The Meridian, a new condo in Boca Raton, is just the latest overpriced, over-hyped, real-estate product. 

Located at the Northwest intersection of Palmetto Park Avenue and A1A, this morbidly pink building tries to mask its frugal pompousness with silly design elements such as large concrete balls and oversized balustrades.

The building’s silly attempt at importance is just a small part of the problem. While the developer – Minneapolis-based “Opus Group” -- touted its prized location, upon closer inspection a new condo buyer is bound to be disappointed.

The building is not on the beach, but across from it -- on a very busy, and loud, intersection.

The unfortunate owners will have the calming sound of the waves drowned out by loud music and even noisier cars.

And, the beach is far from tranquil and quiet. It is a boisterous, busy and sometimes dirty. And at least one the building’s buyers – some of whom are paying close to $3 million (and who you think should know better) – has already started litigation against the developer.

One buyer, Irvling L “Irv” Slosberg, has reportedly sued because he claims the developer short-changed him on square footage. While this is possible, could it be that Slosberg realized he was paying a large sum of money, for an awful building, location, and apartment that turned out to be less than idyllic?   

Posted by Rich Silverman at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is a community in Boca Raton called, “The Preserve.”

This particular group of homes, named after the tree-filled wildlife oasis it single-handedly destroyed, is located between two noisy intersections -- Yamato Road and Military Trail -- and many of those homes are priced at over 1.5 million dollars.

There you will find a guard-gated community with typical faux Mediterranean homes, featuring over 4000 square feet of open and uninspired floor plans, crowded onto small lots.

While The Preserve destroyed flora and fauna and thus decimated the area’s natural beauty, there is now new activity adjacent to this exclusive enclave. Recently, another new upscale and rather lavish community opened on The Preserve’s southern side. And now some of Boca Raton’s richest and swellest are moving in right next door.

These new neighbors reside mainly in two large buildings adorned with typical South Florida  fauxness. Columns, medallions, garlands, porticos, and all the excesses these residents have come to expect.

The buildings are even segregated, with Jewish folks on one side, Christians on the other. But there is no disharmony between the two groups. No fights, harsh words, or anti-neighborly incidents have been reported.

You see, these residents on the southern side are all – how should I put it – dead.  Yes, Boca Raton’s newest community of celebrated decadence and “excessive excess” is a cemetery and a mausoleum or, as the sales representatives like to call it, a “Memorial Park.”

So, the living residents of the The Preserve’s gated community, with their expensive homes that resulted in the needless death of South Florida’s indigenous wildlife, are living next to non-indigenous, lifeless Floridians, that might bring about the demise of the area’s property values.

Talk about real estate hell!

Homes over one million dollars with unobstructed views of a cemetery.

Should the possible devaluation of the area’s property values trigger eternal gloom, well, have no fear, you can always be interred feet from your dream home.

Somewhere, egrets, falcons, cranes and ibises are smiling.

Posted by Rich Silverman at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a cautionary tale, about a group of Americans just like you and me.

It is about "Eden," an upscale, condominium development in Boca Raton, Florida that certainly has not lived up to any notion of paradise.

This condo was scheduled for completion years ago. Purchasers were excited about its great address and proximity to the beach. Eden is also located near local attractions such as Mizner Park (an upscale shopping and housing development complete with a fine regional museum and amphitheater).

The condo promised all the amenities a would-be buyer would love. A large, resort-style pool, club house, exercise room and all those bells and whistles developers promise.

A buyer at Eden was not just purchasing a condo, but a relaxed, vacation-like lifestyle which extended to the individual apartments. All totally new, with fine finishes and features such as over-sized bathrooms, wood floors, flexible floor plans, large closets, granite countertops. Everything new, everything beautiful, everything perfect.

As the sales brochures and in-house sales personnel informed prospective buyers: "You are purchasing Eden."

WELCOME TO REAL ESTATE HELL!

Unfortunately, none of the promises has materialized.

The poor purchasers -- unfortunate souls all -- have waited over two years for the developer, a company called Ceebraid-Signal, to complete their homes. These prospective owners have been more than patient, making calls to the developer, local newspapers, and politicians. Some have even hired attorneys.

While a few purchasers have moved in, most haven’t. And, as our picture shows, the bulk of the buildings remain uncladded shells.

What is most interesting is the company’s principal, a fellow by the name of Adam Schlesinger, stakes claim to this marketing doozy -- perhaps the most ambitious and ridiculous we have ever encountered.

And for that, Mr. Schlesinger is our nominee for "Developer from Hell."

Posted by Rich Silverman at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)