The former South Beach Community Hospital site in South Beach has been sitting empty and abandoned for many years. Located at the corner of Sixth Street and West Avenue to Alton Road, this is a prominent gateway to Miami Beach. Nearly all traffic headed East onto the island of Miami Beach from the Mac Arthur Causeway passes this site. The site of the former hospital represents a very large area of land, especially if combined with the former Vitri Site on the corner of Fifth and West Avenue / Alton Road.

Developer Russell Galbut held a meeting recently and proposed his development plans centered at 630 Alton Road, which is owned by Galbut’s Crescent Heights Development Company. Below is a picture of the initial (and unapproved thus far) mixed use proposal for the former Miami Beach Community Hospital site (and adjoining parcels).SoBePark (the overall proposed name of the site) also would have 200,000 square feet of residences and other features, including a public park. One of the Architects at the meeting re-envisioned the three blocks at the core of the West Avenue complex as having one level of underground parking and two levels of retail space, to be topped off with the park. A separate garage on a site northeast of the proposed retail center also will be topped off with green space. The architectural plan (thus far) is to have a residential tower on the southern end of the site, with the goal of reconfiguring the MacArthur Causeway off-ramp onto Alton Road. This would create a better flow of car traffic and better pedestrian access in and around the area, according to the Developer. Mr. Galbut wants to build 450,000 square feet of upscale retail resembling The Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass Mills. The public is encouraged to continue participating in the process of shaping this important Miami Beach mixed use project.

Miami Beach Community Hospital Site Sobe Park Proposed Development

The main beneficiaries of a redevelopment of the Sixth and Alton Site (whether it be retail / residential/ or combined commercial with residential development) will be the luxury condo residents in the immediate area. The former Miami Beach Community Hospital site is directly across from The Bentley Bay, which is located on the water on Sixth Street & West Avenue. The Bentley Bay condos were originally sold and marketed as Miami Beach's luxury gateway, with incredible views of Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami. In the immediate North of Fifth area along Alton Road is the Fifth and Alton Shopping Center, a thriving retail destination.

The soon to be revitalized Sixth and Alton / West Avenue area of Miami Beach should also benefit the nearby "South of Fifth" condo buildings across the street as well, especially Icon South Beach & The Murano Grande. The former South Shore Hospital site is the last large land area in Miami Beach that has been undeveloped, or needing to be redeveloped, since Miami Beach began its real estate and tourist renaissance in the mid 1990's. The proposed SoBePark Development, as outlined by Mr. Galbut & Crescent Heights, has a strong chance to transform the West Avenue / Alton Road area into Miami Beach's most desirable place to live, shop, work and play.

MIAMI BEACH RE-DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE LINKS :
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2011/10/07/crescent-heights-to-build-on-former.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2012/04/27/a-park-tops-crescent-heights-planned.html

http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2012/04/26/miami-beach-gets-eight-proposals-for-convention-center-revamp/

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/19/2757805/developer-to-review-design-proposals.html

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As noted in our most recent Newsletter, we're seeing tremendous Foreign Buyer demand not only for Miami Beach Condos and waterfront homes, but for general Miami Real Estate located in premier waterfront locations. There's been virtually NO new large-scale construction in six years (since the start of the Real Estate downturn in late 2006), and there's virtually no watefront land available for development in Miami Beach. Even in previously distressed Miami Beach condos, most notably The Bentley Bay, we've seen a dramatic decline in available inventory of condos available for sale. In 2008-2009 there were well over 100 distressed sales, and today there are just EIGHT condos currently for sale.

Prices for Bentley Bay condos are also UP significantly from market lows averaging $350/SF to a current average asking price of $631/SF. It's my belief that the CLOSED sales prices will reach these new ASKING prices within the next year, due to the very limited number of Miami Beach condos available for sale. The overall inventory levels are also near six year lows for waterfront condos in the South of Fifth Street neighborhood- such as The Murano at Portofino, Continuum Miami Beach, Apogee, The Portofino Tower, Icon South Beach, Murano Grande, and The Yacht Club.

This rapid absorption of available Miami Beach condos inventory is due to the following :

  • Wealthy foreigners seeking a “safe haven” for their money. In Greater Miami, there is NO risk of government confiscation of property.
  • The strong anti-development regulations and political climate in Miami Beach, in addition to there being NO waterfront land available for large-scale construction.
  • Greater Miami continues to evolve and grow as an International cultural and tourist hub, with historically low crime rates.
  • The newer (and more luxurious) waterfront Miami Beach condo buildings built from 2000 - 2005 are architecturally unique.
  • The newest waterfront Miami Beach condos were built in THE best locations in Miami Beach, such as the South of Fifth Street neighborhood. For example, The Continuum Miami Beach Condos are on a twelve acre Oceanfront site that is at the SouthernEastern tip of Miami Beach. The site of The Continuum, for example, was THE LAST premier waterfront location in Miami Beach.

    Miami Beach Condos

    Below are the YTD 2012 Sales of Miami Beach Condos (South of Fifth Only) over $1 Million:

    Miami Beach Condo Sales YTD 2012 (South of Fifth Neighborhood)
    Sale DateMiami Beach AddressProperty Living Area Sales Price SP$/SqFt
    2/13/2012100 S POINTE DR # 1510Continuum on South Beach2,122 $ 2,200,000 $ 1,037
    2/9/2012100 S POINTE DR # 1007THE CONTINUUM1,870 $ 2,200,000 $ 1,176
    2/7/2012450 ALTON RD # 2005ICON South Beach1,750 $ 1,250,000 $ 714
    2/6/2012100 S POINTE DR # 2102 Continuum South Tower1,201 $ 1,350,000 $ 1,124
    2/4/2012100 S POINTE DR # 3207Continuum South Tower2,954 $ 4,500,000 $ 1,523
    1/30/2012300 S POINTE DR # 4306Portofino Towers2,360 $ 2,000,000 $ 847
    1/26/20121000 S POINTE DR # 802MURANO AT PORTOFINO2,618 $ 2,287,500 $ 874
    1/23/201250 S POINTE DR # 2303CONTINUUM North Tower1,922 $ 2,000,000 $ 1,041
    1/16/2012400 ALTON RD # 2506MURANO GRANDE2,024 $ 1,475,000 $ 729
    1/8/2012300 S POINTE DR # 2304Portofino Tower2,040 $ 1,300,000 $ 637

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