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Ian and Ingrid have a combined real estate experience of 20 years and are experts in their field. Both have lived in Miami since 1990 are very familiar with all neighborhoods in the city. Whether you are looking for a waterfront home on one of our many islands, a beach-front condo, an art deco studio, or investment property, we pride ourselves in connecting you with your own piece of paradise.

We love what we do and it shows in our longevity and consistent results. We are honest, trustworthy, and reliable. We are expert negotiators and versed in all aspects of the real estate deal. How can we help you?
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Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a six-bedroom, six-bathroom single-family home asking $3.4 million. The 4,007-square-foot home is located at 601 Harbor Drive in Key Biscayne. It features a courtyard, two-car garage, carport and Italian kitchen. Haimar Hernaiz of Recall Property Group has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, as well as Monroe County that are newly listed. Listings [more]
Who will win Miami Beach convention center bid?
Two developer teams are facing off to win Miami Beach’s biggest public prize in a century, and one of the most buzzed-about urban renewal projects in the U.S. today – the redevelopment of the city’s convention center and a 52-acre parcel of city-owned land. Both projects envision condos, parks, cultural space, retail and a hotel, in addition to upgrading the convention center and adjacent ballroom. The lucky winner is expected to be announced July 17. [more]
Applications to build single-family homes hit U.S. 5-year high
From the New York site: Applications to build single-family homes reached a five-year high nationally last month, according to Department of Commerce data cited by Bloomberg News. The number of applications to build single-family homes rose 1.3 percent to a 622,000 per month annualized rate, the most dramatic month-over-month rise since May 2008. Construction starts on U.S. homes also saw an increase of 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 914,000, the Commerce Department announced. [more]
Citibank lends nearly $12M for West Palm Beach residential building
Citibank is lending $11.8 million for the construction of a seven-story West Palm Beach residential building, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The mortgage from the bank allowed Evernia Place Partners to start building 85 units at 627 Evernia Street. The John F. Weir-led developer paid a total of $1.7 million for the property over two transactions in April and May. Kaufman Lynn Construction, based in Boca Raton, is serving as the general contractor. Citibank’s [more]
Sales fly at Argentine real estate giant’s U.S. debut
UPDATED, 5:30 p.m., June 18: Oceana Key Biscayne, the first U.S. development of Argentine real estate mogul and art collector Eduardo Costantini, is more than 90-percent sold-out pre-construction, leaving only 1 penthouse and 6 villas on the market 10 months after sales opened, The Real Deal has learned. Oceana, the first new development in Key Biscyane in nearly 13 years, is scheduled to receive its final touches in July. When completed in 2014, the Bernardo [more]
Miami benefits from Latin America’s rising crime
South Florida is benefiting from a rise in violent crime in Latin America, WLRN reported. While the region enjoys one of the world’s fastest rates of economic growth, it is simultaneously burdened with one of the worst waves of violent crime in its history, the public radio station reported. Enter Miami. The city and surrounding area’s shopping centers, casinos, hospitality sector and condo developers have benefited not only from Latin America’s burgeoning wealth but also [more]
Terranova, Acadia buy retail trio on Lincoln Rd.
Terranova Corp. and Acadia Realty Trust obtained a $84 million loan from Bank of America for a trio of retail buildings on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Daily Business Review reported. Terranova and Acadia purchased the buildings at 719, 801 and 826 Lincoln Road for $139 million last year. The buildings are fully leased, according to Terranova. Tenants include Aldo, Fossil, Kiehls, Steve Madden and Solstice. The loan represents the “perfect intersection of great real [more]
Lil Wayne pays $3.4M judgment to save crib
Rapper Lil Wayne paid off a $3.4 million judgment against him, saving his Miami Beach mansion from seizure, GossipExtra reported, citing paperwork filed to Miami-Dade County. Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter) can keep his $11.6 million mansion on La Gorce Island, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Miami Beach, by responding to the judgment. Back in November, a Los Angeles jury found that Lil Wayne had deprived producer Quincy Jones III of potential profits [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Bal Harbour Shops founder takes show to Brickell 2. Demand draws Related to affordable housing 3. Former Al Capone Palm Island estate sells for $7.4M [more]
Today’s priciest listing: $4.9M
Today’s priciest new listing is a four-bedroom, four-bathroom single-family home asking $4.9 million. The 7,129-square-foot home is located at 10315 Sabal Palm Avenue in Coral Gables. It features a Spanish-aged barrel tile roof, high ceilings, a marble fireplace, a wet bar, pool, rose garden and a split bedroom plan with room to expand. Christine Stiphany of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas [more]
Broward developers find new ways to land projects
Palm Beach County appears to have it easy when it comes to raw, available land at affordable prices. Elsewhere in South Florida however – in Broward for example – developers have to put extra effort into landing multi-acre projects, the Sun Sentinel reported. It helps focus the Alliance’s economic development efforts that prioritize high-tech, high-wage jobs, Bob Swindell of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance told the Sun Sentinel. The Alliance is in talks with an [more]
Bank of America accused of lying to homeowners
A Boynton Beach resident is among the plaintiffs in a multi-district lawsuit alleging that Bank of America willingly hindered modifications requested by borrowers through the federal Home Affordable Modification Program, the Palm Beach Post reported. In her lawsuit, Shari Goldman said she completed a trial loan modification that reduced her monthly payment by $390. She continued to pay the same amount, but six months later, was denied a permanent modification and was told she owed [more]
Modest yearly gain for Miami Beach’s lux homes and condos, broker report says
The sales prices of single-family homes and condominium units in Miami Beach’s luxury real estate market rose at a steady clip from a year ago, according to a report by Miami-based Douglas Elliman broker Arno de Vos. From June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, 803 condos and 291 single-family homes sold in Miami Beach’s luxury residential market, which de Vos defines as homes valued at $500,000 and higher. The average sales price of a [more]
South Florida real estate ‘now in the Viagra cycle’: VIDEO
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TRD’s spring panel in Aventura, Fla., sprung a lively conversation among South Florida’s top developers about the humming state of the market and lingering concerns from the last bust. We were lucky enough to bring onstage Carlos Rosso of the Related Group; developer Avra Jain; Gil Dezer of Dezer Development; Kevin Maloney of New York-based Property Markets Group and Eric Trump of Trump Development. Click here to see the video and more.
