Sim city Miami: from clicks to bricks

South Florida CEO, May, 2003 by Rochelle Broder-Singer

But all three partner's favorite part of the building is probably the architecture. It's no coincidence that Blue was officially unveiled at a party in the Design District. The building is all about design. It will be visually stunning, constructed entirely of blue glass and curving in a crescent shape. From the air, the site should resemble Juan Miro's painting "Blue 2." The building forms the crescent shape in the painting; 12 recessed balconies on the structure will give it 12 black dots, and a red sculpture, either on the site or on the Department of Transportation-owned park next to it, will look just like the painting's red form. (The semi-naked blue models at the opening also had dabs of black and red to recapitulate "Blue 2").

"When we were designing the project, we were trying to think of a cool name for it, and we came up with Blue," Murphy explains. An Internet search for paintings with blue in their names turned up Miro's work (a series of three paintings). "Blue 2" vaguely resembled the site plan that Murphy, Jermoluk and Clark were kicking around. The inspiration to make the site look like the painting took hold, and Arquitectonica's Fort-Brescia got on board; it took just 90 days to complete the architectural plans.

The eye-catching modern design will be the first thing people see when entering Miami from Miami Beach via the Tuttle Causeway, giving the city the striking entrance it has long wished for. Jermoluk, Clark and Murphy hope it will give Miami-based Hyperion a grand entrance to the region's real estate scene, and a quick sell-out as well. "We felt that if we did something dramatic in terms of architecture, it would increase our price point and allow us to sell out quickly," Murphy says. So far, it has worked. Although that part of Miami remains unproven, 30 percent of the 330 units were under reservation before the official kick-off party. Prices topped $308 per square foot, "Which we needed, quite frankly, to justify the design," Murphy admits. (Hyperion is keeping unit prices in the $300,000 to $500,000 range by building units that average 1,100 square feet.)

The project's biggest challenge may be that its Biscayne Corridor location is still in the process of transformation. Craig Studnicky, executive vice president of ISG, Blue's exclusive sales company, says the main selling pitch is its cutting edge design and its unobstructed, panoramic views of Biscayne Bay. And, investors feel they're getting in on the ground floor. "This area of Miami is going through a major regentrification, attracting residents, particularly young residents, including some from Miami Beach," he says. "Brickell Avenue is getting a bit crowded, professionals are considering locating to this part of town to ease their commutes." The easy proximity to Miami International Airport, I-95 and the beach via I-195 is also crucial.

In For The Long Haul

Besides the splashy debut that Blue represents, Jermoluk, Clark and Murphy have something else in mind, too -- the long-term future of Hyperion. "You could make a tremendous amount of profit on your first endeavor," Jermoluk says. "But if you set that tone ... people aren't going to be very loyal." Loyalty will be key for these newcomers to the South Florida market; they hope to be developing four to five projects by year-end. Although Hyperion will build elsewhere in the tri-county area, the partners are currently looking at several sites in the same Biscayne neighborhood as Blue.