Miami condos SearchMiami condo king Jorge Pérez battles to survive real estate slump
The Related Group is turning over control of the 420-unit West Palm Beach condo tower to an investor group in a ''friendly foreclosure'' facilitated by its lenders, the Miami-based company said Wednesday.
The new owners, a consortium led by Toronto-based Scotia Capital, will acquire title to all of the unsold units in the nearly empty CityPlace South Tower in downtown West Palm Beach. The price wasn't disclosed.
CityPlace South Tower developers had contracted to sell 367 units but only managed to close on 39, according to a statement. However, the souring real estate market -- especially among condos -- caused ''a number'' of those buyers to default on their contracts, the statement said.
Swire Properties, the Hong Kong company that turned a ragged island off downtown Miami into tony Brickell Key, is placing its next South Florida bet.
The developer has snapped up nearly six acres of prime downtown land west of Brickell Avenue. The price tag for the two vacant parcels straddling S. Miami Avenue: $41.3 million.
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Brickell Key developer buys up more prime land
Brickell Key developer buys up more prime land
Swire Properties, the Hong Kong company that turned a ragged island off downtown Miami into tony Brickell Key, is placing its next South Florida bet.
The developer has snapped up nearly six acres of prime downtown land west of Brickell Avenue. The price tag for the two vacant parcels straddling S. Miami Avenue: $41.3 million.
As many builders and bankers struggle to survive amid the downturn, others are now laying the groundwork for the next upturn -- at cheaper prices.
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Miami real estate developer to join Miami Dolphins team
Miami real estate developer to join Miami Dolphins team
First, it was Jimmy Buffett.
Then, Emilio and Gloria Estefan.
Now, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is adding prominent Miami real estate developer Jorge Perez, his close friend and longtime business partner, to the team's lineup.
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Miami condo corridor's woes create boon for renters
Miami condo corridor's woes create boon for renters
It's not hard to get Regan Marock to gush about his rental unit in a twin-tower luxury building in the heart of Miami's high-rise corridor. The two-bedroom condo has stainless steel appliances, a jetted tub and dazzling views of the city -- not to mention the two pools, gym, spas, movie theater and game room in the building.
Renting straight from the developer, The Related Group, Marock pays $1,450 for the plush, spanking new digs at 500 Brickell. Monthy mortgage payments for the roughly $350,000 unit, bought with 20 percent down, at today's interest rate would run about $1,482 -- not including taxes, insurance and association fees, which could add a thousand dollars or more to the bill.
''It's the most incredible thing,'' said Marock, 24, a sales director at a Coral Gables property management company.
BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN
mhaggman@MiamiHerald.com
Video Series: Miami's mega-developer, Jorge Pérez
Jorge Pérez is the head of Related Group, the giant development company which is opening the Icon Brickell hotel and condos on Brickell at the Miami River.
* Introduction: Miami's mega-developer, Jorge Pérez
* On his wealth: 'I hope I'm not remembered by that'
* On increasing urban density, changing the face of Miami
* On the state of business development
* On the economy
* On dealing with lenders, getting aid from them
* On making money
* Miami developer Perez discusses successes, economy
Rising from city bureaucrat to billionaire builder, Jorge Pérez became the great American success story, Miami style. The Cuban immigrant made the South Florida skyline his canvas, erecting high-rises from Miami to West Palm Beach.
But not one of them can compare to his latest creation, the ICON Brickell, a sumptuous $1 billion glass-and-concrete city within a city that includes three soaring towers, a pool the size of a football field, 1,640 condos, a boutique hotel and five restaurants.
It is Florida's most spectacular condo, Pérez's masterpiece, his legacy.
And, now, it may be his undoing.
Pérez is scrambling to survive one of the most turbulent moments in Florida real estate history. His company -- The Related Group -- has lost more than $1 billion in the last year and confronts nearly $2 billion in debt. The ICON, responsible for much of that debt, sits largely empty as those who made 20 percent preconstruction deposits either flee or find themselves unable to get a mortgage.
Last month, Pérez met with dozens of bankers at the Hilton hotel in downtown Miami, asking for more time to pay off the debt, mostly due this year. As he waits for the bankers to decide, Pérez's landmark project hangs in the balance.
The ''total meltdown that we are seeing today,'' Pérez said, is far worse than he ever imagined.
``In order for us to succeed, we need help from our lenders.''
It's a new and scary time for Miami's Condo King. But betting big -- and sometimes losing big -- has always been part of the craps game that is South Florida real estate.
In 1920s South Florida, George Merrick created Coral Gables, only to be derailed by the Florida real estate bust, the hurricane of 1926 and the onset of the Great Depression.
Miami Beach land baron Carl Fisher peddled a vision of tropical paradise to Northerners, becoming fabulously rich. Eventually, he, too, would go bust.
The real estate meltdown is Pérez's hurricane, but he says he'll never end up broke.
For three years, he has been included on the Forbes List of 400 Richest Americans. And yet, last month, when Forbes called about including him in its upcoming list, Pérez told them: ``Forget about it.''
BUILDING HIS FORTUNE
Pérez was an economic development director with the city of Miami before he decided to become a developer. In 1979, he founded The Related Group with New York builder Stephen M. Ross, who recently bought the Miami Dolphins. Pérez first became rich by building low-income apartments across the state, then branched off into rental apartments before becoming the most prolific high-rise luxury condo builder in the country."
The Two Tequesta condo Brickell Key amenities include:
Bedrooms: 1 & 2
Children's Recreation area
Loft 2 Downtown Miami Condominium location: 
pool, soothing spa and lava rock sauna
daniel.hornek
Miami Metrorail. Valencia offers 300 residences on seven floors with nine different Floorplans ranging in size from 652 to 1,164 sq.ft. In one, two and three bedroom condos layouts. 
