Miami Heat's Big Three a boon to neigjboring condos

Drivers making their way east on Interstate 395 toward the exit marked ``Arenas'' can't help but notice the four skyscrapers towering over downtown Miami -- the highway seems to steer directly into them before curving off to the shores of South Beach.

As more cars and more cameras will be taking that exit to the arena where basketball giant LeBron James will bring his talents this season, downtown Miami's condo developers are looking to cash in on the new-found cachet of the Miami Heat team.

Developers of the four skyline-shaping condo towers across the street from AmericanAirlines Arena -- Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis Residences -- are hoping James and Co. can increase their buildings' clout and help them sell virgin square feet.

Some say that's already happening.

``You can call the sales office and sometimes not get through to anyone because they're so busy,'' said Lori Levine Ordover, director of sales for Marquis developer Africa Israel USA. ``That bodes well for what's going to happen this season.''

With restaurants, retail space and residential units to fill, downtown's stakeholders are bracing themselves for the yet-to-be-known impact of the new Miami Heat, as the regular season starts Tuesday against the Celtics in Boston. The home opener is Friday against Orlando.

Built during the mid-decade developers boom, the four condo buildings closest to the arena symbolize the spectrum of real estate highs and lows in South Florida over the past five years.

Two of the buildings sold out quickly as the market peaked, while two others still have a glut of unsold units available at off-peak prices. Buyers in the properties enjoy top-of-the-line amenities, but many have seen their home values plummet during the market crash. In all four buildings, thousands of square feet of office and retail space sit empty at the base of the towers.

While real estate analysts acknowledge that James' arrival in Miami won't cause a massive condo-buying stampede or heal the city's battered housing market, there is growing evidence that the new Heat lineup is spurring activity in the area around the arena.

At the Marquis, 1100 Biscayne Blvd., a penthouse unit sold for $4.2 million on July 8, the same day James announced he would be joining the Heat. That purchase was the largest amount ever paid for a condo in the downtown area, and the businessman who bought the unit admitted proximity to the arena influenced his decision.

``I'm a big basketball fan and we chose the Marquis because we like the building and the location,'' said Russell Wright, who has floor-level season tickets for the Heat games. ``At first, I was just hoping that Dwyane Wade would re-sign -- I had no clue that LeBron and Chris Bosh would join him.''

At Marina Blue, 888 Biscayne Blvd., a Sunny Isles Beach investor scooped up 5,100 square feet of retail space in August, netting the sellers $2.1 million. That investor, Sergey Novov, has drawn up plans to build a microbrewery there.

There are also reports of rising rent prices, game-day sellouts at hotels and soon-to-come hangout spots within walking distance of the arena.

With economists calculating James' impact in Cleveland in the hundreds of millions of dollars during his seven-year tenure there, Miami stakeholders are maneuvering to cash in on the star's presence once the season starts.

``I think downtown is just coming into fruition, coupled with the Heat stars and all that's going on there,'' said Penni Chasens, a real estate agent who has been selling developer units at 900 Biscayne Bay and the Marquis. ``I think it's given us a shot in the arm that we needed.''

The four towers are likely to be in hundreds of aerial shots of Miami's skyline during internationally televised Heat games, and each is looking to gain from that exposure.

Here is a look at each building.


MARINA BLUE

The southernmost building among the group, Marina Blue, pitches itself as one of the healthiest buildings downtown. The developer's residential units are completely sold out and the Castle Group, which manages the building, said more than 95 percent of the 516 units are occupied.

The so-called ``LeBron Effect'' made its mark in the building's retail sector, which had been sitting empty and unheralded for two years.

``The week that the LeBron announcement came -- we sold three commercial units immediately,'' said Donald Campbell, general manager at the 57-story Marina Blue. ``They started construction three days later.''

The micro-brewery envisioned by Novov, the investor, is in a frenzy to open as soon as possible, Campbell said.

Another restaurant is set to open there early next year, pitching Brooklyn-style pizza and plasma TVs to sports fans. A sign hanging in front of its undeveloped space plays into the hoops-generated hype: ``Pucci's Pizza: Coming soon. Before the playoffs (hopefully).''

