7 years ago, the South Florida housing market was in such poor shape that new condo construction in Miami came to a standstill, (As I detailed in my recent post ‘2015 Miami New Condominium Construction Update‘). Fast forward to 2015 and roughly 100 new condo towers are under construction in coastal South Florida, with at least 3 of those featuring a 50 million dollar penthouse on top. In Miami, two 50 million dollar penthouses have already gone into contract in 2015.

Before this recent 50 million dollar penthouse condominium building boom, Miami’s highest-priced single-family home sale was for $47 million back in 2012 (3 Indian Creek Island Rd Miami Beach, FL 33154). That was an absolutely stunning 30,000-square-foot single-family home set on two acres of land, and as of 2015, that house is still the highest closed sale on record in Miami. Another single-family home called Mashta House in Key Biscayne is currently listed for sale for $60 million, but hasn’t yet moved at that price. To date no condominium in Miami has closed anywhere near those prices. So far, the highest recorded sale for  a condominium in Miami is $34 million, when a buyer purchased two triplex penthouses totaling 16,271 square feet across three levels at The Residences at Miami Beach EDITION (2901 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140), the new hotel-condominium project by Ian Schrager.

Neither of these amazing records will stand for very long. At Faena House (3201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140), a luxury condominium tower in Miami Beach, the penthouse is under contract for more than it’s $50 million list price. Word on the street is that the 18,253 square foot duplex penthouse at Faena House is under contract for $60 million, but that cannot be confirmed until the sale closes. Alan Faenas next project is called Faena Versailles Contemporary and it will feature yet another 50 Million dollar penthouse condominium.

In my neighborhood of South Beach, at the Continuum 2, the four-story penthouse owned by the Continuum developer Ian Bruce Eichner, is listed for $50 million ($4,519 per square foot). The Continuum 2 penthouse isn’t even new construction; it was built 13 years ago; but as they say, strike when the iron is hot!

Condos aren’t the only properties that are setting record listing prices in South Florida: At an incredible $200 million+/-, ‘Gemini’ in Manalpan (south of Palm Beach) was just announced for sale today. Gemini is a 33 bedroom, 34 bathroom, 12 half-bathroom, 16 acre estate with 2500 feet of waterfront that’s owned by the Ziff Publishing family. Gemini is the most expensive single-family home for sale in the entire country. Another house in Key Biscayne called Mashta House, that I wrote about previously, is for sale for $60 million.

Is it your time to call Miami home? If so, please feel free to Contact Stavros Mitchelides, Miami Beach Luxury Realtor today for assistance with your new penthouse purchase!

Current 50 million dollar +/- penthouse condos for sale:

Faena House Balcony

Faena House Penthouse: $55 million ($3,013.20 per square foot).
Under contract at an estimated $60 million
Developer: Alan Faena
Architect: Foster + Partners

All Available Faena House Condos For Sale:
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Continuum 2 South Beach Penthouse Balcony

Continuum 2 South Beach Penthouse: $50 million ($4,519 per square foot)
Developer: Ian Bruce Eichner
11,065-square feet. Four floors, six bedrooms, seven full-baths, 6,092 square feet of outdoor space. Includes 10 private parking spaces, a 250-square-foot beachfront cabana loft, and an 884 square-foot guest suite.
Architect: Sieger Suarez Architectural Partners

All Available Continuum 2 Condos For Sale: 
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One Thousand Museum Penthouse: $49 million ($2,866 per square foot)
A duplex penthouse on the 58th and 59th floors contains 15,700 square feet and offers 1,000 square feet in terraces; the condo features six bedrooms and six full-and two half-baths. The two-level unit also comes with its own private pool.
Developer: Gregg Covin and Louis Birdman
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects

How many massive $50 million penthouses can the Miami market handle? Based on the current interest that we are seeing in these uber-luxury residences, it’s likely that we can see a few dozen more constructed or converted in the coming years. Instability in foreign countries is making these $50 million-plus properties an attractive investment for foreign buyers; and the horribly cold weather in the Northeast USA surely is driving many New Yorkers south as well!