Former Al Capone Palm Island estate sells for $7.4M
Al Capone’s former Palm Island mansion sold for $7.43 million, according to the sale’s Miami-based broker team, The Jills. The house, at 93 Palm Island, is said to be where Capone allegedly planned the St. Valentine’s Day massacre and died of syphilis years later. The estate, which the gangster reportedly purchased for $40,000 in 1928, boasts a private beach area on 100 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage, a spacious swimming pool and cabana area and [more]
Ohio resident accused of defrauding businessman through phony South Florida real estate scheme
Federal investigators allege a Pakistani native from Ohio living large in Miami Beach bilked a Washington, D.C.-area businessman of about $10 million over the course of two years, the Miami Herald reported. Haider Zafar, a legal U.S. resident, spent the money on luxury cars, diamond jewelry and clubbing in South Beach, the Herald reported, citing a criminal complaint filed in late May. Zafar, 35, is locked up in Ohio as a federal grand jury awaits [more]
Demand draws Related to affordable housing
Housing shortages are pushing Miami-based developer Related Group deeper into Section 8 and affordable housing, principal and co-founder Jorge Pérez told The Real Deal at the sandy, future site of IconBay in Miami’s Edgewater. “It’s partly diversification – we’re looking to not put all our eggs in one basket into condominiums which happened the last boom,” he said. “It’s partly demand.” Five years after South Florida’s housing market dropped out, crippling Related and other Miami-based developers [more]
Top stories
Top stories over the weekend on The Real Deal: 1. Bal Harbour Shops founder takes show to Brickell 2. Real estate consultant sounds condo warning 3. Rosie O’Donnell says goodbye to Star Island [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium asking $14.5 million. The 3,833-square-foot ocean-facing apartment is located atop the Ritz-Carlton at 1 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale The apartment boasts a 4,000-square-foot balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, a putting green and a theater room. Dan Teixeira of Realty Marketing International has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and [more]
Change Capital leases HQ space at 600 Brickell
International investment firm Change Capital Inc. has leased 14,172 square feet at Miami’s newest office tower, Brickell World Plaza at 600 Brickell Ave., for its new corporate headquarters, The Real Deal has learned. Other tenants include banking giant Northern Trust, law firm Hogan Lovells, Crédit Agricole Private Banking Miami, Boston Consulting Group, New York-based commercial and construction mortgage lender Doral Money Inc., and global mediation and arbitration service provider JAMS. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Glenn H. [more]
Former Delray Beach city commish sentenced to seven years in prison for real estate fraud
A Palm Beach County judge sentenced former Delray Beach City Commissioner Charlotte Durante to seven years in prison for first-degree felony charges of fraud and money laundering, the Sun Sentinel reported. The sentence was significantly softer than the 20-year minimum state guidelines for such charges, but Circuit Judge Charles Burton said he couldn’t bring himself to impose such a stiff sentence on Durante after hearing of her brain tumor. “I’m not prepared to sentence Charlotte [more]
Aria buys Collins Ave. apt. complex for $5M
Aria Development Group has acquired a 7,310-square-foot, two-story residential apartment building for $5 million at 825 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach that it plans to convert into a flagship store, The Real Deal has learned. Aria principals Joshua Benaim, Tim Gordon and David Arditi, in partnership with Wexford Capital and 13th Floor Investments, plan to raze the building and replace it with a Class-A, 10,000-square-foot-plus retail for a high-fashion tenant. Aria, which Arditi told TRD [more]
Chris Bosh’s wife puts kibosh on moving talk
Miami Heat center Chris Bosh’s wife has firmly put an end to speculation that the couple would move out of their North Bay Road home, the Sun Sentinel reported. Adrienne Bosh’s remarks follow the basketball star’s announcement that he would look to put the 12,368-square-foot home on the market. Before facing the San Antonio Spurs in game four of the NBA Finals, Bosh told the Sun Sentinel the decision was due to his wife expecting [more]
Bal Harbour Shops founder takes show to Brickell
At the age of 94, Stanley Whitman could reinvent luxury retail – again. Growing up during the Depression, Whitman, the owner and founder of Bal Harbour Shops, learned a precept he continues to live by: luxury is an inelastic good. The shopping center north of Miami Beach, which opened in 1965, was named last year the world’s most productive shopping center, measured by sales per square foot, on the planet. “I brought the Fifth Avenue [more]
Rosie O’Donnell says goodbye to Star Island
Rosie O’Donnell has sold her Star Island mansion for $16.5 million, $3 million below the original asking price, the New York Post reported. “Rosie sold the Star Island home because she was hardly getting down there with her kids’ busy schedules,” an unnamed source reportedly told the Post. O’Donnell, who has five children including a five-month-old baby, bought the property at 43 Star Island Drive in 1999 for $6.75 million from the Ethiopian Zion Coptic [more]
SoFla pushes ahead with beachfront building despite rising ocean level
