Groundwork
By Helen Hill

Digging in

Hooray! At last a hard hats and shovel picture to show that groundbreaking lives as a Miami art form. Following a record-breaking four-week sellout, Fortune International Founder and President Edgardo Defortuna, Key International VP Inigo Ardid and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz dug in to mark the official start of Mint the newest tower down by the Miami River. Mint’s 53-story tower, sister project to sold-out Ivy in the gated 13.5-acre River Front community at 92 SW Third St. and South Miami Avenue, is designed for a luxury urban lifestyle. Amenities include two pools, tennis courts, a private marina, a restaurant and direct access to the 5.5-mile RiverWalk, and all within walking distance of downtown and the Brickell business area.

Buying In

It’s good to report that condo buyers are not the vanishing species so frequently hyped by the big, bad media. While investors have mainly fled, end-users are still out there shopping for shelter. At the Flamingo South Beach on West Avenue, the developers announced that sales in the South Tower have topped the 85 percent mark and 370 of those units have completed closings with the remaining 113 contracts expected to close within the next three weeks.

According to developer Michael Lerner of MCZ/Centrum more than half the sales of units have been to Miami-area locals, especially “30-something” business execs. Buyers from the Northeast, looking for weekend getaways, are also noticeable in the Floridian sales office.

Top-Drawer Houses Still Moving

Indeed, the Miami Beach real estate market is not all doom and gloom, especially for luxury waterfront single- family homes that appeal to end-users. Just sold for a record $788 per square foot is a tear-down property at 262 Coconut Lane on Palm Island. The house was originally listed at $3.4 million a year ago and then reduced to $2.9 million before closing at $2.6 million. A 6,000-square-foot home can replace the current 1963-vintage 3,299-square-foot single-story house on a 7,000-square-foot lot with 50 feet on the water, a dock and views to downtown Miami. Allan Kleer, a Realtor-Associate with Fortune International Realty on Miami Beach, was the selling agent.

Among new listings for sale is 4220 North Bay Road, built in 2003 in Mizner-inspired Mediterranean style. The home’s 8,666 square feet has five bedrooms, seven full baths plus two half baths, a family/media room, an office and a four-car garage. Nice touches include 13-foot-high, cypress wood ceilings, Keystone fireplace and a wine room. There’s a dock, infinity-edge pool, whirlpool and summer kitchen on the 17,800-square-foot lot, which offers prime wide water views across the Bay. According to listing agent Kevin Tomlinson of EWM, Miami Beach, $11.9 million is a fair asking price for a piece of prime North Bay Road real estate with 100 feet on the water.

A little further north, prices really rock for exclusive Indian Creek Island estates, which ring the island between the golf course and the Bay.

The asking price for singer Julio Iglesias’ four- acre estate on Indian Creek Island is $25 million. The eight-bedroom home has 10,000-plus square feet of living space, entertainment areas and staff quarters. Features include detailed wood and stone work, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, a wine cellar and two pools amid lushly landscaped gardens. Maris Zilant, a broker associate at Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Miami Beach is the listing agent.

A Mediterranean-style home at 40 Indian Creek Drive, built in 1991 and fully renovated in 2006, is listed for $14.9 million. Loaded with marble or hardwood floors, Venetian stucco walls, fine cabinetry and custom everything, the 7,800-square-foot home has seven-bedrooms, eight full and two half-baths and sits on landscaped grounds of 53,700 square feet with 118 feet of water and a yacht-sized dock. The house was the setting for a lively gathering last Saturday night when listing agent Anolan Dragitsch of Sol Sotheby’s International Realty, Brickell Avenue office, introduced the premier of her TV program The Best of South Florida. With rose petals on the red carpet, flowing champagne, rumors of VIP sightings and a gaggle of sharply uniformed police on duty, it looked more like Hollywood than refined Miami. Is this the new standard for selling luxe homes here?

Home Education

A new angle on planning for the future: Coscan Homes is offering buyers of townhomes in their new Orchid Grove community in Pompano Beach a College Tuition Incentive Program at closing. Coscan will fund a four-year college education through the “Florida Pre-Paid College Plan” for one child or grandchild of a buyer. The program runs until May 1, 2007. Coscan Homes is known for supporting educational programs, especially scholarships to the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University for qualifying students in need of financial help who are seeking a career in construction management. Last year Coscan created “The Girl Friend’s Scholarship”, a four-year college scholarship given to at-risk high school senior girls through the Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program.

Buzz

R. Donahue Peebles has a lot going on these days. Now that Miami Beach’s Bath Club is all but complete and sold out, the developer is going further afield. Don Peebles’ only Florida project is planned for a five-acre site in Marathon in the Florida Keys while in San Francisco, Peebles, now chairman and CEO of The Peebles Corporation, is developing two ultra-luxe projects, with the cheapest units going for north of $1 million. He is reported to be keeping his Coral Gables estate but is also looking for a home in San Francisco’s Bay Area and his company is opening an office in the city.

What’s more, Peebles is joining the published tycoon ranks with a deal with John Wiley & Sons of NYC, (publishers of two of Donald Trump’s best-sellers.) His book, The Peebles Principles, is due out in April 2007.

Helen Hill is a freelance writer specializing in real estate and lifestyle topics.

Please send news items on Miami-Dade real estate to hhill@miamisunpost.com.