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Miami Mayor Manny A. Diaz and Jacobo
Cababie, CEO of CABI Developers, in front of mahogany tree
and the topped-off tower of the Everglades on the Bay. |
After all the partying, promotion and possibilities comes
the fallout in the Miami condo market — the foreclosure
rankings. The list is bad news for the hapless investors who
bought into the hype and excitement as new or converted
buildings were launched, yet good news for deal hunters looking
to buy into basically good properties with a lot of product to
unload.
According to a
new report from Condo Vultures LLC, using data from
Miami-Dade and Broward counties, three Brickell Avenue towers
account for 37 percent of foreclosure actions filed in the top
10 buildings in South Florida during the first three quarters of
2007. Those three Brickell towers account for more than $113
million in loans and fees owed to the lenders and condo
associations that are pursuing foreclosure. The dollar figure
represents 66 percent of the $171 million in default in South
Florida’s top 10 foreclosure buildings.
The Club at
Brickell,
with 54 foreclosures, has the most of any building in Miami-Dade
and Broward counties. The Vue at Brickell, a condo
conversion, has 49 foreclosure actions, and Jade at Brickell,
a bayfront luxury building that had the highest number of
foreclosures at the end of the second quarter, now ranks fourth
with 42 actions.
“Given that at
least another 12,000 units are scheduled to be delivered in the
area within the next six months, I would expect the Brickell
Avenue and nearby downtown Miami area to be a focal point for
discount buyers for future quarters,” said Condo Vultures
principal Peter Zalewski.
Last week
downtown Miami moved a step closer to becoming the dream city
where people sleep, work and play. Mayor Manny Diaz, along with
Cabi Developers, Miami architectural firm Fullerton
Diaz and the Marka-Tech Associates sales team,
celebrated a windy “topping out” of the new mixed-use
Everglades on the Bay at 244 Biscayne Blvd., across from
Bayfront Park and Bayside Marketplace.
Foregoing the
usual pine or palm, the developers decked out a mahogany tree,
native to the Everglades, with a green ribbon signed by guests
and hoisted it onto the building’s roof. The contemporary,
49-story twin towers replace the old Everglades hotel, which was
imploded two years ago. Everglades on the Bay will have 849
residential condos and 58,000 square feet of ground-floor
retail. Pop artist Romero Britto created the overall
theme for the property, and some of his original artworks will
be permanently displayed in the lobby.
Farther north
in the Biscayne corridor between Morningside and Belle Meade,
the five-story IOS on the Bay enters its final sales
phase before its opening next month. Set on an acre of land at
747 N.E. 61st St., with 175 feet facing the bay and luxury
amenities, the 45-unit building has 39 units under contract with
buyers. Majestic Properties is the exclusive sales agent
for the 700- to 2,000-square-foot units, priced from the high
$400,000s to $1 million.
Miami’s Class A
office market is gaining attention and prices to match in a
market that currently boasts respectable occupancy levels.
An office
building at 999 Brickell Ave. was sold recently for $28.5
million by a private Germany-based investment group that had
bought the building in 1986 for $20.5 million. According to
county property records, the 12-story building, which extends to
Brickell Bay Drive, has a total area of 167,573 square feet. The
buyer, Boston-based Congress Group, also acquired the
development rights for potential office, residential or hotel
use on the extended site.
The
SunTrust
International Center,
a landmark Class A office building at 1 S.E. Third Ave. in the
center of downtown Miami, is up for sale. Owner Stiles
Capital Partners retained Jones Lang LaSalle, led by
managing directors Jeff Morris (Orlando office) and
Jubeen Vaghefi (Miami office), to market the 31-story,
420,080-square-foot marble and glass tower at the corner of
Flagler Street and Southeast Third Avenue. The building is
currently 93 percent leased with rents ranging up to the high
$30,000s. Key tenants include SunTrust Bank, Bank of America,
Daily Business Review, Salomon Smith Barney and legal firm
Akerman Senterfitt, which is the building’s largest tenant,
occupying approximately 125,000 square feet. Besides views of
Biscayne Bay and the city of Miami, the building features
on-site amenities such as a car wash, full-service dry cleaning,
24-hour security, parking garage, deli and pharmacy. The
property, built in 1973, was fully renovated in 2002. The asking
price for the SunTrust International Center has not been
disclosed, but industry sources estimate it at $160 million
($375 a square foot).
Earlier this
year, the Jones Lang LaSalle team of Morris and Vaghefi, sold
the
Courvoisier Center
on Brickell Key for $150 million.
It sounds like
déjà vu of the bad old days when real estate deals were
sweetened with sets of wheels: At Windmill Reserve in
Weston, buyers of new estate homes are offered two sets of keys
— one to a new mansion, the other to a new Mercedes C-Class,
courtesy of the developer. The luxe homes, move-in ready, are on
half-acre to one-acre lots. They range from 6,299
air-conditioned square feet priced at $2.99 million to 9,386 a/c
square feet for $5.1 million.
The Miami Beach
Historical Association
presents a reading, book signing and discussion by Laura
Cerwinske, author of South Beach Style at 6:30
p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce
Visitor Center, 1920 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach. The book,
described as “compact and color-drenched,” features 400 pages of
architecture, interiors, gardens and design that celebrate the
city’s subtropical urbanism. The event is free and open to the
public. For reservations, call 305-672-1270.
The deadline
for entries in the 14th Annual International Photography
Competition of the Miami Chapter of the American Institute of
Architects (AIA
Miami)
is Thursday, Oct. 25. Photographs, in color and black-and-white
categories, may be taken anywhere, but must have an
architectural theme or contain some element of the built
environment. The best overall entry will win a $1,000 cash
prize; other winners each will be awarded $250. Winning entries
will be displayed at the 2007 AIA Miami International
Architecture Photography Exhibition at the University of Miami
School of Architecture gallery in Coral Gables during
Celebrate Architecture in November. There is a nonrefundable
entry fee. Find entry forms and information on the AIA Miami Web
site,
www.aiamiami.com.
Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to
hhill@miamisunpost.com.
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