Fisher Island Real Estate, Bal Harbour Real Estate, Miami Beach Real Estate, Miami-Dade Real Estate, Omar H. Scandura,Biscayne Corridor Real Estate, Downtonw, Uptown, Midtown, Upper East Side Miami Real Estate

April 2005:
The elected body approved yet another project to be included in Brickell´s massive skyline:
The Pointe at Brickell Village, a 42-story mixed-use project comprising 330 multifamily residences, 13,659 square feet of retail space and 41,553 square feet of office space.

March 2005: Seeking a major-use special permit are developers of the $142 million Pointe at Brickell Village, 1100 S. Miami Ave., which is to have 300 condo units, 41,553 square feet of offices and 13,659 square feet of retail, totaling 362,830 square feet.
The planning department and advisory board back approval.

January 2005: The Miami City Commission is to vote today (1/27) on adding 4,235 housing units to the city's burgeoning supply. Among them:

South Bayshore Tower, a 47-story building by South Bayshore Tower LLC, at 1300 and 1390 Brickell Bay Drive, 171 and 183 SE 14th St. and 180 SE 13th St., would have 364 units in 447,989 square feet, 10,000 square feet of retail and 501 parking spaces.

January 13, 2005,
Agreement reached in Brickell Park disputeBy Suzy Valentine

Deceased members of the Brickell family can rest in peace now that some of their descendants are close to a deal with Related Group of Florida over preservation of one of the Brickell area's last remaining green spaces.
   In the deal, made about 45 days ago, according to Related Vice President Bill Thompson, the family agreed to deed about 8,300 square feet of Brickell Park next to the Sheraton Brickell Bay hotel in exchange for 11,000 square feet of bayfront land behind the Sheraton belonging to Related.
   It would end a lawsuit over preservation of the area filed more than 16 years ago.
   Aside from its recreational value, the park has historical and archaeological connections. It houses a family mausoleum from which most of the bodies of the Brickells buried there have been removed and earlier formed with Miami Circle the site of a Tequesta Indian settlement.
   "The parties got into the thicket, and it took some creativity to cut through the thicket," said attorney John Shubin of Shubin Bass, who is refining the agreement.
   "Several years ago, a group of affected landowners and many of you in this organization retained our firm," he told members of the Brickell Area Association on Tuesday, "to look into the proposal whereby the Brickell family and the City of Miami would try to resolve litigation pending since 1988."
   The substance of the agreement is that Brickell Park except the areas being exchanged between Related and the Brickell family will be transferred to the city with a covenant in perpetuity restricting use to a passive park. It can't be converted to a soccer or baseball field.
   Mr. Thompson encouraged members of the Brickell Area Association at their meeting at the JW Marriott on Brickell Avenue to support the deal by a resolution. The association agreed to consider it privately once Related had sent the proposal. It next is scheduled to meet Feb. 8.
   Mr. Thompson pledged that improvements to the park would include a review of lighting to make it more inviting to users. Oak trees from the Sheraton site would be uprooted and replanted in Brickell Park.
   The hotel, which Related recently purchased for more than $100 million, would remain open for six months longer, he said, after which it would be demolished, making way for groundbreaking this fall or next spring.
   Related - one of South Florida's most active high-rise residential developers - would be allowed to use more of the park space during construction but it would remain open, Mr. Thompson said.
   A planning application would be submitted shortly, he said.
   "That would be helpful in making all things come together," said Mr. Thompson.
   The development would feature three towers - one of 45-48 stories, another of 52-55 stories and one of 55-57 stories.
   A baywalk connecting the area to downtown is planned "to alleviate traffic congestion," Mr. Thompson said.
   Addressing suggestions that one of the buildings might undergo a change of use to office space depending upon the market, Mr. Thompson said Related would have to look carefully at the logistics of providing more parking spaces.
   But he said parking for residential use had been considered at the early planning stage and there would be adequate spaces for residents and park users.