South Floridians and New Yorkers refuse to stop building beachfront homes even though the ocean is rising rises, the Economist reported. Fort Lauderdale is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, which swept through South Florida before heading north, the magazine said. The city is building a new sea wall, mending the highway and bolstering its eroded beaches with sand from an inland mine in central Florida, the magazine said. But South Florida’s fast-growing population coupled with [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Real estate consultant sounds condo warning 2. Developer: Miami ‘most attractive’ to foreigners 3. Tibor Hollo submits plans for mega Miami space [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a five-bedroom, six-bathroom single-family home asking $3.695 million. The 5,700-square-foot gated home is located at 3100 North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. It features a new roof, new flooring, separate guest house, pool, spa and a dock. James McCann of the Corcoran Group Palm Beach has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, [more]
Boynton Beach shopping center finds a buyer
The Quantum Village shopping center in Boynton Beach has been sold to an Illinois-based rental management company RMS Properties, according to a release from Stiles Realty, which represented the owner BBX Capital Corporation. Stiles Realty represented BBX Capital in the deal for the 93,144-square foot Publix-anchored property located at 1005 West Gateway Boulevard. The buyer acquired a leasehold interest only, with a 33-year term, Stiles said. The sales amount was not released. The shopping center, [more]
Commercial property owners to raise funds to revitalize Miami’s Wynwood area
Commercial property owners in Miami’s emerging Wynwood neighborhood have formed a fundraising initiative to keep the streets clean and safe, the Miami Herald reported. Business and parcel owners voted by a 65-percent margin last week to form the Wynwood Business Improvement District, allowing for the levy and collection of a special assessment for the next decade within the arts community. It is expected to generate about $700,000 in the first year, the Herald said. The [more]
Tibor Hollo submits plans for mega Miami space
Miami mega-developer Tibor Hollo is thinking big for his 2.5 acre bay front site at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, exMiami reported. Hollo recently submitted plans to build 1,208 residential units on the site, along with 20,050 square feet of retail space and a 14,450-square-foot restaurant, according to exMiami. The Villa Magna site, half owned by Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty and New York-based Corigin, was put on the market in October 2012 but taken off [more]
$42M Palm Beach mansion sale bails out developer
The $42 million sale of a mansion on “Billionaires Row” in Palm Beach resolves a bankruptcy case tied to luxury home developer Dan Swanson, the Daily Business Review reported. A bankruptcy judge closed the case of 1220 South Ocean Boulevard LLC. The company, managed by Swanson, filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy last September, citing $41.5 million in debt, the Review said. Swanson, of Addison Development, originally put the home on the market in September [more]
South Florida-based Beacon picks up properties in U.S. ‘pockets of opportunity’
In six months Beacon Investment Properties has spent half a billion dollars acquiring class A office space in U.S. “pockets of opportunity,” the Hallandale, Fla.-based company told The Real Deal. For now, these “pockets” may be tapped out in South Florida. Beacon’s latest acquisition streak netted it 3.1 million square feet in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Minneapolis. Beacon last acquired Florida property in 2010. Its active portfolio includes Golden Glades Office Park in Miami Gardens, The [more]
Florida again tops nation in foreclosures
Florida resumed its reign at the top of the nation’s foreclosure rankings in May, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac. In the Sunshine State, one in every 302 homes was in some stage of repossession last month, according to RealtyTrac. That’s about three times the national average. South Florida, which includes Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, had the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas at one in 209 homes. Florida led the nation for six [more]
Real estate consultant sounds condo warning
Peter Zalewski is one of those rare skeptics about South Florida’s booming real estate market, especially all the condominium projects. And the consultant has listeners, even a developer who has hired him to be that nagging voice of dissent. Aventura’s Marketing Council crowded a dining room at the Gulfstream racetrack to hear Zalewski, a Chicago native raised in a family who acquired properties around the city to rent, and among the industry’s few internal critics, [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Ritz-Carlton company splits with Palm Beach hotel, sues owner 2. Developer: Miami ‘most attractive’ to foreigners 3. Billy Joel sells bayside manse, piano not included [more]
Coke side of life: Soda exec buys Barclays chief’s SoBe pad
Barclays corporate banking chief John Winter sold a five-bedroom apartment in South Beach for $8.6 million to Juan Carlos Correa, the top executive of a Coca-Cola bottling company in Ecuador, the seller’s broker, Mark Zilbert, told The Real Deal. The 5,329-square-foot oceanfront unit sprawls across half of the 32nd floor of the South Beach Continuum complex’s north tower. The unit went on the market in September, listing at $9.995 million. Zilbert, the principal of Zilbert [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest listing is a six-bedroom, eight-and-a-half bathroom single-family home asking $14.95 million. The 8,355-square-foot home is located at 3140 North Bay Road in Miami Beach. It features a hardwood pool desk, gym, direct access to the bay and dock, split-plan guest quarters and space for a nursery or office. Benjamin S. Moss of Campins Company has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort [more]
Number of homeowners underwater plummets
Four out of 10 Miami-area homeowners remain underwater, but the number is shrinking nationwide, according to a new analysis by Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic. “The negative equity burden continues to recede across the country thanks largely to rising home prices,” Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive of CoreLogic, said in a release. “We are still far below peak home price levels, but tight supplies in many areas coupled with continued demand for single family homes should [more]
