The Largest Penthouse in Downtown Miami – Part 1
September 16, 2009 by Lucas Lechuga
This penthouse is so massive that I decided to cover it in four different blog posts - one for each floor. The main entrance to the penthouse is located on the second level which is where we start the tour below...
The Dollar Store called, they want their railing back.
I agree, that railing doesn’t do it for me at all…. How much for the condo?
Unfortunately, the great majority of developers put in sub-par railing in order to meet code standards. They would probably just leave out the railing if they could and qualify the void as another “designer ready” finish.
Crappy railing aside, I am impressed at the amount of space and glass in the place. It’s even more impressive when one considers this is only one of four levels of the unit. The finish in the kitchen is distinctive. Reminds me of an ’88 Jaguar XJ6 burl woodgrain dash. Not for everyone, but still very much worth noting. All that said, prices at Marquis are still ridiculous. And this unit, with its “uniqueness factor,” must be no exception.
Lucas, please save us the artificial anticipation and just post the rest of the pics. I still remember the masterpiece that Pharrell bought at Bristol from Ugo C. That was a 3 story PH, but I believe it was larger than this. And boy was it badass.
Lest anyone think I can’t say anything positive here, this looks like an amazing residence. I look fwd to the rest of the tour.
For reference purposes.
Icon South Beach PH1
Listing Price: $16,000,000
Selling Price: $12,140,000
Selling Price Per Square Foot: $1,145.28
Interior Area: 10600 sf (984.8 m)
Closed 2006
2008 Taxes $146,005.99
PH2 same building smaller unit
7/2007
Sale Amount: $7,000,000
Some penthouses in Miami are selling for 50% off asking price. Horrible job by owners to realistically price their units.
Lucas, why feature a condo in the multi million $ range, when most of the potential
buyers (99%) cannot even dream about purchasing? It would be the same as if I am
in the dealership to purchase a new Mini Cooper but instead you are redirecting me
to a new Rolls Royce convertible. What is the point? You want to impress me……..
tell me about a unit that sold for $450sq/ft in 2006, and just came on to the market
priced at $175sq/ft…..now you have my attention!
The condo is really nice, I also took a tour. The rep told me that the cheap railing is only to appease OSHA, and that the buyers will have a choice of finish out…
I’m curious to see what the final sales price will be. The rep told me that they wanted to ask $750/ft, but are expecting around $500/ft.
Looks like another “decorator ready” condo—-big a huge checkbook
It is definitely an interesting unit. The views depicted are terrific. What strikes me as unfortunate is the proximity of the unit to the expressway.
It also strikes me that the developer went “all in” on a lot of cheesey appliances – – e.g. the wine cooler (which, from a practical point of view, do little more than take up space as they only “chill” wines to +/- 45 degress; not enough for a white wine). I echo WildBill’s comment – – the railing is, AT BEST, a Dollar Store product. (Maybe a free hat and a cup of soup came with it)
The kitchen counter top IS interesting – – nice use of natural stone. Unfortunately, the developer seems to have cut a major corner. A laminated, glue-on wanes coating below a stone counter top? Really?
Equally important, and I admit that I am not familiar with this development, the fact that the unit has not been completed speaks volumes. It is a great space, but its greatness is seriously undermined by the fact that nobody seems to want it – – let alone wants to finish it.
Scriv.
Thanks for posting Lucas. Please continue the good work. I have not read the comments on your site in weeks. I decided to read them today because of this outstanding unit. The comments are still the same. Some of these a**holes who comment still don’t have anything nice to say. It’s a shame some people hate themselves, and always have a negative opinion about someone or something.
So what about the railings? It’s decorator ready. Check the railings in Apogee PH A. before the glass railing and wood floors where put in. Those first metal railings belonged in a prison. The railings are just used for building code standards.
ICON PH-1 has a market value for 2009 of $5,626,060. Interior square footage is 9,039. The 10,000 square feet was only estimation.
Contiuum S.T. PH-1 listed for $25M a few years ago. Then the priced dropped to $14,950,000. and eventually sold for $9,900,000. May 2009.
Where is that Smart Money guy?
Once again thanks Lucas.
I realize the decorator-ready thing is pretty much a scam and by-product of the bubble era, but I think in ultra high-end RE like this it kinda makes sense. The average joe buying a $200,000 condo likely doesn’t have the money to finish out a unit on top of paying the purchase price, so they’re gonna be looking for a finished unit, which might not be to their exact taste, but is still nice. Someone who is buying a property like the one featured here obviously has very deep pockets, and most likely, very distinctive taste, so it makes sense that these people would have the opportunity to customize their home to their exact specifications. Obviously the sales price should reflect that this is just a shell, and it’s gonna take some serious cash to get it to move-in condition.
DJ – this decorator-ready thing is a bit of a US invention and I agree misdirects the buyer – I mena you need to add $45-$100 a sq ft to do something nicely. You don’t see it in the UK, France (well you’d have to put a kitchen in), and certainly not in Asia.
Don’t know if you would consider it “downtown” but the Santa Maria has two 10,000 square foot units, Bristol has a 9080 square foot unit, and the Four Seasons has 2 units over 8000 square feet as well.
The last one of Santa Maria’s 10,000 square foot units went for $14 million in 2007.
