Art, parties and real estate — or maybe real estate, art and parties!
These were the three key themes that seemed to dominate Miami’s Art Basel week, which has just come to a close. With the world’s deepest-pocketed art buyers all in town, local (and global) luxury real estate developers spared no expense to debut their highest-profile — and priced — condos, penthouses and villas. At Art Basel itself, event partner Douglas Elliman actually presented a portfolio of their top East Coast penthouses to VIP viewers, while over at Art Miami, Christie’s International Real Estate served as a co-sponsor. “Miami has become a true global city and cultural center,” says Susan de Franca, President and CEO of Elliman Development Marketing, “it made perfect sense to invite our global strategic partners to this relaxed and casual setting.”
Here is a look at the cream of the beach-front crop.
Bath Club Estates
Back when it was built in 1926, Miami’s historic Bath Club was a members-only “restricted” beach club that didn’t allow minorities. Today, it’s owned by Don Peebles — an African-American. Having already built a luxury Bath Club condo tower next to the facility, Peebles is now launch the Bath Club Estates nearby — with 13 massive homes set in an elegant building designed by Arquitectonica. Each home will be individually finished by the world-class interior designers Jennifer Post, Alexandra Champalimaud, Alison Spear and Joao Armentano. Peebles — who hosted an intimate dinner during Basel for top global brokers — calls the homes “estates in the sky” and Art Basel itself as “helping to transform Miami into a true global city.” Prices range from $8 to $30 million.
The Surf Club
Located close to ultra-posh Bal Harbour, the Surf Club is another one-time members club now slated for a sleek 21st century retrofit. While most of the landmarked 1930s Spanish-style original complex will remain, architecture icon Richard Meier will add a stunningly translucent new structure with an 80-room hotel and 175 residential units on an 8.7 acre plot with more than 800 feet of ocean-front.
Penthouse at Faena House
Since debuting earlier this year, the residences at Faena House — the Norman Foster-designed tower developed by Argentine style icon Alan Faena — have garnered nearly $2,800 per square foot. Now the complex has finally released their long-awaited Penthouse — an 8,000 square-foot ocean-front lair with 8,000 square feet of interiors space and 10,000 square feet of roof-top terraces and gardens. The Faenas hosted a series of Argentine-styled “asados” — or South American barbecues — during Art Basel week, which lured the likes of uber-gallerist Larry Gagosian and Leonardo DiCaprio. Buyers at Faena House, according to reports, already include global titans like Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black. Price: A cool $50 million.
Marea
Miami developer Jorge Perez is getting lots of attention for PAMM — the Perez Art Museum Miami, which just opened funded by a $40+ million Perez donation. Perez’s other news is his on-going construction in SoFi — South Beach’s newly exclusive South of Fifth district. Here, Perez’s elegant Marea building — designed by Canadian talents Yabu Pushelberg — has emerged as the area’s top spot, with 30 units where prices can reach upwards of $7.5 million.
One Thousand Museum
Zaha Hadid finally landed in Miami earlier this year with this futuristic tower with prime views of the new Perez Art Museum Miami. The 60-story tower features a criss-crossing concrete exo-skeleton with supporting 83 residences priced from roughly $4 million — with penthouses possibly slated to reach $50M. Hadid makes for an excellent Miami fit, says One Thousand Museum-developer Louis Birdman “because she is as well known in the art world as for her architecture…and is creating a building that is very much a work of art in itself.”
Oceana Bal Harbour
Luxe Bal Harbour may be best-known for its exclusive Bal Harbour Shops indoor-outdoor shopping center, but it’s also where many of the world’s wealthiest choose to live. Starting in two years, the newest area residence will be Oceana Bal Harbour, a sprawling tower designed by Architectonica and developed by Argentine property titan Eduardo Costantini. Set on 5.3 ultra-prime beach-front acres that was once the Bal Harbour Beach Club, the complex will include 260 homes on 28 floors along with a pair of stunning sculptures by art legend Jeff Koons. Italian interiors ace Piero Lissoni will complete Oceana’s interiors. Prices are expected to run from $1.5 million to nearly $30 million.
Jade Signature
This much talked-about condo up in increasingly-exclusive Sunny Isle is the latest Miami project from Swiss architecture icons Herzog & de Meuron — who also designed PAMM along with the groovy parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road. Here, at Jade Signature, the firm has created a 57-floor parallelogram-shaped tower on a lime-stone base with nearly 200 apartments — each with 10-foot ceilings and a clutch of massive penthouses. Art Basel served as an ideal showcase for projects such as Jade Signature, observed project developer Edgardo Deortuna, CEO of Fortune International Realty. “So many of our art patrons and collectors have second and third homes in Miami,” he says, “many of our buyers are arriving to sign contracts and enjoy the art events”.
Prices will range from roughly $2 million to over $25 million.
Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami
Located on a private, seven-acre parcel of Surprise Lake near Downtown Miami, the Ritz-Carlton Residences are the first state-side head-to-toe project for Piero Lissoni. Set on the former Miami Heart Institute, the water-front complex will include 111 condos and 15 villas — all with Lissoni’s luxe-minimalist aesthetic and Ritz-Carlton levels of service. Prices will range from some $2 million to $25 million.
1 Hotel and Homes
Legendary hotelier Barry Sternlicht is back on the beach with this SoBe project set in what was once the historic Roney Plaza Hotel — and later the ill-fated Gansevoort Hotel — with interiors courtesy of Brazilian designer Deborah Aguiar. Directly facing the beach — and also slated to include a five-star hotel and tasty Tom Colicchio-helmed restaurant — 1 Hotel and Homes will feature nearly 165 units designed and delivered with a strong respect for the environment. Look for similarly-styled Sternlicht projects soon in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Coconut Grove Bank
This former banking HQ in upscale Coconut Grove is being completely transformed by Miami-developers the Terra Group into one of the most unique condo developments in America. The six-tower site will be designed by Dutch architecture kings Rem Koolhaas’ OMA — who beat out other world-class offices including Jean Nouvel, Diller Scofidio & Renfro and Christian de Portzamparc in a hotly-watched competition. Prices for the apartments — which are still being configured — will start at $2.5 million and the site will also include a two-acre sculpture garden.