A Spain-based advertising agency, Tribeca Media, also scooped up about 5,000 square feet in the building shortly after James announced he'd be joining Wade and Bosh in Miami.

On the residential side, rental interest has grown over the summer. Selling prices averaged about $350 per-square-foot during the boom, and many investors have had to buffer falling values by renting units during the market downturn.

``Some of our investors are taking the opportunity to raise their rent [asking] prices,'' Campbell said. ``If we have someone move out, we'll have someone new in there within the week.''

MARQUIS RESIDENCES

Marquis Residences, the tallest of the four structures, probably has the most to gain from increased attention and foot traffic around the arena. The 67-story structure has more than 200 unsold condos, and a recently opened hotel, restaurant and lounge that could benefit from pre- and post-game patrons.

Ordover, the sales director, said the Heat's new lineup has already increased interest in the luxury building, and residential ``sales have been good and steady.''

She attributes at least three recent sales directly to the Heat effect, including the $4.2 million penthouse purchase. With a typical two-bedroom trading for more than $500,000 at Marquis, that's about $5 million in revenue that can be tied to the team across the street.

As the tallest residential skyscraper in the state, Marquis will stand out as aerial cameras zoom in on the city during more than 30 nationally televised Heat games this season.

Ordover is hoping to parlay that free advertising into increased interest at the building's boutique hotel, and has placed ads in Heat game programs and the team's commemorative yearbook.

One ad for Tempo, the hotel, describes the building as ``within three-point range of the arena.''

Those kinds of ads will be common this season, Ordover said, as they have already shown results.

``I have a room in the hotel, because I travel back and forth. Now the hotel has so many nights of 100 percent occupancy that they're kicking me out,'' she said. And it's directly correlated to the Heat games.''

Out-of-town visitors searching online for the closest hotel to the arena will find Tempo listed at the top, 0.3 miles away, another marketing boost for the hotel, which opened in June. Rooms start at about $229.

The hotel has bought into the Heat mania, with player-based room specials tied to Wade, Bosh and James.

900 BISCAYNE BAY

The 900 Biscayne Bay condo tower, built in 2008, also has a large number of condos left on its rolls. The building has nearly 130 of its 509 developer units available and sold 18 units between July and September, according to data from real estate consultancy Condo Vultures.

Peter Zalewski, principal at Condo Vultures, said that with units going for $500,000 and more in buildings like 900 Biscayne Bay, the Heat effect will be limited.

``I don't think anyone is going to buy a residential property because of LeBron,'' he said. ``But I do think that they're going to go to the bars and restaurants and get more comfortable with the area.''

Owners of Miss Yip restaurant are counting on those expected bar-hoppers to help boost sales at the Chinese eatery's new downtown location at 900 Biscayne.

Shortly after the Heat play their first home game, the Chinese restaurant will open its downtown Miami branch, said Deniz Kose, the restaurant's manager. Miss Yip, a mainstay in Miami Beach since 2003, had contemplated expanding downtown long before this summer, but the Heat's revamped team was the tipping point.

``We have a lot of customers coming from downtown saying `I wish you had a location near me,' so it's the demand and supply thing,'' he said. ``We expect to have even more people for the basketball games.''

Still, the Heat effect at 900 Biscayne has been limited -- the building has a good chunk of vacant retail space near its bottom that has been for sale for more than a year.

TEN MUSEUM PARK

Ten Museum Park sold nearly all of its 200 units soon after being completed in 2007, and many boom-time investor-buyers have seen an uptick in rental interest this summer, said Shelly Abramowitz, owner of Museum Park Realty.

Those renters have helped the building reach near-full status, as they dish out $1,700 and more each month for one-bedrooms there.

The building has been a draw among the young professional crowd seeking big-city life, Abramowitz said.

``This neighborhood spreading its wings right now by adding all these entertainment options,'' he said.

``That was what was missing before.''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/24/v-fullstory/1889670/miami-heats-big-three-a-boon-to.html

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com