are able to activate the elevator via biometric security.
Remaining purchase opportunities range from $1.8 million for a southeast-facing 2 bedroom on the 14th floor up to $6.5 million for a 3 bedroom lower penthouse. The $42 million opulent and dramatic Carlos Ott Penthouse is also still available for $42 million.
Contact us at [email protected] if you would like a tour of the finished project.
