Amenities in condo buildings are reaching new lengths in the ultra-luxury Miami coastal market. That means the first residents moving into a 60-story downtown condominium next month will be greeted with perks including a boxing ring, an outdoor soccer field and a space that converts into a skyport for flying cars.
Paramount Miami Worldcenter developers are planning for the future in the $500 million condo tower that received a temporary certificate of occupancy. Closings on units in the 569-unit building begin Aug. 12, and the project has reached nearly $500 million in sales, with 90% of the units under contract, according to developers Dan Kodsi and Miami Worldcenter Associates.
Kodsi and Miami Worldcenter Associates said they expect to close at least 150 units the first month. Owners are expected to start moving as the building opens in September. Prospective buyers in the condo represent 56 countries and the average unit price is more than $1 million, according to the developers. But analysts say they're watching to see whether all the units actually sell out or if buyers get cold feet in a crowded market.
Paramount at 129 NE 8th Ave. is part of the $4 billion Miami Worldcenter, one of the largest mixed-use projects in the country. Plans also call for apartments, shops, restaurants, two hotels and an office tower. Its sales results are getting attention in real estate circles across the country because Miami condos became the first major U.S. property market to signal the start of the Great Recession more than a decade ago. Now economists and analysts monitor development patterns in South Florida, even as the U.S. economy set a record in July with 121 straight months of expansion.
The boxing ring and soccer field will be part of the Paramount’s amenity deck, the largest of any residential project in the nation, according to developers. The deck can be transformed into a skyport for flying cars, a modern version of the 1960s Jetsons cartoon series. Other U.S. developers are starting to incorporate skyports into their projects. In reality, flying cars that builders are designing for are at this point more along the lines of small helicopters.
"The flying vehicles will use airspace to alleviate transportation congestion and traffic on the ground for quicker daily commutes, and cleaner air around the world," Kodsi said in a statement. "These vehicles are more like a helicopter, but much quieter, run electronically and are environmentally friendly."
Still, Paramount is opening at a time when Miami is facing a large oversupply of units, and analysts say price declines loom large for the market. What’s more, the Department of Treasury has expanded the reach of a program in Miami and other markets that forces title insurance companies to name the buyers behind shell companies used in all-cash residential real estate deals, a crackdown that some say is slowing luxury condo sales.
"The amenities that have been announced for this project are unique, and you could even make a case that they’re futuristic," said Jack McCabe, a housing analyst in Deerfield Beach, Florida. "But the big question will be, how many closings will there be 60 to 90 days from now, and does that add up to the 90% of sales that the developer has been reporting?"
McCabe explained that 10% to 20% of Paramount buyers could end up walking away from the contracts, even after putting down hefty deposits. Those consumers already have taken financial hits through inflation and may decide that walking away is better than completing such expensive purchases, he added.
Paramount units range from 1,180 to 2,350 square feet, according to the developers. Residents will be able to walk to American Airlines Arena and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.
The building was designed by the Elkus Manfredi architecture firm in collaboration with interior designer IDDI and landscape architect DS Boca. Elkus Manfredi, based in Boston, designed The Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards in New York City and the Sochi Grand Marina in Sochi, Russia, as part of the city’s preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympic games. The company is currently the architect behind the planned 37-acre biotech campus with a DNA double helix-shaped green space in the world's largest medical complex, Houston's Texas Medical Center.
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