Miami has gained the Worlds attention as a city that can easily attract the world’s richest people, thanks to its incredible climate, stunning residences, and attractions like Art Basel. Miami ranked 7th place in the Knight-Frank 2014 annual global cities list based on quality of life, political power, economic activity, and the number of ultra-high net worth people who live here.

Is it your time to call Miami home? If so, please feel free to Contact Stavros Mitchelides, Miami Beach Luxury Realtor today for assistance with your new penthouse purchase!

1212 Lincoln Road Before

1212 Lincoln Road After

1212 Lincoln Road Before

1212 Lincoln Road After

There has been a lot of commercial redevelopment lately in the Lincoln Road area of Miami Beach where I live, from the iconic 1111 Lincoln Road to the new Gap store, H&M store, and the entire replacement of Alton road.  The newest addition to my neighborhood is replacing one of the most run-down and poorly maintained blocks on Alton Road, and the plans are stunning.

Crescent Heights, one of my favorite developers, has approval to demolish most of the block  on the corner of Alton Road and Lincoln Road (pictured above), and replace it with a beautiful five-story retail and parking building called 1212 Lincoln. 1212 Lincoln will feature 3 stories (297 parking spaces) of incredibly important parking, and two levels of retail. Crescent Heights purchased most of the properties between 16th Street & Lincoln Road throughout 2013 and 2014 in order to facilitate this plan. The Miami Beach Design Review and Planning Boards have fully approved the 1212 Lincoln Road by Crescent Heights project, which is scheduled to begin construction soon and will take about two years to complete.

The project is designed to mesh with the Regal Cinemas building and the 1111 Lincoln Road building across the street on the east side of Alton Road, Jose Gelabert-Navia, the project’s lead architect said.

Although I personally favor zoning that mandates that residential units and excess parking be built whenever commercial is built, I still am a huge fan of improving neglected real estate, and in this case, the changes will be a dramatic improvement. The design is stunning, and the only thing this project is missing is a mix of residential units.

Developer Russell Galbut (Crescent Heights) plans to build two other major projects on Alton Road as well: The Wave, a 4 building project with 321 apartments and 50,000 square-feet of retail space will be located between Fifth and Seventh streets; and a 50,000 square-foot building at 1901 Alton Road that will include a new 40,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market.

UPDATE JULY 2016:

1212 Lincoln Road will have 92,725 square feet of retail, 104 hotel rooms, and 447 parking spaces.

Crescent Heights just bought its 10th property in Miami Beach, paying $12.25 million for the retail building at 1600 Alton Road in South Beach. The two-story retail building was developed in 1959 and last sold for only $330,000 in 1988. Crescent Heights now owns most of 1.62-acre site. They now want to submit a new plan to the city for approval, and if you ask me, the new design ruins the entire project.  It went from a stunning piece of architecture, to a generic glass box. I’m pretty disappointed in this.

In January,Crescent Heights also paid $10 million for the Bridgestone Tire building across the street at 1575 Alton Road. Additionally, they now own 1100 15th Street, 1220 16th Street, 1428, 1614, 1616 and 1624 Alton Road, 7316 Collins Ave., and 1550 and 1620 Alton Road. All but three of those properties are near the intersection of Alton Road and 16th Street.

The updated design will now be a five-story hotel, luxury retail shops, and a large indoor food court with a second floor balcony stretching along almost all of the 1600 block of Alton Road.

The first phase of the project will be a large food court and parking area designed by New York design firm AvroKo. The area will be enclosed but will have a large balcony that will function as a common area where people can gather overlooking Alton Road. 447 parking spaces will be added.

The second phase of construction will be the construction of a 100 room luxury hotel that will replace the current Wells Fargo bank. Perkins + Will is designing the project.