Up in the downtown sky, look: Are those new high-rises meant to be hotels or condo buildings? More and more, you’ll see towers that combine both things. These dual-purpose mega towers are on the rise across South Florida, serving the region’s tourism industry and the demand for new housing, experts say.
Up in the downtown sky, look: Are those new high-rises meant to be hotels or condo buildings? More and more, you’ll see towers that combine both things.
These dual-purpose mega towers are on the rise across South Florida, serving the region’s tourism industry and the demand for new housing, experts say.
Among them are a 92-story tower in Miami that will showcase 902 apartments and 200 hotel rooms. In Fort Lauderdale, a 46-story building will offer 113 condos on the upper 30 floors of the building, in addition to hotel rooms.
A rash of condo-hotel developments had emerged during the building boom of the 2000s, but many failed amid the housing crisis as prices plunged, said Deerfield Beach-based real estate analyst Jack McCabe. While projects mostly stopped in 2009, they started again just a few years ago, he said.
The benefits to the residents include getting hotel-quality amenities and services that includes concierge and valet, as well as round-the-clock food delivery. Others offer massage at 2 a.m. and rides to the airport, he said. “There are some definite pluses to doing it this way,” McCabe said.
Here’s a look at some of these high-rises underway.
Miami
One Bayfront Plaza was built about 60 years ago as a 19-story office and retail building. Its owner of 40 years, Florida East Coast Realty, said it will wait for leases to expire in late 2020. By 2021, Tibor Hollo, the founder of FECR, plans to break ground on the 92-story high-rise of the project that will keep the same name.
The project will include 902 apartments, 200 hotel rooms, as well as office and retail space, at 100 S. Biscayne Blvd., although the hotel brand has not been finalized.
“The location is so powerful,” Hollo said. “It’s really good for any kind of development but we thought the combination gives a good balance to the building.”
Also in Miami, developer Habitat Group recently started demolition of two apartment buildings near the downtown to make way for three interconnected towers of homes and hotel rooms. Known as the Smart Brickell project, it is designed to have 150 hotel rooms and 170 condos, said Santiago Vanegas, founder, CEO and president of Habitat Group.
More amenities are usually offered at a hotel than in a standard condo, so combining the two gives residents the best of both worlds, Vanegas said.
“You could call the front desk to the hotel for room service from the coffee shop or the bar,” Vanegas said of the condo residents.
Vanegas said some buyers might be hesitant to buy in a condo or apartment building with a hotel component because they feel they can lose privacy to tourists who share the amenities. He said that concern is usually abated with private elevators, and security systems to ensure that the condos remain sealed off to hotel guests.
“They love it,” he said of the condo residents. “That’s the market. It’s an alternative.”
His condos will start in the $300,000s.
Source: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-hotel-condos-combo-trend-20181030-story.html
