December 27, 2012
It looks like it isn’t just the foreign market buying up the luxury waterfront real estate in Miami. New Yorkers are buying a significant amount of the oceanfront condos and waterfront estates for investment purposes.
Sam Tawfik, a New York developer and investor, purchased 27 waterfront apartments and penthouse units for almost twelve million in the up-and-coming area just off of Biscayne Boulevard. Many are looking at this Midtown Miami neighborhood as the new SoHo.
“This is the time to be a New York seller and a Miami buyer,” said developer Sam Tawfik, who owns commercial property in Manhattan and shopping centers in the tri-state area. “The upside is better and competition less intense in Miami. Every hedge fund and international investor wants to buy in New York. Midtown is like a mini-boomtown.”
Most of the one and two-bedroom condo units he purchased are already rented. The rent ranges from seventeen hundred to three thousand dollars per month.
“I think to be a mover and shaker in Miami with a New York get it done mentality can be very profitable,” Tawfik said. “This area has a cool demographic. It’s chic and sophisticated but not pretentious. You can feel the energy on the streets like it felt in SoHo or Trebeca 20 years ago. Look at those places now.”
Shimon Bokovza, founder and CEO of Samba Brands Management which owns Sushi Samba, recently opened Sugarcane Raw Bar & Grill a few blocks from Tawfik’s condo purchase.
“Not only will Midtown become a huge housing community for thousands of people, but also a major mid-priced retail market,” said Bokovza, who chose Manhattan based-architect and design team Cetra Ruddy to design the space. “The neighborhood is already known for its community feel, art scene and local flavor.”
New York developer iStar Residential has two buildings that are almost sold out. Ocean House, a boutique building located in a stylish South Beach neighborhood has only 18 units left. The units range from 4,500 square feet to 7,000 and the prices are upwards of seven and a half million.
Paramount Bay is located on the waterfront near Wynwood, and was designed by rock singer Lenny Kravitz’s Kravitz Design Inc. About 30 units are remaining with a starting price of seven hundred thousand for a one bedroom.
“This is American Riviera,” Tawfik said. “It’s 80 degrees outside. People think this market is all about the foreign buyer. New Yorkers love it here, too.”
Source: New York Daily News
