April 30, 2013
Previously, the tallest buildings in the world were built to provide office space, while residential buildings lingered in their shadows. However, that is no longer the case. In recent years, luxury residential developers have raced skyward to provide panoramic views for cash-flush global buyers.
In Miami, high-rise, ultra-exclusive residential buildings are fetching record sums, with more new towers in various stages of planning and construction. The New York-based developer Property Markets Group is currently developing Echo Brickell, a 750-ft, 60-story luxury condo building in downtown Miami.
“I believe that everyone wants to be at the top of every building because of the view, “ PMG chief executive Kevin Maloney said. “As you go up in the building, apartments get more expensive so we are trying to get as much of the space as possible out of the base that is locked in and has no view corridor and move it up to the top where it has more value.”
PMG has, thus far, succeeded in that quest. To begin financing the Echo Brickell project, the developer brought 30 of the projected 250 units to market in mid-April. All of those units were reserved in a day, with the top floors fetching 1,750 dollars per square foot. That is more than double the highest price per square foot currently achieved in the Brickell area.
Source: Forbes
