An 18-story oceanfront condo tower in Miami Beach with only 10 full-floor residences, which started receiving occupants last month, could be seen as a bellwether for this market’s development and sales environment.
The building, called GLASS, was one of the first new residential developments to be completed in the City of Miami Beach in almost five years, and the last high-rise to be built in the desirable South of Fifth neighborhood because of zoning restrictions.
Rene Gonzalez Architect designed GLASS, whose construction was started in December 2013.
Its design is representative of the low-density approach of its developer, Terra Group. “We could have built up to 45 units on this site,” says Terra’s president David Martin, who owns the 14-year-old company with his father Pedro. “But our belief that ‘less is more’ in real estate, coupled with the design of Rene Gonzalez and Raymond Jungles [who did the landscape design], has delivered a stronger finished product.”
The first five floors of GLASS are common areas that include the lobby, pool, and fitness center. The building’s amenities include an onsite estate manager, pool and valet services, housekeeping and maintenance, 24-hour security, and a resident beach club. The building’s elevator, designed by artist Ivan Toth Depeña, contains an interactive installation that mimics the transition from water to sky.
Each of the residence floors offers an all-glass 360-degree view. With compositional use of fritted patterned glass, the building’s exterior blends into the atmosphere by reflecting and capturing the natural landscape.
Living room in a residence at GLASS.
Terra Group confirmed that all 10 units had been presold prior to construction, and those sales were closed in late October and early November. The selling price averaged around $2,700 per square foot, and the units (excluding the penthouse) range from 3,977 sf to 5,400 sf (including outside terraces).
South Florida Business Journal reports that GLASS’s three-story, 7,000-sf penthouse recently sold for $20 million. The founding family of Ohio-based Majestic Steel Properties paid $7.3 million and $7.9 million, respectively, for two units in GLASS, according to the Real Deal, which tracks real estate news in South Florida.
Miami Beach, which during the last recession was awash in unsold condos and townhouses, appears to be back on the saddle again in terms of residential building. The Real Deal reports that with the completion of the GLASS project, developers have constructed 48 new condo buildings with more than 3,715 units east of I-95 in the tri-county South Florida region since 2011. Developers have announced plans to build 11 new condo buildings with nearly 150 units in the South-of-Fifth neighborhood alone.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Skanska completes $74 million Harbor Towers project six months ahead of schedule
Skanska USA Building Inc. announced the completion of a $74 million rehabilitation project at Harbor Towers, a 40-story luxury condominium complex comprising two towers located on Boston’s waterfront. Skanska served as Program Manager and oversaw the repair and replacement work that dramatically enhanced the reliability, cost-effectiveness, and energy efficiency of the buildings’ MEP systems.
| Aug 11, 2010
Best AEC Firms of 2011/12
Later this year, we will launch Best AEC Firms 2012. We’re looking for firms that create truly positive workplaces for their AEC professionals and support staff. Keep an eye on this page for entry information. +
| Aug 11, 2010
Manitoba Hydro Place, Tornado Tower among world's 'best tall buildings,' according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat last week announced the winners of its annual “Best Tall Building” awards for 2009, recognizing one outstanding tall building from each of four geographical regions: Americas, Asia & Australia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. This year’s winners are: Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Canada; Linked Hybrid, Beijing, China; The Broadgate Tower, London, UK; Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar.
| Aug 11, 2010
Call for entries: Building enclosure design awards
The Boston Society of Architects and the Boston chapter of the Building Enclosure Council (BEC-Boston) have announced a High Performance Building award that will assess building enclosure innovation through the demonstrated design, construction, and operation of the building enclosure.
| Aug 11, 2010
CampusBrands Inc., NYLO Hotels team to launch student housing franchise brand
Which would you choose: the cramped quarters, thin mattresses, and crowded communal bathrooms of dormitory life or a new type of student housing with comfortable couches, a game room, fitness center, Wi-Fi in every room, flat-screen televisions and maybe even a theater?
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.