Blanca CRE to lease IFB Center building in Miami
Real estate brokerage Blanca Commercial Real Estate has been tapped as the exclusive leasing agent for the 51,600-square-foot office building that houses International Finance Bank headquarters in Miami, it said in a release. Andres del Corral and Danet Linares of Blanca Commercial Real Estate will lead the marketing and leasing. Architecture firm Nichols Brosch Wurst and Associates designed it before opening in 2011, the release said. About 25,500 square feet of space is available for [more]
Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene doubles down on NYC real estate development
From the New York site: Billionaire real estate entrepreneur and former Florida Senate candidate Jeff Greene has set his sights on New York City, with plans to bring two Manhattan condominium projects to market in the next few years. Palm Beach, Fla.-based Greene, famous for predicting the housing crash and thereby making a fortune betting against subprime mortgages, is planning a 140,000-square-foot condo project at 100 Vandam Street in the Hudson Square area of Manhattan, [more]
Ritz-Carlton company splits with Palm Beach hotel, sues owner
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is parting ways with its Palm Beach hotel by July 1, the national chain said in a release. The company is alleging a breach of contract in a multimillion-dollar counterclaim against RC/PB, the owner of the building at 100 South Ocean Boulevard in Manalapan. The hotel was projected to rake in millions of dollars in net profit this year under Ritz-Carlton’s management. But soon RC/PB will manage the hotel, under a [more]
Palm Beach’s priciest listing sells at steep discount
A 20,000-square-foot home that was on the market for $74 million, making it the most expensive public listing in Palm Beach, Fla., has sold for $42 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sale, which closed June 7, is one of the largest in Palm Beach in recent years. Donald Trump sold his mansion to Russian fertilizer tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev in July 2008 for $95 million; Howard Stern reportedly bought a Palm Beach mansion last [more]
Dolly Lenz leaving Elliman: sources
From the New York site: Dolly Lenz, Douglas Elliman’s perpetually top-ranked luxury sales broker, is leaving the firm after a 14-year tenure, The Real Deal has learned. Lenz was not immediately available for comment on the reason for her departure. Elliman declined to comment. For years, Lenz and fellow power broker Carrie Chiang battled for the top spot at the city’s largest residential firm. Lenz eventually withdrew from the competition in 2011 in order to [more]
Developer: Miami ‘most attractive’ to foreigners
The Magic City’s fame as an international business and hospitality center continues drawing foreign cash buyers to Miami-Dade County rather than to cheaper Broward and Palm Beach counties, South Florida-based developer Henry Pino told the South Florida Business Journal. Pino’s firm, Strategic Properties, has several condo projects underway conceived of with these buyers in mind. “We are targeting international cash buyers who continue to look at Miami as an attractive city for luxury real estate,” [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Billy Joel sells bayside manse, piano not included 2. Buying a home in 24 hours 3. Serena Williams’ off-court loss in Palm Beach [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a five-bedroom, six-bathroom single-family home asking $10.5 million. The 8,613-square-foot home is located at 444 Arvida Parkway in Coral Gables. It was designed by Chris Fergis and features marble floors, a Poggenpohl kitchen, wood-burning fireplace, detached gym, sauna and a three-car garage. Audrey H. Ross of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm [more]
Download TRD’s new iPhone app — it’s free
The Real Deal is already the go-to source for South Florida real estate news. But what about when you’re on the go? Download TRD‘s free mobile app, available now in the Apple iTunes store. With a clean, user-friendly interface, the app features all the news and information you’re used to seeing on TheRealDeal.com — now in the palm of your hand and updated automatically throughout the day. Easily share content via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and [more]
Bank of America regaining share of mortgages
Despite criticism from Florida’s attorney general over mortgage settlement practices, Bank of America is strengthening its foothold on the market, Bloomberg reported. The lender boosted home-loan volume 57 percent in the year through March by selling more products to existing customers, chief financial officer Bruce Thompson said today. Its cut of the U.S. mortgage market fell below 4 percent after it shut a business that bought loans marketed by third-party firms, he said. “We’ve been [more]
Rehabbed foreclosures in Miami’s Overtown add to limited stock for low-income renters
Two apartment buildings fully rehabilitated with federal government dollars have opened in Miami’s Overtown, adding to the architectural heritage of the historically black neighborhood as well as to Miami-Dade County’s much sought-after affordable housing inventory, the Miami Herald reported. Built in the 1950s style of Masonry Vernacular, St. John Village, 1410 NW First Place and 1731-41 NW First Court,  two-story structures with jointly 34 one- and two-bedroom apartments, was developed by St. John Community Development [more]
Serena Williams’ off-court loss in Palm Beach
Tennis champ Serena Williams sold a Palm Beach five-bedroom house for $595,000, taking a $105,000 hit, Gossip Extra reported. Williams, 31, quietly sold the investment property in February, the Miami blog said, citing public records. Williams bought the house at 122 Tranquilla Drive in the neighborhood of Mirasol for $700,496 in 2005. Jameka LLC., William’s company, sold the 4,000-square-foot house in February for $595,000, according to public records. The new owner is Tracy Muser, according to property [more]
