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What To Expect In Coconut Grove Commercial Real Estate This Year

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Coconut Grove is seeing boom times. How long will it last?

The Fairchild Coconut Grove

Oscar Rodriguez, principal of ROVR Development to get his insights on this market. ROVR is developing only new waterfront project rising in Coconut Grove—The Fairchild Coconut Grove.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the main factors driving the recent boom in Coconut Grove?

Rodriguez: Coconut Grove has it all, from lushly landscaped quiet neighborhoods and architectural charm to a dynamic cultural, dining and entertainment destination and an active beautiful waterfront on Miami’s Biscayne Bay. All of this is within close proximity to Miami’s business and financial core, making Coconut Grove an ideal place to call home.

The community has so much to offer: beautiful parks, close proximity to the best schools including Gulliver Academy, Ransom Everglades School, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and The University of Miami, green canopied neighborhoods and amenity driven shopping and dining centers such as The Mayfair and Cocowalk. Coconut Grove is central to everything and has a hip vibe that can’t be replicated.

GlobeSt.com: What is your forecast for the market in Coconut Grove for 2018?

Oscar Rodriguez

Rodriguez: Coconut Grove has always had a unique heart and soul that will continue to be the source of its popularity and success. The area has attracted high profile residents and has developed exponentially in the past few years. Local and international demand for this one of a kind community will continue to propel Coconut Grove as one of the strongest markets in South Florida.

As more and more people are drawn to the area and discover its untapped potential, it will continue to grow and progress. But I believe it will always hold on to that unique vibe that makes it special and preserve that neighborhood feel.

 

Source: GlobeSt.

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Miami Condo King Says Cuba Embargo Must Go

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Miami billionaire Jorge Perez says an end to a U.S. economic embargo on Cuba could help turn Havana into a mecca for real estate investment.

Jorge Perez oversees a global condo empire with $20 billion in assets as chairman of Related Group

Jorge Perez oversees a global condo empire with $20 billion in assets as chairman of Related Group

Perez, who was born in Argentina to Cuban parents, oversees a global condo empire with $20 billion in assets as chairman of Related Group.

The U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, with more than 25 companies and farm trade associations, was created yesterday in Washington to urge repeal of a 1996 law that placed permanent sanctions on Cuba after Fidel Castro seized power in a communist revolution.

In an interview at his Miami office, Perez said he favors a lifting of the embargo even after Cuban exile groups organized protests in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood last month to oppose President Barack Obama’s easing of restrictions in place for more than 50 years. “We should’ve opened our eyes a long time ago,” the 65- year-old said. “Opening up trade and the exchange of ideas would further the democratization of Cuba. Demand for second homes will be much bigger than the Bahamas, Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic.”

Obama’s move to end a half century-long estrangement with Cuba raises the prospect that American developers and hotel operators such as Marriott International Inc. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. may be able to enter the tourism-rich market only 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Florida’s coast. They face a long road of navigating a region with unclear property laws and government control, making it probable they will proceed with caution, Perez said.

Joint Ventures

Tourist arrivals to Cuba rose almost 12 percent year-over- year in October to 187,311 visitors, according to the Cuban National Statistics Office. About 2.9 million tourists visited the island in 2013, almost a third of them from Canada. The second-most visited Caribbean country behind the Dominican Republic, Cuba has about 200 hotels with at least 35,000 hotel rooms, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s hotel group.

Perez said he visited the island two years ago, taking a charter flight after he wasn’t able to obtain a U.S. permit to fly his private plane. If an opening occurs, Perez said he’d be interested in creating joint ventures with Cuban companies to help cultivate an entrepreneurial class, teach people how to operate in a free market economy, and encourage them to keep income from the projects in Cuba to help the country grow. He’s also interested in getting involved in the restoration of historic Havana.

‘Condo King’

Perez crashed with the rest of real estate market in 2008. He regained his crown as Florida’s “Condo King” by building new projects with 50 percent deposits from foreign buyers. The Miami Art Museum was recast as the Perez Art Museum Miami before its opening last year after he pledged $35 million in cash and art.

Inside his office, Perez has a coffee mug stamped with Bill Clinton’s name and a photo of him standing next to Obama. Most of the campaign donations Perez and Related Group made in 2012 and 2014 elections went to campaigns of Democratic party members, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Obama last month used the limited flexibility allowed by the law to ease travel, trade and finance with Cuba. Still, the economic embargo, in place since the early 1960s, needs congressional action to remove the restraints. “I don’t think that Raul Castro is going to wake up tomorrow and call free, general elections,” he said. “The lifting of the embargo is going to be a fight, though not impossible. A lot of the farm states are clamoring to lift this thing so we can sell products to Cuba. You’re going to get a lot of economic pressure.”

 

Source: Financial Advisor Magazine

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Art Basel Adds To The Skyline — And The Bottom Line

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Since its launch in Miami in 2002, Art Basel has been attracting people from all over the world who appreciate innovation and creativity.

Today, satellite events have spread to Wynwood, Midtown, downtown, Mid-Beach and North Beach, and last year about 75,000 people attended the main fair. The first Basel fair featured 160 galleries from 23 countries, attracted 30,000 visitors and has grown and grown and grown — much like our skyline and real-estate industry. The growth and popularity of the event have bolstered the tourism industry and made us one of the fastest emerging cultural epicenters of the world.

For one week in December, all eyes started looking to Miami, including those of some of the world’s greatest architects and developers. Today, they are creating a skyline that is second to none, while Basel brings buyers appreciative of artistic creations. The burgeoning love affair between Miami and art can be evidenced by two recently announced museums: the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, the brainchild of Norman and Irma Braman, and the Latin American Art Museum by Gary Nader. Miami was largely a blank canvas in 2002, and so many have seized the opportunity to fill the space with remarkable buildings that are works of art themselves.

In downtown Miami, Zaha Hadid paired with developers Louis Birdman and Gregg Covin for the grandiose 1000 Museum. What was once the famous Bal Harbour Club will become the spectacular, all-new Oceana Bal Harbour, thanks to Italian architect and interior designer Piero Lissoni and developer Consultatio USA. And then there is Herzog & de Meuron, Richard Meier, Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas, among the many other great names, with others soon to be announced.

Art Basel is certainly a time for businesses to shine. It provides an instant injection of funds into the economy, and the effects of the fair linger long after it leaves town. This is certainly the case for the real-estate industry, which has benefitted greatly from the influx of discerning art lovers. Amid the week of amazing art and all the accompanying events, the glitterati look up and see Miami as a wonderful place to purchase property. And they have many to choose from, for a relatively affordable budget. All are designed by local and international architectural greats who provide a perfect place to display a new piece or two.

Daniel De La Vega, President of One Sotheby's International Realty

Daniel De La Vega, President of One Sotheby’s International Realty

The past week has seen traffic gridlock, long lines and a shortage of restaurant reservations. But as an enthusiastic collector of Latin American art and a member of the Photography Committee at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Daniel De La Vega, President of One Sotheby’s International Realty, will be sad to see the sun set on the event so soon. Art Basel will continue to play an important role in the growth of South Florida’s real-estate industry and the development of greater Miami as a whole. As a native Miamian, Mr. De La Vega is grateful for how this fair has moved the city forward in so many ways. As the tents come down and the works are carefully packed away, Miamians can still admire innovative and creative pieces all year-round.

All you have to do is look up to the skyline and thank the increased business to the bottom lines.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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