Luxury communities, without the golf, on the rise

742-home Seven Bridges is underway in Delray Beach

January 19, 2015 02:15PM

Back in 2010, Sunrise-based builder GL Homes kept hearing from buyers of all ages that they wanted a country club setting — except without golf, and its fees, ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 a month.

So GL built The Bridges in Delray Beach, which opened in 2012 —  a 591-home luxury community packed with amenities, minus the golf, and a much more affordable monthly dues of $475.

The popularity of The Bridges prompted GL to build an even larger project across the street. The 742-home Seven Bridges is underway, with the first residents moving in by April or May.

The Sun Sentinel reports that developments focused on golf have been struggling, because of their steep monthly dues and maintenance cost — which can cost upwards of $3 million a year. Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University, told the Sun Sentinel that the popularity of golf is also on the decline. [Sun Sentinel] — Kristina Puga

Miami ranked fourth in most hotel rooms under construction

Miami-Hialeah market had 3,425 rooms under construction in December

January 15, 2015 10:30AM

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South Florida has the fourth most hotel rooms under construction in the country, according to a hotel data provider.

The Miami-Hialeah market, according to STR, had 3,425 rooms under construction in December.

“The continued tailwind of a recovering U.S. economy has supported strong (revenue-per-available-room) growth across the nation,” Jan Freitag, senior VP of strategic development for STR, said in a statement. “As national and regional occupancy has increased, more developers are finding hotel real estate attractive again, and we are seeing a healthy and unabated increase in new development, mostly in the limited-service sectors.”

There was also a national 31.4-percent increase in rooms in the in-construction phase.

New York reported the most with 13,200 rooms, followed by Houston and Washington, D.C.

“A few cities will feel the brunt of the construction, and it will be interesting to note how hoteliers will react in 2016 as these new hotels open,” Freitag said. — Katherine Kallergis

The Real Deal

South Florida Real Estate News

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Chinese investors buy Miami site for $74.7 million

By Martha Brannigan

mbrannigan@MiamiHerald.com

12/30/2014 5:45 PM

An affiliate of China Communications Construction Company U.S. International purchased a block-size site in the red-hot Brickell neighborhood for $74.7 million, in its first major bet on Miami.

Plans for what will be built on the 2.4-acre site at 1430 S. Miami Ave. aren’t yet complete, according to Dr. Shan-Jie Li, chief executive officer of American Da Tang Group Co. Ltd. in New York. American Da Tang, he said, is working closely with CCCC as the Chinese firm’s U.S. representative on the venture.

In an interview conducted through an interpreter, Li said the new owners are in the process of researching what type of development to pursue and could end up with a mixed-use project that includes condominiums, hotel and office elements. As their first project in Miami, Li added, he wants the development to be “a landmark.”

The buyer of the land is listed as a newly formed Delaware entity, CCCC International USA LLC.

The seller was Teca Group Investments GP LLC, which controlled 1430 SMA LLLP, the limited liability limited partnership that owned the land. Teca Group is managed by Elias Cababie Daniel, a Mexican.

The Longevity Club has an agreement with Elite Health in Miami Beach, which provides concierge healthcare services, Li said.

“There are 17 towers and 5,300 units going up just in the 12-block stretch,” Zalewski said. “It’s overwhelming.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article5191464.html#emlnl=Business_News#storylink=cpy

The property is located between 14th Street and 14th Terrace and South Miami Avenue and Southwest First Avenue. The transaction closed on Dec. 26.

In the last development cycle, Cabi Developers had planned to build two towers on the site, but Li said the Chinese group doesn’t intend to pursue those plans and instead is starting with a clean slate.

American Da Tang Group, which caters to wealthy Chinese interested in U.S. real estate investment, healthcare, visa assistance, and the like, made an earlier foray into Miami with its Da Tang Longevity Club.

Li’s translator said Li has a comprehensive plan to make Miami “a hospitable city for Chinese travelers and investors.”

He said the recent U.S.-Chinese reciprocal agreement to issue business and tourist visas valid for 10 years in lieu of visas that expire in one year will foster more Chinese visitors and investors.

With the Brickell acquisition, the Chinese are coming to an area that is Ground Zero for Miami’s latest condo boom, with a host of high-rise condominiums under construction and in the planning stages.

Peter Zalewski, an expert in Miami’s condo market who writes a column for the Miami Herald, said the Chinese are late in the game to consider building during the current cycle.

A few blocks north of the site, Swire Properties, the U.S. real estate arm of a prominent Hong Kong firm that has deep roots in Miami, is well along in the construction of Brickell City Centre. That complex is a mixed-use project that will have more than $1 billion in condominium, hotel, office and retail space that has served as a magnet for other development in the neighborhood, which is evolving into a work-live-play center.

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