Related Cos. vying for W. Palm Beach ‘tent’ site
Longtime South Florida rivals Related Cos. of New York and Michael McCloskey of West Palm Beach are in a horse race for a 2.4-acre site in downtown West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach Post reported. Related recently triumphed over McCloskey in a decade-long battle to redesign the city’s convention center with a new hotel, a bid city project muddied by a commissioner’s being sent to prison on federal fraud charges. The parcel, at the corner [more]
Billy Joel sells bayside manse, piano not included
UPDATED, 2:16 p.m., June 10: Singer Billy Joel has sold his Miami Beach Mediterranean-style mansion for $13.75 million in an all-cash deal, $1 million off its listed price, according to One Sotheby’s International Realty, whose agents brokered the deal. The property at 82 La Gorce Circle was built in 2004 and boasts 8,881 square feet of living space, including seven bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms, a wine cellar and expansive outdoor kitchen, according [more]
Preservation board loses appeal to save “Real Housewives of Miami” house from wrecking ball
Preservationists hoping to save the home of a “Real Housewives of Miami” star from demolition lost an appeal, the Miami Herald reported. “Real Housewives of Miami” cast member Lisa Hochstein and her plastic surgeon husband Leonard, also known as “The Boob God,” won approval to tear down the house from the Miami Beach Design Review Board in March, as The Real Deal reported. The Miami Design Preservation league appealed and filed to have the home [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Condo Vultures founder names winners, losers 2. Icon South Beach penthouse sells for $15M 3. Buyers grab dwindling properties in ‘flash sales’ [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest listing is a six-bedroom, nine-and-a-half-bathroom single-family home asking $35 million. The 12,756-square-foot home is located at 110 Arvida Parkway in Coral Gables. All rooms have bay views, 12 foot ceilings, wood and marble floors. It features over 200 feet of dockage, attached in-law quarters with an elevator and a third-story observatory. The property also has a billiard room, library, exercise room, laundry room, air-conditioned four-car garage. Todd L. Siegel of Florida Connect Realty [more]
Stiles breaks ground on shopping center, leases 15K sf in office space
Fort Lauderdale-based commercial real estate firm Stiles has begun construction on a new $35 million shopping center called West Lake Commons at the corner of Sheridan Street and South Federal Highway, the Sun Sentinel reported. Publix Super Markets, Pollo Tropical and Starbucks are expected to take up space there when it opens in the second quarter of 2014. Stiles bought the 14-acre, ex-Hollywood Lincoln Mercury dealership site for $13 million in March. Stiles also announced [more]
West Palm Beach building faces $10M foreclosure
A West Palm Beach office building is at the center of nearly $10 million foreclosure lawsuit filed by Wells Fargo Bank, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The bank sued Belvedere Investment Associates because the 110,795-square-foot office building at 1601 Belvedere Road has an outstanding mortgage debt of $9.9 million. The loan matured in December and the mortgage has been delinquent since March, the publication said. William A. Meyer manages the borrower, but was not [more]
Buying a home in 24 hours
Frenzied homebuyers are making offers on the spot before someone else has the chance, leading to what observers call a “flash sale,” Sun Sentinel reported. A resident of Pembroke Pines in South Florida’s Broward County, Angela Medina and her husband were driving north to view two homes in Palm Beach County when she received a text alerting her to a three-bedroom home that had just gone on the market in Palm Beach Gardens. The couple [more]
Icon South Beach penthouse sells for $15M
A penthouse at Icon South Beach in Miami Beach sold for $15 million to an overseas buyer, according to the sale’s broker, Jill Eber, one half of the Coldwell Banker power-agent pair, The Jills. “It’s absolutely stunning and completely raw – no bathrooms, nothing,” Eber told The Real Deal. “It’s all glass with 360-degree views,” she said, along with another peculiar feature – a nine-car garage. The triplex boasts more than 8,000 square feet, including a private [more]
TRD looking for hot tips
A new luxury condo tower, a big retail lease. Trends and hot deals pop up all the time in South Florida’s real estate market. What are you hearing? What projects are on the drawing boards? What’s the next big thing in housing or retail space? Who are the new hires or start-up companies? Let us know. Send your tip along with your contact information to The Real Deal‘s South Florida bureau chief, Emily Schmall, at southfloridanews@therealdeal.com. [more]
General contractor John Moriarty & Associates sews up billions in high-profile SoFla buildings
In South Florida, behind every star architect is a star builder. John Leete, the head of Florida operations for John Moriarty & Associates, a Winchester, Mass.-general contracting and construction company, has garnered billions from Miami’s current condo boom, according to an interview with the Miami Herald. Leete’s company is responsible for the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the $220 million project whose construction is underway at Museum Park designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de [more]
Condo Vultures founder names winners, losers
Miami-based consultancy Condo Vultures founder Peter Zalewski is preparing to name the winners and the losers of the current condo boom. Zalewski will give a speech June 12 before the Aventura Marking Council and separately during a roundtable event hosted by mckafka Development, the Harvard alumni planning to build the Crimson tower in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. At least 138 condo towers containing more than 18,500 units have been proposed for South Florida as of the [more]