I thought my DAD “ACE”just bought the biggest penthouse in Miami for $118 a sq. ft.and he’s looking at another one right now. Go Daddy GO
Dad called about this unit and was told that a CANADIAN was interested in it for a weekend getaway.
The railing is so cheap it would have been better to leave it bare if the develloper did not have the money to put something else
File this one under Real Estate Porn. Definitely nice to look at, and I hope it has 2 laundry rooms lol.
Ok, I can’t resist. How cheap is the railing?
That railing is so cheap, it’s on the dollar menu.
That railing is so cheap, they only got an xbox 180 with every purchase.
Thoughts?
Scriv.
Annamaria,
It was mentioned earlier. The railing was only put in for legal reasons in order to show/sell the unit. It is expectd that a buyer will do the floors, railings, window treatments, terrace tiling, paint, yadda yadda.
5,000 interior sq feet and the 2,700 sq ft terrace would work for me.
JL,
So are you saying this is too big? That’s like saying you can have too much money…
You can never be too big for bragging rights, but the reality is, for practical use I don’t think I’d ever want to go over 5,000 sq feet. Seriously, can you imagine having to go to your private elevator, take it up 3 stories and go down a hallway to look for your wallet and keys… can’t find it, then take the elevator down 3 stories, look down 1 hallway, check out a couple roooms, then go up 1 flight of stairs, etc….
julian? wow….good to see you here.
anyway, you all need to stop whining about the finishes in this place. whoever is buying it is going to rip ALL of it out and do what he/she wants with the space. at this price point, money isn’t an issue.
as for the unit itself, it looks nice, but i’m curious, with that location on the expressway, why not move a bit south and buy a PH at TMP?
i saw the icon PH a few years back (i’m not sure about the sales date listed above – i’m pretty sure i saw it in 2007). even unfinished, it was a ridiculous space. curious about the apogee PH. those views must be absurd.
Estimated 150K per year in property taxes. Yowza! What are the monthly association dues on that joint or one like it, 6-10K per month? 22K per month even if you pay cash for the place. Dang.
Great views and size but looks like an awkward layout. No terrace off of main living area….not good for entertaining. I am sure rooftop and lower terraces are nice, but much nicer to open sliders in living area for a party on a cool night. Terrace on lower level is semi-private as there is a semi-transparent divider with condo next door….not cool for $8 Million. Also, the space seems very cut up with differing ceiling soffits and odd structural beams, and weird room shapes….not elegant space.
I found all of the layouts in Marquis to be very poor with wasted space, too many hallways, and small living areas. I think these problems in addition to pricing and market realities will doom this building. Its ashame because finish of common areas and quality of construction is top notch. The architects were not an asset for this project.
It’s just been announced that the Ace is running for Chris Dodd’s Senate Seat in 2010 as a Republican even though he’s a Libertarian.
If I lived in Connecticut Peter you’d have my vote.
I bet it gets really steamy in this unit when the sun comes up – – – side bets on whether the developer installed low-e glass. My money is on “no.”
For a similar experience, ask any one who lives in NeoVertika in a unit that faces east. When the sun comes up, it gets down right toasty! That “chink” nose? That’s the sound of the electric meters going in to high gear!
BFG IV
scrivener — I’ve been wondering the same thing about the glass in Continuum North, as that building also faces due east.
——
As for the finishes (or lack thereof), I agree it’s mostly a scam, as the developers don’t price in a discount, but if I had $5-10 million laying around and bought a unit like this, I’d *much* prefer a bare unit like this one. If you’re going to spend $5-10 mil, you might as well spend another $250,000 to $500,000 to finish it exactly to your own specs/preferences, and it’s a lot faster to design from a bare finish than it is to have to rip out the old before installing the new.
Joe:
Brilliant! A very valid point.
I agree. If I were to purchase the unit, for say 10-12 mil, I would definitely go through it with a wrecking ball. Soup to nuts, full gut: install floor (with deadening felt/sound barrier!), spray foam insulation and sound barrier for the walls, rip out the ridiculous island and move the kitchen out of its “bat cave”, etc.)
As for the windows, I don’t know what really can be done. Replacing the glass would be enormously costly and the condo association probably wouldn’t let it happen. But the glass is probably a real problem.
For example, a friend of mine had a 2 bedroom unit in NeoVertika. The unit was brand new when she moved in (rental) and had a tremendous view looking down the river. But my friend reported that when the sun came up in the morning – – the place heated up like a reflector oven. We joke about it – – now, not then – – as being similar to the scene from the movie The Chronicles of Riddick when they are on the prison colony and the sun hits the planet’s surface and everything exposed gets fried/vaporized. My friend’s electric bills for the year she was there were enormous. (the noise from Big Fish and the club across the street from Big Fish were a real problem too – – – and Miami PD did not enforce the noise ordinance!)
Scrivener
To be honest had a lot of fun reading answers…really.
The funny ones, the teasing ones, the technical ones, the ‘expert’ ones,…etc…
Congratulation for your web site that seems to drive a lot of attention.
By the way, how much ?
I am travelling tomorrow to Miami for a week. If opportunities please call @305 987 7464
I am pretty disapointed by what I just saw. I thought that this penthouse would have a vew to the south but I see that it only has North and East… that sucks