 |
 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?
The Bal Harbour Sheraton hotel located just north of Miami Beach, and one of the better hotels of the Sheraton brand is about to be demolished. Replacing it will be a St. Regis condo-hotel. The St. Regis, like the Sheraton, is owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts – one of the largest “hotel and leisure” companies. The difference between the two brands is that the St. Regis group comprises one of the company's premium products, while the Sheraton is its mid-range, family/business hotel. The soon to be constructed St. Regis will be in a great location -- on the beach -- carrying a swell Bal Harbour address and situated directly across the street from the super upscale Bal Harbour Shops. The shops, an open air mall, has Neiman Marcus as its anchor, and features Tiffany’s and Harry Winston -- retailers that are more fitting for a St. Regis crowd, than a typical Sheraton visitor. The St. Regis condo advertisements feature typical industry hyperbole: “world class spa,” “professional gym,” “designer lobby,” and “top-of-the-line appliances.” While the property’s promotional material touts its ocean direct location and, by extension, the building’s great views, ads fail to mention what most residents will really be looking at. To maximize profits and squeeze in as many units as possible, residents will have a partial or total view of other residents’ bedrooms and living areas. Many owners and guest will be treated to a view of this: Too bad. The Bal Harbour Sheraton was a little funky, a little kitschy, with somewhat of a personality. When viewing the awful design of the new St. Regis, even an architectural novice can conclude this large bland building has to be a project by or partnered with the environmental terrorist development team of Sieger Suarez (SS). Non-descript buildings crowd every square inch of beach they can destroy. The project, like most of the buildings SS markets, was met with community opposition. Height, open-space requirements, and, traffic were just a few issues community residents addressed. Unlike many of their other buildings, SS was able to assuage much of the opposition. Apparently the promise of community use of some of the hotel/condos amenities, and the switch from a Sheraton to a St. Regis was enough to win some over. Unfortunately, the residents don’t know this is not just a St. Regis, but a property connected with Sieger Suarez. Pleasing aesthics, original design, and site specific buildings are not their strong points. Beach-destroying highrises are. The project with prices starting at 1.3 millions dollars, (at $1,500 per square feet), has few takers. Why? The soon to be constructed building will be as visually unappealing as the buildings the residents will be forced to look at. Perhaps that is just desserts for the residents of the adjacent building. Now they, too, can see a building as large, incongruous, and as beach unfriendly, as their own.
We often think of politicians as hypocrites -- you know Al Gore living in several mansions, and using about twenty times the fuel the rest of us consume. Or maybe celebrities preaching to us about an environmentally conscious lifestyle, as they use their private jets to damage the environment. Or maybe some religious figure or adherent preaching a temperate life while indulging in the very sins he wages against. But developers. Well they are just plain greedy. And, for some reason, we just accept that. But, in fact, some developers are better than others, often cooperating with communities in which they build. However, the most egregious and most environmentally destructive (at least in South Florida) are the clowns from the firm of Sieger Suarez (SS). After destroying much of the fragile Florida coastline and irreplaceable marshlands, the firm has decided that they are going to do some good … In Auschwitz. They have proposed a “sacred grounds” on the site of the notorious death camp. The SS has fought environmentalist, town councils, and the poor, to set new precedents in luxury condos, where they don’t belong. Based on their previous indifference to communities, Poland better watch out. If the SS could build condos in Auschwitz, they would. To access SS’s website, please use the following link: http://www.siegersuarez.com/siegersuarez.profile.history.asp click on the projects link and follow the prompts to the "Sacred Grounds, Auschwitz."
Briny Breeze. What a nice name for a nice community filled with nice people.  Several weeks ago, while driving along South Florida's A1A, I happened upon a 43 acre, 488 unit, community, where the residents greeted me with waves and smiles as they sat on their front porches or sauntered the area. It seems that everyone I encountered was smiling. No, they looked elated. Why? Was it the prime location, with access both to the Atlantic Ocean and South Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway? Maybe. Was it that some of these people paid as little as $15,000 for these homes? Maybe. Or, is it because these folks have sold their trailer homes to Ocean Land Investments -- a developer -- for an average price of over one million dollars? While the trailer park was aesthetically questionable, it was clean, quiet, and had reported no crime. It generated little traffic on the road which bisected the town, was low density, and, of course, low rise. (After all, how high can a trailer be?) But, unfortunately, that is all going to change. Ocean Land paid well over 500 million dollars for the town’s acquisition. And with this huge payout, the purchasing consortium is going to expect and demand significant changes to this humble town. They are proposing 900 condos, a 300 room hotel, retail space, and, of course, time shares. These new buildings, which are expected to be too tall and much too dense for the existing space, are going to place a huge burden on the neighboring infrastructure (roadways, sewers and drain systems), will increase traffic congestion, and will negatively impact the beach and already fragile ecosystem. Working with unscrupulous public officials -- such as Palm Beach County Commissioner Bert Abramson, who has reportedly received significant “donations” from developers -- and local politicians who seems clueless or indifferent to environmental issues, this development will set a dangerous precedent for Palm Beach County Real Estate Hell. COME ON IN! We welcome your comments and encourage you to share your experiences. [Not everyone need spend their life in (real estate) hell.]
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."
|
|
|
|
|
|