Top stories
Top stories over the weekend on The Real Deal: 1. REIT opens Coral Gables lux rental community 2. Related reduces risk by returning to affordable housing, rental apartments 3. Miami’s life science research area blossoms [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condominium at Murano at Portofino asking $3.195 million. The 2,190-square-foot home is located at 1000 South Pointe Drive, unit 2704, in Miami Beach. The property has two tennis courts, bayfront pool, gym and health spa. A private two-floor elevator foyer greets the unit. Jose Luis Pere of One Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas [more]
Fla. attorney general blasts Bank of America over mortgage settlement
Florida’s attorney general Pam Bondi wrote in a five-page letter to Bank of America claiming it may not be fully complying with the terms of last year’s nationwide, five-bank mortgage settlement, the South Florida Business Journal reported. Bondi accused the multinational corporation of failing to do the following: maintain a single point of contact, comply with the settlement’s dual tracking restrictions, comply with certain timing requirements and oversee foreclosure counsel, the publication said. Last month, [more]
Story behind the sale: Luxury Resorts’ One Thousand Ocean sells 5 top units in 90 days
In a regular feature, The Real Deal will take a look inside South Florida’s priciest, biggest and most interesting real estate deals. The fifth and final penthouse at One Thousand Ocean, a luxury condominium in Boca Raton that dates back seven years, closed June 4, capping off a whirlwind sales streak at the building and a substantial marketing campaign to save a project from the previous boom from going belly-up. Known as “The Shore,” the [more]
South Beach ACE reveals renderings for convention center’s proposed hotel
New details have emerged regarding the 800-unit hotel being designed by Pritzker Prize winner Rem Koolhaas as part of South Beach ACE’s proposal for the $1 billion, 52-acre redevelopment of Miami Beach’s convention center, the group said in a release. Under his firm OMA’s plan, all of the rooms will have private balconies, with curved design that references the Art Deco style of Miami Beach. The pool deck is oriented toward the east, with views [more]
REIT opens Coral Gables lux rental community
Privately held national REIT Gables Residential has opened the 248-unit Gables-Ponce luxury rental community in Coral Gables as South Florida residential inventory disappears and the rental market strengthens, the company told The Real Deal. The mixed-use development at LeJeune Rd. and Ponce de Leon Blvd. will be anchored by a 24,000-square-foot Epicure Market, scheduled to be completed in the fall. The development was first reported earlier this week in the South Florida Business Journal. “It [more]
Miami’s life science research area blossoms
In a commercial building in Miami’s historic Overtown neighborhood, one tenant harvests bone for dental implants, another tests a lab theory that Chinese moths can treat epilepsy while a third uses expensive bandwidth to link U.S. clinics around the world live with specialists at the hospitals and universities in Miami’s 153-acre medical district. Although new Miami has come to be known for art hubs Wynwood and the Design District, Overtown, a historically black neighborhood off the [more]
Miami Beach commissioners request more information on ‘labor peace’ agreement
Miami Beach commissioners balked at a proposed “labor peace” agreement in contracts to revamp the city’s convention center, sending it back to the city attorney’s office for clarification, the Miami Herald reported. Two firms, led by developers Jack Portman of Atlanta and Dan Tishman of New York, are waiting for the city to decide the winner of the $1.2 billion project, which involves the convention center and developing a 52-acre parcel of public land around [more]
Wells Fargo settles housing discrimination suit
Wells Fargo agreed to pay a $39 million settlement in a federal housing discrimination complaint, the Sun Sentinel reported. The Department of Housing and Urban Development accused the bank giant of failing to maintain foreclosed homes in primarily black and Latino communities. The bank will distribute $39 million West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale and about 45 other cities nationwide hurt by the housing downturn, the Sentinel said. The National Fair Housing Alliance, which participated [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Delano hotel wins small victory in board fight 2. The Jills credit success to their control of South Florida’s mega-listings 3. Portman team expos Miami Beach Convention Center in final push for $1.2B bid [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom condominium at Icon South Beach asking $2.69 million. The 1,750-square-feet home is located at 450 Alton Road, unit No. 2805, in Miami Beach. It features Italian furniture, BOSE sound system and modern, stained wood floors and electrical blinds. The building has two pools and a restaurant. Despina Ikonomidou of Cervera Real Estate has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main [more]
Provident resort offering short stays on Fisher Island
Fifteen privately owned units are now available for short stays at the new hotel and resort Provident Luxury Suites Fisher Island, bringing a bevy of newcomers to the island enclave, which is only accessible by ferry. Clearwater, Fla.-based management company Provident Hotels & Resorts will offer one-, two- or three-bedroom units that range from $513 to $1,323 for the weekend starting Friday, June 14, the Miami Herald reported. By December, 45 suites will be available [more]
One Thousand Ocean penthouse sold for $11.7M
UPDATED, 4:08 p.m., June 6: A penthouse known as “The Shore” at the oceanfront condominium building One Thousand Ocean in Boca Raton has sold to an undisclosed buyer for $11.7 million, or $1,547 per square foot, according to a release from the development. That makes it the third largest sale for a condominium in Palm Beach County history. The highest-dollar condo transaction was $17.45 million for a 5,798-square-foot penthouse at Il Lugano Palm Beach on [more]
