A new rendering of Icon Bay has been released. It provides a great shot of the proposed fountain that will reside in Biscayne Bay. The rendering also shows the Infinity edge pool which gives the illusion that the pool water flows into the bay as well as several cabanas that line the northern and southern part of the sundeck.
Reservations are now being accepted for condos at Icon Bay. Please visit our Icon Bay condos page for more information and additional renderings.
Custom Built, Fully Furnished Condo at Marina Blue Sets the Bar for the Building
I have seen a lot of condos at Marina Blue over the 4+ years since the building debuted in February 2008. The vast majority of units have your average run-of-the-mill build-out with tiled floors, California-style closets, solar shades in the living room, black-out shades in the bedrooms and light fixtures that were likely picked up at Home Depot as an afterthought – nice but far short of spectacular. A few weeks ago, however, I showed a condo at Marina Blue that really blew me away and deserves to be in a league of its own.
Unit 5304 is a 2 bedroom+den/2.5 bath condo with 1,663 square feet of living space. The floor plan, known as a Sky Loft, is quite rare in the building and only 11 other units of this size exists at Marina Blue. The condo has 10-foot high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, offering breathtaking views of Biscayne Bay, Downtown Miami and the Miami Beach skyline from its vantage point on the 53rd floor. While the view is remarkable, it is the unit itself that really makes it special. The condo was 100% custom built and includes a lot of bells and whistles. The furniture and artwork that you see pictured below is also included in the sales price.
The kitchen includes a large custom island, Gaggenau stainless steel appliances and custom Italian cabinetry by Snaidero. The owner also had a DJ room/office built into the floor plan and is including the turntables and Evolution Entertainment music system with the sale of the condo. Each of the rooms is also wired with an Internet-based security camera system.
In all honesty, given the level of quality of both the furniture and the unit itself, this condo is a steal at its current asking price of $795K. The build-out itself cost at least $150K and I’m sure the replacement cost of the furniture and artwork is north of $100K. (Update: I called to check my estimates and was told that the owner paid roughly $350K total for the build-out, furniture and artwork.) Everything is pretty much brand new given that the owner has used the condo only a few times since it was built-out and furnished. Whoever ends up buying the condo is going to end up with the nicest unit that I have ever seen at Marina Blue.
1100 Millecento, BrickellHouse and myBrickell on the Brink of Selling Out
I realize that I run the risk of sounding like your typical salesman, but it must be said – “This market is hot!”. Over the past nine months in Brickell, three pre-construction condo developments – 1100 Millecento, BrickellHouse and myBrickell – were launched. I was made aware yesterday afternoon that only 20 units remain available for sale amongst these three developments combined! That represents 2.1% of their combined 948 total units. Only two units remain at 1100 Millecento, 8 at BrickellHouse and 10 at myBrickell. The first two projects haven’t even broken grounded yet. If that’s not hot then I don’t know what is. Before anyone starts to chime in with bubble talk, we need to keep in mind that all three pre-construction developments require a very large portion of the purchase price to be paid long before closing. In the case of 1100 Millecento the buyer will have already paid 50% of the purchase price by closing. BrickellHouse and myBrickell are virtually immune from default risk with the buyer required to pay 70% and 80% of the purchase price, respectively, by closing. Like I said – This market is hot!
Introducing Icon Bay – Related Group’s Newest Pre-construction Condo Development
First it was Icon South Beach. Then Icon Brickell. Related Group now looks to launch Icon Bay – a 300-unit, 40-story luxury high-rise along Biscayne Bay at the eastern end of NE 28 Street. Every unit in the building will have private elevator access and will face the water. The world-renowned architectural team Arquitectonica has been contracted to do the design. The interior designer has not yet been announced but it is expected to be someone highly reputable and impressive. A waterfront neighborhood park will also be developed as part of this project. GEO Arquitectonica, the landscape designers behind Museum of Modern Art in Miami, will design the bayfront park. Pricing is in the process of being finalized but given the level of quality, I foresee pricing to be along the lines of Paramount Bay. Letters of intent are now being accepted to reserve your space in line to choose a unit when sales officially begin. Contact us for more information if you have an interest in reserving an Icon Bay condo.
