Groundwork
By Helen Hill

Wheeling Into the Urban Lifestyle

Head-turning sights in Miami are common enough in South Beach, but on business-serious Brickell Avenue, they invite a double-take. Which is exactly what the DYL Group, developer of Infinity Loft II at Brickell, intended when it sent three model-types rolling down the street on Segways to hand out brochures. Their mission: To play up the arrival of the live-work-play lifestyle in the 69-story, all-loft office and residential condominium around the corner from Brickell at 1300 S. Miami Ave.

Dressed to suit, the riders wore a combination of business and play gear, two men in formal jackets over gaudy Bermudas, a woman wearing a bikini beneath a business jacket, with newspapers and laptop bags serving as props. Kudos to ad agency Diaz Cooper, which hatched this original marketing tactic to promote Infinity II’s urban tropical lifestyle — and kudos to any buyers who decide to Segway to work.

Where the Buyers Are

Tom Murphy, Avra Jain and Paul Cashman, representing the developers of the über luxurious Regalia condominium at 19505 Collins Ave., in Sunny Isles Beach, are taking their product to market — literally. This week they’re off to Monaco where they’ll mingle with thousands of high-end consumers attending the third annual Monte Carlo Travel Market (MCTM). This event attracts an international jet-set crowd and travel professionals who come to peruse such offerings as yachts, private and luxury spas as well as prestige villas and lodges. The developers plan to get the word out and attract buyers for Regalia, designed by Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica on an oceanfront acre next to Golden Beach. The amenity-rich building’s 40 single-floor units each have 5,574 square feet under air plus a 2,100-square-foot, wraparound balcony. Prices start in the mid-$6 millions.

The market for South Florida condo sales is certainly global these days. Marketing pros need to keep moving to hit the locations and events where they’re likely to find the best buyers. A long list of International Luxury Real Estate Expos includes Park City, Utah, Jan. 19-24 during the Sundance Film Festival; Beverly Hills Feb. 6; Mexico City Feb. 13; London May 15; Paris May 17; and Cannes for the Cannes Film Festival May 19. Then back to the United States to Phoenix, Ariz., June 2 and San Diego, Calif., June 19; then rounding out the summer abroad at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 6.

A Home With a View

With all the negative publicity on the lack of attainable housing in Miami, it’s good to report some positive news. This week Tuscan View, at 670 NW Sixth St. in the Overtown neighborhood, invited a slew of VIPs including Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, District 5 Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones and Barbara Gomez-Rodriguez, director of the city of Miami’s Department of Community Development, together with the new residents, to celebrate the opening of the rental building.

Developed by Massachusetts-based The Gatehouse Companies headed by President David Canepari, in cooperation with BAME Development Corporation of South Florida, Inc., Tuscan View offers 175 rental units for people age 55 and over with low to moderate income. Rents start at $461 per month for one-bedroom, 510-square-foot units, and rise to $627 to $773 for three-bedroom, 992-square-foot units. The building features a fitness center, community room, library/computer room, landscaped grounds and more. The city of Miami provided $1.5 million in CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) funding toward the development. Needless to say, Tuscan View is fully leased with a waiting list.

Condo Carrion!

Not so long ago “vulture” wasn’t a very nice word; in fact my dictionary defines it as “a greedy person seeking to profit from the misfortunes of others” — but now it’s undergone a spin to make it sound more cute than offensive. In fact a company recently trademarked the word into its name. (We won’t dignify it by revealing it.)

The recent real estate market has brought the wannabe birds of prey into the open, telling how people can profit in the current “clean-up process of stabilizing the housing market!”

Such companies and funds are looking for speculators who want to unload their real estate “investments,” usually preconstruction condos, even if it means losing money because holding on in a falling market is not an option. Public records and private research helps identify opportunities in South Florida and matches them with bargain-hunting buyers. OK, so maybe it’s not so different from the established practice of picking up discounted homes in foreclosure, but somehow the language is less tasty.

Hello to Preconstruction Syndication

BridgePoint Ventures, LLC, of Fort Lauderdale follows a different, more polished format. It offers preconstruction syndication in which developers and real estate purchasers can capitalize on current market conditions.

Basically the company works with developers in purchasing units in bulk so that, instead of attempting to market the units over the course of two years, or having to sell the project units at a loss, developers can fulfill the number of units needed to secure a construction loan right away. Then the units are sold off to individual buyers in a kind of wholesale to retail operation. (Note: Developers must be willing to meet certain terms.)

According to Eric Jafari of BridgePoint Ventures: “By leveraging relationships and using volume purchasing, the company is able to offer its joint venture partners preconstruction contracts with favorable terms seldom available to the general public.”

Correction:

A recent item about The Tides South Beach should have stated that condo-hotel units in the luxury development start at $840,000.

Coming Up:

Thursday, Jan. 25 — 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

“2007 South Florida Economic & Development Outlook Program” presented by ULI-The Urban Land Institute, Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council.

Sessions on various aspects of the real estate market, including a developer panel on residential sectors. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, One Seminole Way, Hollywood.

Continental breakfast and lunch included. For full details on program and registration fees visit www.seflorida.uli.org or call 1-800-321-5011 to register. For more information call 954-783-9504.

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.