When Icon
South Beach opened for sales in
2004, the excitement was palpable -
at one point, 30 to 40 of the 290
units were selling each month, and
one broker eventually had a waiting
list of 200 for resale units. The
building's sleek Philippe Starck
interiors screamed South Beach chic,
while its relatively gentle pricing
(some one-bedrooms originally sold
for $350,000) appealed to buyers in
Miami's smoking-hot South of Fifth
(SoFi) market.
Those who bought in have been
rewarded. Today, one-bedroom resales
are priced from $599,000 to
$735,000.
The Related Group of Florida,
which developed Icon and a handful
of other SoFi projects, is now
generating similar buzz with another
Icon - Icon Las Olas, in Fort
Lauderdale. The 272-unit, 42-story
building, which won't be ready for
occupancy until 2010, is already 50
percent sold.
And while there might not be a
feeding frenzy around Icon Las Olas
the way there was in South Beach,
that isn't so surprising.
"The personas of the cities are
different; the dynamic of the
marketplace is different," says
Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, chairperson
of Related Cervera, which handles
sales and marketing for the Icon
buildings.
"We're selling seven to 10 units
a month," she adds. "There's a
steady absorption rate in Fort
Lauderdale of three to four units a
month overall, and we're doubling
that."
"Icon has South Beach, Miami
Brickell, Fort Lauderdale and even
Panama [projects]," says Mark
Zilbert of Zilbert Realty, which has
some of the resale listings for Icon
South Beach. "It has become a very
strong brand."
And while the building boom in
Fort Lauderdale is nothing like what
South Beach has seen, Icon does have
some luxurious neighbors on the
rise.
Other new projects include the W
Hotel & Residences slated to open
early next year, with 171 one- and
two-bedroom hotel-condo units priced
from $975,000 to more than $1.9
million (the project is 75 to 80
percent sold); Trump Las Olas (which
recently amended its project to
offer only fractional ownership);
and the St. Regis Spa and
Residences, which has sold all but
two of its 28 condo units (which
went from $1.8 million to $17
million) and all but seven of its
hotel-condo units (priced from $1
million to $2.75 million).
At Icon, units average $600 per
square foot; 870-square-foot
one-bedroom, 11/2-bath apartments go
for $567,900 to $627,900, and there
are also two-bedroom, three-bedroom
and four-bedroom units. A
four-bedroom, 41/2-bath,
3,368-square-foot apartment is
priced around $2 million.
"We've got the best location -
right on Las Olas Boulevard - and
the best value," says Icon Las Olas
sales manager Bill Hahne. "We're
also the tallest, with protected
views all the way to the ocean."
All units have balconies and
floor-to-ceiling windows. Building
amenities include a spa, infinity
pool, 24-hour concierge and valet, a
wine cellar with lockers and an
auto-detailing service.
The building's understated style
- with an "organic design" by David
Rockwell that is "quiet in its
elegance," according to Cervera
Lamadrid - appeals to the kind of
buyer who might choose Fort
Lauderdale over Miami, which is
"intrinsically international while
Fort Lauderdale is not," she says.
"In South Beach, a typical
vacation-home owner spends short
periods of time there. In Fort
Lauderdale, the second-home buyer
stays for several months."
But don't get the impression that
Fort Lauderdale only appeals to old,
stodgy, boring Americans. While it's
not quite fair to compare the energy
of SoFi to the tranquility of Las
Olas Boulevard, the tree-lined
stretch boasts hundreds of
galleries, antique shops, upscale
boutiques and outdoor cafes. And
Icon buyers will be able to take a
short water-taxi ride to the
celebrated Broward Center of the
Performing Arts, to the art and
science museums and to the marina
and beach 11/2 miles east. The
proximity to these attractions has
helped draw a diverse group of
buyers.
"Our buyers are all different -
from all age groups, young and old,
and from 15 different countries,"
Hahne says.
Fisher Island