Clean City, Pop-Up Communities

By Helen Hill

Playas Macao Resort and Residences in the Dominican Republic shows the resort market is moving offshore.

The cleanest city in the nation!

We just love the lists that rank Miami among the hosts. This week we can proclaim that the city of Miami has been ranked number one on the Forbes.com list of America’s Cleanest Cities, topping Seattle (ranked 2), Portland (3) and Orlando (4). Of the top 10 rankings, four are in Florida.

We’re talking literal clean here (dirty politics notwithstanding), as Forbes.com compiled the list based on air and water quality, clean streets and investments in solid waste management and brownfield remediation. According to the article, a reputation for clean air, water and streets is one of the factors that influences people’s choice of city to move to. Miami’s population has increased by 11.5 percent this decade. So now we know why!

Play at the Playas

New resort-style developments may be slowing down locally, but offshore they’re still going strong. International developer North Star LLC is breaking ground this month on Playas Macao Resort and Residences in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic, with completion scheduled for early 2010. Faces Architecture, which designed Chanel’s worldwide headquarters in Paris and the original Cap Cana resort master plan in the Dominican Republic, has designed Playas Macao as an innovative, luxury resort spanning 35 acres along the Punta Cana coast. It will feature a boutique hotel with 32 bungalow-style rooms, 44 villas and 298 condominiums with all the expected amenities. Prices range from the low $200s to high $500s. Douglas Elliman Florida, an international, full-service real estate brokerage firm based in Miami Beach, is handling sales for the project. According to Sales Director Christian Kawas, Playas Macao appeals to people looking for a paradise setting, retirees and savvy investors. He notes that Dominican Republic real estate offers tax advantages, value and high quality of life.

Buying a share of the good times

Fractional ownership is the fastest-growing segment of the secondary home ownership market, with some 267 fractional ownership clubs currently around the world. The upscale concept (nothing like — and never mentioned in the same breath as — timeshare) sells ownership rights to several properties for an allotted period. Reportedly A-listers such as Bill Gates have bought fractional ownership in some of the world’s most exclusive resorts.

Earlier this month, members of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches learned about fractional ownership and the financial benefits of purchasing fractional homes at a RAMB educational series forum hosted by Island Gardens. The Residences at Island Gardens will be sold on a fractional interest basis with eight fractions per residence. The units, located on the upper floors of the Shangri-La Hotel, Miami, will range from approximately 850 to 3,700 square feet plus 300- to 1,200-square-foot terraces, and will feature fully furnished interiors by Piero Lissoni. In addition to all the amenities of the Shangri-La Hotel, the Residences will have butler service, daily housekeeping, pre-arrival shopping, storage for personal belongings while not in residence, chauffeur service on arrival and departure, and dedicated concierge services.

Pop-up community

The Miami Design District has come a long way in the past decade, from a forlorn, even decaying, area into one of Miami’s vibrant business and creative areas. Now Luminaire X, an experimental “neighborhood within a neighborhood,” offers an interactive space where visitors can celebrate good design at Luminaire, enjoy beverages in Lavazza coffee bar, browse the latest literature in Books & Books, shop for clothes at BASE, check new music or simply hang out in the Wi-Fi-accessible Bang & Olufsen Video Lounge. Regular events, like film screenings, discussion groups and book signings, add to the stimulating mix of a pop-up community. Some of the stores involved feature distinctive merchandise at special prices for the event. Find the community on the corner of Northeast 41st Street and Northeast Second Avenue. Open through April 30, Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and every second Saturday 6 to 9 p.m. with special evening programs to be announced. Check details at www.luminairex.com.

Original dress

Creativity reigns when architects turn their talents to fashion. A couple of weeks ago, we reported on a garment made from ceiling tiles; now we show a dress dreamed up from upholstery fabric and furniture hardware. The dress, which looks like a blossoming flower, won the "Most Innovative” award for the Miami office of architectural firm ADD Inc., at the recent International Interior Design Association DM08 fashion show at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

Buzz

Miami Beach continues to attract name restaurants and clubs. Latest signers-on adding to the W South Beach cool factor are Nicola Siervo and Karim Masri (of Mokaï fame), and the Opium Group, which will run the Wall nightclub and Grove Bar, an outdoor lounge. Mr. Chow, already on board as one of the property’s signature restaurants, will be joined by New York-based Serafina Restaurant, described as a high-end pizza bistro, in its first location outside New York. Rounding out the hedonistic amenities is a Bliss Spa and Sweat (a name to remember) as the fitness facility. W South Beach Hotel & Residences, at 2201 Collins Ave., is due to top off this June and be completed in spring 2009. Even in the current market, nearly 80 percent of the units have been sold to date at prices ranging from the mid-$700s to $8 million.

Kudos To…

Daniel Catalfumo, a major South Florida construction figure whose company, CatalfumoConstruction LLC., is celebrating 30 years in business. The Palm Beach Gardens-based company has constructed more than 40 million square feet of projects covering just about every category of real estate and has recently completed a major condominium resort on Singer Island, as well as some big projects along the PGA Corridor in Palm Beach County. In Miami-Dade, Catalfumo’s south division, Seawood Builders, constructed two of Aventura’s important new developments: Aventura Marina’s 19-story tower with 126 units and a 33-story tower with 252 units, followed by the Atrium at Aventura, two 14-story towers with 192 units on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Coming up

Friday, April 4, 7 p.m.: Fourth in the series of monthly lecture series sponsored by Old Spanish Village, the mixed-use development project of Ponce Circle Developers, LLC. Historian Arva Moore Parks, guest curator for the Preview Exhibition of the Coral Gables Museum, will speak on “The Fabulous Finks,” an extraordinarily talented family of artists, intellectuals, architects and writers, and their influence on the development of Coral Gables. Admission is free, but reservations are required. Location: 2901 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables; 305-444-1717.

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