Groundwork
By Helen Hill

FAIRY TALE WEDDING

A castle in Cartagena, Colombia, complete with guards in traditional uniform, was the fairy-tale setting for the wedding of Miami condo developer Inigo Ardid, VP of Key International, developer of The Ivy and Mint; and Liliana Paez, Fortune International sales director for the two projects. After the couple began dating, Liliana convinced Inigo that his projects could be much more successful in much less time if he employed an outside sales and marketing organization. He listened, and under Liliana’s direction, condo units in The Ivy and Mint sold out in near-record time.

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT

Wendy Cohen, guest; Abraham Cohen, principal of Regalia Holdings; and Avra Jain, principal of Regalia Holdings

The development team of Regalia, a luxury condominium planned for Sunny Isles Beach, hosted a party at a Design District gallery during Art Basel Miami Beach to unveil an unexpected art installation — a 25-foot-high, cured Styrofoam and white epoxy sculpture depicting Regalia’s 42-story building. The sculpture centerpiece was bathed in light. Also on display was other artwork including a triptych of a Plexiglas-encased “water walls” piece with a sand beach at its base, encased in golden bricks, by Regalia principal Avra Jain. Jain was also responsible for a 20-foot-tall mobile hung from a crane outside the warehouse and visible from I-395. Architecture firm Arquitectonica, which designed Regalia, commissioned Jacob Knight to prepare an artistic rendering of the condo.    

The project at 19505 Collins Ave., on the cusp of Golden Beach, is being developed by Regalia Holdings with principals Jain, Paul Cashman Murphy, Abraham Cohen, Jerry Kaufman and Susanne Bak Mortensen. The 40 units, one to a floor, will have flexible floor plans of 5,574 square feet under air plus 2,100-square-foot balconies with views of the ocean and Intracoastal Waterway.

Amenities include all the expected – pool, fitness center, spa, yoga room, library, business center, billiard room and media center. Sales start this month, with construction planned for June 2007 and completion in late 2008. Prices start just north of $6 million.

‘THE ART OF PINK RUBBISH'

Eric Silverman, partner in the Vagabond Hotel at 7301 Biscayne Blvd., and Guido Porto, local architect and president of Porto Architecture + Design, hosted a cocktail party during Art Basel Miami Beach at the landmark MiMo (1950s Miami Modern)-designed Vagabond to introduce The Urban Intervention Show. The exhibit of two installations of urban sculptures and paintings by Porto portrays the rebirth of Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard corridor by representing the possibilities of allowing historic buildings to set forward and interact in the current urban environment. “The Pink Rubbish” installation is designed to reflect the current Boulevard construction with 12 pink, 10-foot-high shapes towering over a construction site complete with flashing lights, concrete and barricades. The Urban Intervention Show also features 40 rooms of interior design elements reflecting the golden era of MiMo design. The exhibits are on display through Jan. 15, 2007; collections and fragments of the collections are available for sale.

Miami in Vogue —  for Men!

Take a luxury development in South Beach, add a duo of hosts — developer Jorge Perez of the Related Group and William Li, publisher of Men’s Vogue — and mix in 250 predominantly male guests including many of New York’s fashion elite who flew in for the event. The result: a party, fueled with Chopin Vodka martinis, that showed off the Viceroy South Beach Sales Center and offered guests VIP access to reservations on residences before sales open to the public. The event also featured a collection of fine goods from the Men’s Vogue pages including a hand-crafted Hinckley yacht, more than a million dollars worth of new items from Piaget’s winter collection, and Valentino suits … but of course!

The Art of Capturing Incentives

With dread taxes such a hot topic, a company that specializes in tax recovery and/or impact fee mitigation for the real estate industry is being kept very busy. Tampa-based DLR Consulting Group, with offices in Miami and New York, helps developers navigate the complexities of federal, state and local programs for construction projects as well as other businesses. The company identifies and implements tax refund and credit strategies, then works with the governmental agencies to obtain the maximum cash and credit incentives available.

For example, DLR can tap into the benefits of the Florida Enterprise Zone program and apply the provisions for qualifying developers to get back most of the sales tax imposed on construction materials, such as concrete, steel, lumber, windows and doors. The benefits can apply to all types of construction projects: commercial, residential, mixed-use — both new and rehabbed structures. Significant benefits can also apply to the creation of jobs in redevelopment areas throughout Florida. DLR’s fee is contingent on the success of the credits or refunds it gets for clients. The company says it has saved/recovered approximately $20 million for clients in the past four years including recent success for Hyperion, developer of Marina Blue in downtown Miami. Exact amounts were not revealed, but indications are it was well worth the effort!

Kudos

To: Tibor Hollo, president of Florida East Coast Realty, Inc., on receiving The New American Award from Catholic Charities Legal Services and the Archdiocese of Miami. Hollo, who arrived in the United States from Hungary 58 years ago with a degree in architectural engineering, was recognized for his contributions to the Miami skyline as well as his long-standing philanthropic support of more than 40 local civic, fraternal and religious organizations. Hollo was a pioneer developer in the original Omni area, now part of the Arts District, just north of downtown Miami. As president of FECR, he has developed more than 55 million square feet of residential, industrial, governmental and commercial space in Miami, including Rivergate Plaza, the first high-rise in the Brickell area; Opera Tower; 2020 Ponce; Bay Parc Plaza and The Club at Brickell Bay, and is currently developing Villa Magna, a luxury 787-unit condominium, on the last remaining bayfront parcel in the Brickell area.

To: Tom Murphy Jr., chairman and CEO of Coastal Construction Group, for receiving the Grand Award in the 2006 Builder’s Choice Competition. The national award from Builder’s Magazine recognized the company’s Coastal Homes division in the Attached/Townhouse category for building Aqua Island Homes, developer Craig Robins’ innovative multifamily community in Miami Beach.

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.