Brickell Neighborhood Tour
We are in the process of revamping our neighborhood pages. It has been a project that I have kept on the back burner for about two years. The new neighborhood pages are geared towards non-locals and others unfamiliar with the various neighborhoods throughout South Florida. My intent is to provide quality content which will allow people to familiarize themselves with the area and get a sense for what each neighborhood has to offer.
One way in which I hope to educate these people is visually. The above video/picture slideshow is one such example. (I suggest changing the quality setting to 1080p HD and switching to full screen mode when viewing the video.) My goal when taking these pictures was to provide those unacquainted with the area the type of scenic tour one would receive if walking the neighborhood by foot. I also included some amazing shots that were taken from a boat that we rented as well as others that were taken from various high-rise buildings throughout Brickell. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and it made me fall in love with Brickell all over again. Brickell is truly a beautiful neighborhood and one which seems to keep getting better with time.
Creating the content for each neighborhood page is very time consuming so we are going to roll out each neighborhood one at a time starting with Brickell. We hope to have the Brickell neighborhood page launched early next week then move on from there. We are also working on a few other website enhancements which should go live later this week. I will discuss those at a later time.
Al Capone’s Former Palm Island House Hits the Market for $9.95M
There is no sure thing but death and taxes – so the saying goes. As it turned out in the end, the two certainties brought about the demise of legendary American gangster, Al Capone – a person who at one time seemed untouchable. When nothing else would stick, the U.S. government finally nabbed the Chicago kingpin on tax evasion charges. He was later tried in court and sentenced to federal prison. Many people erroneously believe that Capone spent his final days locked-up behind bars . The truth, however, is that the mobster was paroled on November 16, 1939 and returned to his home on Palm Island in Miami Beach, Florida where he ultimately died from a series of health issues.
Al Capone purchased the Palm Island estate in 1928 – three years before his prison conviction – for $40,000. He used the waterfront home as an escape from Chicago when the authorities started breathing down his neck. Over the years, the property has had many owners. The current owner acquired the estate in November 2011 for $5.65M and since that time has fully restored it. Yesterday, the Palm Island waterfront mansion hit the market once again with an asking price of $9.95M. That’s gangsta!
Miami Home Prices Increase for Seventh Straight Month
According to a report released earlier today by the Miami Association of Realtors, home prices in Miami posted solid gains last month. The increase marked seven straight months of appreciation for the Miami real estate market. In June, the median sales price of single-family homes in Miami-Dade County increased five percent to $194,250, year-over-year. The condominium market in Miami fared even better. The median sales price last month increased a staggering 34 percent to $160,000 compared to a year earlier.
The report also revealed that all-cash transactions last month represented 65 percent of total closed sales in Miami-Dade County. Cash sales in June accounted for 77 percent of condominium and 46 percent of single-family home closings. Meanwhile, the national average for all-cash transactions moved slightly higher to 29 percent in June. The astounding difference is attributed to the strong presence of international buyers in Miami.
1101 Brickell Has Been Approved; Construction to Start by Year’s End
An 80-story condo development called 1101 Brickell has been approved by the City of Miami and will be spearheaded by Florida East Coast Realty. The announcement was made by President Tibor Hollo in an interview with Miami Today News. Hollo expects construction to begin by year’s end. 1101 Brickell, which will rise 849 feet, will become the tallest building in Miami, a title now held by the Four Seasons Residences. The development will have 724 residential units and is estimated to cost $500M-$600M.
Florida East Coast Realty is the development team behind several unforgettable residential towers in Miami such as Opera Tower, The Club at Brickell Bay, Bay Parc Plaza, Venetia Condo and The Grand. 1101 Brickell will no doubt be just as memorable.
For the second time this year, a condo development in Brickell has broken ground. A ceremony was held this morning at the development site of BrickellHouse to celebrate the start of construction. BrickellHouse will be a 46-story, luxury condo development located at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive, across the street from Jade at Brickell Bay. The amenities will include a rooftop pool on the 46th floor, a luxury health spa and fitness center and a fully-automated robotic parking garage. Prior to breaking ground, BrickellHouse already had over 95 percent of the 374 total units pre-sold. I was told by a sales associate that, as of yesterday, only 15 units remain. The available inventory includes a few penthouses as well as other units located on high floors. BrickellHouse is scheduled for completion in 2014.