Douglas Elliman focuses on drawing more wealthy buyers to SoFla
Douglas Elliman is bringing its top 100 top-producing agents to Miami next week for a retreat on how to draw more wealthy buyers from Greater New York and overseas to South Florida, the company told The Real Deal today. “A large portion will be devoted to educating our agents and managers from across the company about our spectacular new developments in South Florida, so they can provide the best insights to their clients,” Dottie Herman, [more]
Colony American delays IPO amid stock jitters
Colony American Homes, a major property owner in South Florida, postponed its initial public offering as stock market jitters reach real-estate investment trusts, the Wall Street Journal reported. Colony American Homes is a real estate investment trust  that buys single-family homes from foreclosure auctions and banks and manages them as rental properties; today, its land holdings in South Florida number in the hundreds, according to the Palm Beach Post. Parent company Colony Capital announced earlier [more]
Airbnb takes up renter’s case against NYC
From the New York site: Web-based home sharing service Airbnb has taken the unusual step of representing a user in court, appealing a fine an Airbnb user was instructed to pay in administrative court in Manhattan on his behalf, WNYC reported. Nigel Warren, who owns a condominium that he rented to a Russian visitor for three nights, was fined $2,400 for violating the city’s hotel laws, which now prohibit short-term subleasing. The website’s representatives noted [more]
Odebrecht USA polls SF residents on Airport City
Odebrecht USA, a subsidiary of Brazilian publicly-traded construction and engineering giant Odebrecht SA, is conducting a poll to gauge the popularity of Airport City, its massive new project proposed for Miami International Airport, the Miami Herald reported. Odebrecht’s $512 million proposal for the swath of land at the entrance to Miami’s airport, including a Florida International University medical compound, a 400-room hotel, a lounge for cruise passengers, a 1,900-space parking garage and an energy supply [more]
Related reduces risk by returning to affordable housing, rental apartments
After placing a big bet on condo development that nearly sunk the company in the real estate crisis, Miami-based Related Group has decided to hedge against risk by returning to its lucrative roots – affordable housing and rental apartment properties, Daily Business Review reported. “When we saw what happened in the last cycle, we decided to go back to our roots and reinvigorate the affordable housing division and increase the multifamily rental division, which is a [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. French top list of investors interested in South Florida properties: analysis 2. Delano hotel wins small victory in board fight 3. Tree of strife: Bjarke Ingels defends Marina Lofts in whirlwind South Florida real estate tour [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a six-bedroom, six-bathroom single-family home asking $2.4 million. The 5,876-square-feet home is located at 2400 Bay Drive in Pompano Beach on the Hillsboro Bay Inlet. It features “volume ceilings & walls of glass opening to a breezy ocean view loggia,” the listing said. Ronald Lennen of Premier Estate Properties has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings in the main metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and [more]
DaVita inks 20,000 sf lease at University of Miami tech park
Kidney care company DaVita signed a lease for 20,000 square feet at University of Miami’s Life Science and Technology Park at 1951 Northwest Seventh Avenue in Downtown Miami, according to a park spokesperson. The space will be used for an office and clinic on the fifth floor of the 8.8.-acre Life Science and Technology Park’s first building, which is now 75 percent occupied. The Miami Innovation Center, Subway, Thea Pizzeria & Café and Balans Restaurant [more]
The Jills credit success to their control of South Florida’s mega-listings
Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber, whose team the Jills is the highest-grossing in Coldwell Banker’s history,  land big listings and lure high-end buyers because they “control that inventory,” they told  the South Florida Business Journal. “They’re going to come to us whether it’s a buyer or a seller,” Eber told the publication. “We’re really fortunate because of our name.” They were behind the most expensive sale ever in Miami Beach. Last month, the Yankees’ Alex [more]
Delano hotel wins small victory in board fight
The hotelier that owns the Delano South Beach scored a small victory in a battle for control of its board when a proxy-advisory firm recommended that its shareholders not vote for the nominees put up by its biggest shareholder, Bloomberg reported. Morgans Hotel Group Co., founded by developer Ian Schrager and Studio 4’s Steve Rubell, announced the recommendation today; Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., according to Morgan CEO Michael Gross, identified “significant deficiencies” with the seven [more]
Real estate finance vet joins Colliers South Florida
Alex Rey, a banking and financing real estate expert and former FDIC trustee, has joined Colliers International’s South Florida investment sales team, the company said in a release. Colliers International, a subsidiary of publicly-traded FirstService Corporation, is the world’s third-largest commercial real estate services company. “Alex’s 20-plus years handling a wide variety of real estate transactions from acquisition and disposition through development, financing and asset management, make him a strong addition to our team,” Stephen [more]
Portman team expos Miami Beach Convention Center in final push for $1.2B bid
