Lofty ambitions: from downtown Miami to Delray Beach, a new wave of loft condominiums has entered the South Florida real estate market. But just what is a loft? these non-traditional spaces are as varied as their neighborhoods—and prices

South Florida CEO, June, 2004 by Catherine Mcelrath

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"We never really started by classifying these buildings as lofts," says Oppenheim. "They were just buildings dealing with common principals, a way to create beautiful spaces that have tremendous amounts of light and volume. Also, for us, is this notion of an open flexible floor plan that speaks to the modern age, that anything can be done in any space at any time."

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In addition to ICE, ICE 11 and 10 Museum Park. Oppenheim also designed SPACE 01 and SPACE 02, ARIA, CUBE and KUBIC, all in various stages of planning and development. "These are not the buildings of Chicago and New York, but buildings in a tropical playground, spaces that are unique to South Florida," says Oppenheim. "Miami is one of the few cities of substance that mixes pleasure and leisure and work and urban sophistication. Can you think of another place in the US like this?"

So far, buyers agree, even with projects in transitional areas. ICE, for example--located off Biscayne Bay on 31st Street in Miami--is already 90 percent pre-sold, says Morr. Morr's Urbana development company has other striking buildings planned for Miami edge neighborhoods as well. Aria, a 14-story, 70-unit loft building, has broken ground in the Design District. In Wynwood, he's planned two other loft buildings: Chrome, on Miami Avenue and 21st Street, and Cynergy, on Miami Avenue and N.E. 27th Street; as of yet, neither is on the market.

Other areas have jumped on the band-wagon as well, intent on proving that lofts don't belong exclusively to the urban core. On South Beach, high-end loft buildings such as Absolut South Beach and Westside Lofts are bringing in a different type of buyer than the downtown crowd.

Slated to open in August 2004, Absolut South Beach is what Paolo Scattarreggia, sales director for Miami Lodge Realty, calls a "soft" loft. "We did a nice, upscale residence with wonderful finishes, very refined," he says. "It is by no means a raw space. Miami is not like New York, and we didn't want to try to make it so." Upscale indeed: all units have floor-to-ceiling windows, private gardens and rooftop terraces.

Westside Lofts, scheduled for completion this fall by the Royal Bay Group, is also an upscale project. At $380 to $400 per square foot, that building is nearly sold out, says Royal Bay CEO Robert Thorne. And who is buying? "New Yorkers who are buying to have a place to be while they are here in Miami," says Thorne. "So they will pick up a unit for $400,000 that is a block away from Lincoln Road Mall. .... I've got New Yorkers. I've got people from Chicago, people from Boston. I have a couple of people from Puerto Rico. All are young professionals, who either do business here or enjoy the South Beach lifestyle. Instead of spending their money on a hotel, they have a home." In addition to Westside Lofts, Thorne's group is also developing the Lofts at Mayfair, in Miami's Coconut Grove.

Meanwhile, to the north, the luxury loft concept has already spread via the Uptown Marina Lofts in Aventura. Space 01 in North Bay Village, and others in Broward and Palm Beach counties. "Aventura is the new Beverly Hills of South Florida," says Uptown Marina Lofts co-developer Claudio Stivelman of Planinvest Inc. "There was a need for a different product, and we found the niche with these lofts."