December 14, 2004 Related buys Sheraton Biscayne Bay:

The Related Group of Florida has paid a company record -- $94 million - for the waterfront, downtown Miami property that currently holds the Sheraton Biscayne Bay hotel.
(Icon-Brickell)

The 600-room Brickell Avenue hotel won't be there for long, though.

Related Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jorge Perez reportedly plans to raze the hotel in a bit more than six months to raise either residential and retail space or offices and a hotel.

The condominium development specialist said he can erect more than 2 million square feet on the land under current zoning requirements. MassMutual previously owned the five-acre, bayfront parcel bordered by parks. On one side is the Miami Circle - which derailed an earlier developer's condo plan -and on the other is the 2.2-acre Brickell Park.

From the April 9, 2004 1,200-unit condo faces opposition Paola Iuspa-Abbott

A battle is brewing in one of Miami's most exclusive neighborhoods, as a Miami developer plans 1,200 units in a parcel initially permitted for fewer than 400.

A group of Brickell area residents are preparing for what could be heated opposition to the proposed Villa Magna, a residential condominium project.

Developer Tibor Hollo, chairman of Florida East Coast Realty, is asking the city to amend a 1998 permit that allowed a smaller project on the 3.7 acres on Biscayne Bay. In September, he submitted an application to build two 57-story towers with about 35,000 square feet of retail space, a plaza and a bay walk at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, in Miami's financial district.

Hollo said his design is better than the original plan.

The 1998 approved project consisted of a 67-story tower parallel to Biscayne Bay, blocking the water view of nearby towers, he said, while the proposed $300 million Villa Magna would be lower and perpendicular to the water.

Villa Magna was approved and would be one of Brickell's largest residential projects.

The Related Group is planning the 1,000-unit Plaza on Brickell condominium amid the office buildings on Brickell at Brickell Way. It will have retail on the lower floors.

Nearby is the recently built 70-story Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, the tallest building south of Atlanta.

Neighbors and buyers of nearby units said Hollo's project is too massive.
They said they are also fed up with construction.

Thirty-eight neighbors sent opinion cards to the city's Planning Department opposing the development, according to city records. Only three were in favor.

Most of the complaints said the area had had enough construction and that the planned towers were three times the size of the surrounding buildings.

April 2004
Brickell View Condominiums: a six-story, 45-unit conversion project developed by BH Capital Partners, opens April at 126 SW 17th Rd., a block off Brickell Avenue.
Two-bedroom, one-bath apartments start at $179,900. Now Vue at Brickell

March 2004
Posted on Sun, Mar. 14, 2004 Miami Herald.com
H & H Development has purchased a site at 186 SE 12th Ter. in Miami and plans to build a 22-story condominium called Solaris. Purchase price was $6.75 million with CommerceBank providing a $2.65 million acquisition loan.

The $45 million project will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units ranging from 750 to 1,500 square feet.
Prices will run from $211,000 to $700,000. Sales will start this month with construction scheduled for June.

Edward Cox Interiors Designing Miami Condo Project
By Melissa Bogdany . GlobeSt.com

MIAMI-H&H Development Co. has hired Edward Cox Interiors as the interior designer for the public spaces at Solaris, a 138-unit condominium project planned for the Brickell area of the city.

The boutique-style development, located at 186 S.E. 12 Terrace off Brickell Avenue, will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, ranging in size from 770 sf to 1,685 sf and priced from the $250,000s. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.

The 20-year old company is known for a tropical style, and has designed several projects in the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. Their projects have included Arvida St. Joe, Hawks Cay, the Spa at Cheeca Lodge, Mizner Court and Tower in Boca Raton, FL, and Weston Hills Country Club in Weston, FL.

Company principal Edward Cox has incorporated light into the public areas, and the lobby will have an open space featuring high ceilings and a park-like environment. In addition, it will have a landscaped pool deck with fabric draped cabanas. The club lounge extends from the pool deck. Rich woods also are a feature in areas such as the cappuccino bar, billiards area and library. Cohen, Freedman, Encinosa is the projects architect.