A kaleidoscope of colorful dress, painted Styrofoam models and life size renderings made the street-level, all-glass space off Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road like a fishbowl full of tropical fish. Portman CMC, a group of developers and architects vying for Miami Beach’s $1.2 billion convention center project, opened an exhibit space off the Lincoln Road shopping district late on Tuesday, the first stage of a final push for the bid. The city plans to announce a [more]
Fla. governor OK’s $200M foreclosure plan
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Tuesday a plan for a $200 million chunk of the $25 billion nationwide foreclosure settlement agreement between lenders and states, the Tampa Bay Tribune reported. Florida will spend its share on housing- and foreclosure-assistance programs, including mortgage counseling services, legal aid groups and Habitat for Humanity, the Tribune reported, citing Attorney General Pam Bondi. The $200 million is a small chunk of the state’s $8.4 billion cut from [more]
PMG’s Kevin Maloney doesn’t want to be ‘long’ on real estate
Residential development offers a quick way in and a clear exit, Property Markets Group principal  Kevin Maloney told the New York Times in explaining the company’s portfolio. “Everything we do is residential in nature, and it has an exit. So it’s either an exit as a condominium, and we sell it, or we’ll rent it up and sell it to a REIT or a third party. We don’t want to be long on real estate,” [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. French top list of investors interested in South Florida properties: analysis 2. Developers tailor interior design to buyers 3. Downtown Fort Lauderdale and beaches show signs of a seller’s market: Condo Vultures report [more]
Today’s priciest listing
Today’s priciest new listing is a four-bedroom, four-bathroom penthouse condominium at Paramount Bay asking $4.65 million. The 2,694-square-foot home is located at 2020 North Bayshore Drive, unit 4005, in Miami. It features a 2,950-square-foot terrace and private elevator. The building comes complete with a spa, gym, sunset and sunrise pools, valet, concierge, a party room and a business room. Cecilia Solorzano of Setai Realty has the listing. (Condo Vultures data include condos and single-family listings [more]
Tisch, Zuckerman voice differing views on recovery
Despite the fact that Jonathan Tisch and Mort Zuckerman are both commercial real estate investors, the two have opposing outlooks on the economic recovery, GlobeSt reported, based on remarks they made at today’s New York University Hospitality Conference in Manhattan. For Tisch, co-chairman of the board of Loews Corporation, who recently sat down for a Closing interview with The Real Deal, travel is key. “Travel is emerging as a key driver of the recovery,” Tisch [more]
Foreman Friedman inks $6M deal to expand One Biscayne Tower office
Law firm Foreman Friedman signed an 11-year, $6 million deal to renew and expand its offices by 15,000 square feet at One Biscayne Tower in Miami, the building’s exclusive leasing agent, Taylor & Mathis, said in a release. Brian Gale, Andrew Trench, Ryan Holtzman and Jeannette Mendoza of Taylor & Mathis negotiated the deal, which was co-brokered by John Marshall of Cresa Partners. The 39-story skyscraper, located at 2 South Biscayne Boulevard, has 700,000 square [more]
Miami Beach residents ‘won’t pay a penny’ for convention center, attorney says
With the Miami Beach City Commission poised to select a winner of two teams vying for its $1.2 billion convention center bid July 8, attorney Al Dotson, who represents South Beach ACE, pledged that residents “won’t have to pay a penny” for the project, Daily Business Review reported. The city decided last year to partner with a developer to redevelop the city-owned 52-acre site that includes the boxy convention center, the site of Miami’s annual [more]
Swire selects East affiliate for CityCentre hotel
Swire Properties elected its East affiliate among several interested hotel brands to design the hotel portion of its massive multi-use City Center development, the Miami Herald reported. The 236-room East Miami will be the brand’s first in the United States, with two other hotels in Hong Kong and Beijing. The building will also offer 89 apartments with hotel services, two restaurants, a meeting room and a rooftop bar, according to the Herald. East Miami will [more]
Miami-Dade lifts South Florida foreclosures
Foreclosures in South Florida rose 15 percent to 21,016 from a year ago on the weight of activity in Miami-Dade County, Condo Vultures statistics show. In Miami-Dade, there were 8,243 foreclosures as of May 31, a 76 percent jump from the 4,687 foreclosures as of the same date a year ago. Foreclosures slightly declined in Broward and Palm Beach, to 8,229 from 8,808 and 4,544 from 4,761 in the respective counties. There were 3,871 foreclosures [more]
Tree of strife: Bjarke Ingels defends Marina Lofts in whirlwind South Florida real estate tour
Bjarke Ingels wants the public to understand that bold, urban architecture can create sustainable ecosystems. It is a principle that he is fighting for: Right now, the award-winning Danish architect is battling Fort Lauderdale over his residential project, Marina Lofts, and the fate of a rain tree. The 38-year-old architect gave a presentation Monday at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, the first of three consecutive starchitect-studded South Florida real estate events this week, on [more]
French top list of investors interested in South Florida properties: analysis
French buyers’ interest in South Florida properties is growing as the region continues to lure the most international real estate investment in the U.S., according to an analysis of activity on Miamire.com, a Miami Association of Realtors Web site. France, perhaps surprising some, ranked as the top country searching for Miami properties on the site in April 2013, according to the association. The French language is twice as commonly spoken as Portuguese, and France has [more]
Top stories
Top stories yesterday on The Real Deal: 1. Downtown Fort Lauderdale and beaches show signs of a seller’s market: Condo Vultures report 2. Leveraged buyout king pays $15M for SoBe condo 3. Russian billionaire to level $95M Palm Beach manse [more]