Boroughs & Burbs, the National Real Estate Conversation
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Boroughs & Burbs, the National Real Estate Conversation
Boroughs & Burbs 184 || Boca Raton New Development
In this episode, we explore the dynamic new development scene in Boca Raton with insights from top Douglas Elliman agents representing three premier properties: Kathy Koch Pitlake and Patrick Elber of Alina Boca Raton, Bonnie Schwartz and Joanne Shaer of Glass House, and Katia Reisler of Tower 155. Join us as we dive into the unique offerings of these luxury developments, discussing the latest trends, key amenities, and what sets each property apart in the thriving Boca Raton market. Learn about the lifestyle and investment opportunities these developments provide and how they’re shaping the future of real estate in this sought-after Florida destination. Don’t miss this comprehensive look at Boca Raton’s luxury real estate landscape!
The Burroughs are New York City. The Burbs are everywhere else. Real estate is the ultimate game of risk and reward. It's the biggest investment most people ever make. Fortunes are made over a lifetime and lost in a day. And we're not playing with monopoly money. How do you stay ahead? Who's buying? Who's selling? And why? What do they know? We want the truth. You need an edge. Burroughs& Burbs is your secret weapon, giving you the insider knowledge and strategies you need to succeed in the high Welcome, everybody. Burrows and Burbs, number 184.
SPEAKER_04:Boca Raton new development. I'm very excited about this show because, A, new development is major, major topic. We just last week had... the new development show in New York City. So I'm going to be interested to hear how that differs in Boca Raton. The second reason is Boca Raton is where people from New Canaan spend half of the year. And I want to know why. I want to know how Boca Raton differs from Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, some of the other choices that people have when they're thinking about Florida. So with that in mind, Let me make some introductions. First, Roberto Cabrera, say hi. How are you, sir? And where are you today? I'm
SPEAKER_02:on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
SPEAKER_04:Just happy to
SPEAKER_02:be here.
SPEAKER_04:And how's the Upper West Side of Manhattan today? Damp. Yeah? Yeah. And how's the market?
SPEAKER_02:It's back, baby, right? It's back. Chugging. It's like a diesel. It's not like, you know, it's just moving along. I'll take it. I'll take it.
SPEAKER_04:All right. Our special guests today hail from three major new development projects in Boca Raton. First, Kathy Koch-Pitlake and Patrick Elber from the Alina Residences. Say hello. Wave.
SPEAKER_01:Hello. Hello, everybody.
SPEAKER_04:Excellent. Looking forward to hearing more about the Alina residences. We also have Bonnie Schwartz and Joanne Scher from the Glass House. Say hello.
SPEAKER_05:Hi.
SPEAKER_04:Excellent. And we have Katja Reisler from Tower 155. Say hi, Katja.
SPEAKER_05:Hi, how are
SPEAKER_04:you? And you're a repeat guest on the show. You've been here before. Our returning champion. So
SPEAKER_05:we're back.
SPEAKER_04:And we've got Scott Hobbs, a master builder up here in Connecticut, Rhode Island, the Hamptons in New York City, to keep you guys honest. So with that, nothing further ado, let's dive in. Who wants to tell me a little bit about Boca Raton generally
SPEAKER_02:and the market? And why Boca Raton as opposed to Hollywood or Palm Beach or Miami or Fort Lauderdale, like why Boca?
SPEAKER_06:I'll start. I mean, one of the things I could say is that Boca Raton is really resident friendly. It's not justification town. A lot of our purchasers specifically at Alina are, at least eight, nine months out of the year full-time. They may go to the Hamptons in the summer or go up to Cape Cod, but for the most part, it is a resident-friendly demographic, which means you have really great infrastructure as well.
SPEAKER_04:How do you get there? Do you fly into Boca?
SPEAKER_06:You can. You can also fly into Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale.
SPEAKER_08:We're equidistant to the Fort Lauderdale Airport in the West Palm Beach and Palm Beach International, which makes it a really great location for being able to get to an airport. And they also have the private airport in Boca.
SPEAKER_02:What's the closest international airport, Fort Lauderdale?
SPEAKER_06:And Palm Beach.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, they're really equidistant. They're very much the same, 30 minutes either way. which makes it a really great central location. And then of course we have the Bright Line too, which is, the stop is a few minutes from East Boca or where at least our location is at Glass House. So it makes it really convenient.
SPEAKER_02:The Bright Line is a game changer from what I understand or no?
SPEAKER_08:Oh, absolutely. Definitely. Because with the traffic, especially going down to Miami, because you go down to Miami, there's a lot of traffic. So it's a really quick 55 minute train ride. The Bright Line's beautiful. You can get a first class ticket. You can have wine and you can have drinks and food. And it's a great experience, really easy. And you can go straight to Orlando from here as well.
SPEAKER_04:Hmm. Do most people, when you say, yeah, you can fly into Boca, but you have two equidistant international airports, do most people fly in private? Or, I mean, it's a big deal. Every time we do a story in Florida, how to get there, how many direct flights is a big deal. Vero Beach was really kind of harmed by the fact that their airport was closed down for most of the last two years. It's a big deal that that airport's opening back up and everybody's taking it. And we keep hearing about the Bright Line. So how are most people getting there to Boca?
SPEAKER_06:I think, I mean, I can tell, oh, sorry. I was gonna say, I'm in Aruba right now and I actually flew out of Miami yesterday. So in addition to the three airports we mentioned, we also have Miami. So it's really super central. I mean, I'm Douglas Elliman, New York. I grew up in New York. We're used to having three airports, you know, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark. It's kind of the same thing here. You have just tons of options. Plus the Brightline, as the ladies just mentioned as well. And it was just, it's a really easy place to get to and travel from.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. The Brightline really opened up day trips for us. So you can go down to Miami and spend two hours and get back on the Brightline and come home where you used to have to fight traffic. where that is what I see so great is now there'll be people who will be down in Miami on vacation. They'll come up for the afternoon, look at real estate, and then go back to their vacation in Miami, where it used to be a whole day venture where they're going to come up to Boca for the day. So that's what the Bright Lines really opened up. And I'm from Ohio originally. A lot of my friends, family come from Ohio, fly direct into Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach. So that's what I see most of our clients are always flying into town, just the easy you know, come into town, grab an Uber, you're in Boca in a half an hour after you land.
SPEAKER_02:Patrick, I'm looking at two or three places in Fort Lauderdale. Can you help me make that decision? Why should I consider Boca?
SPEAKER_01:Boca? I mean, Boca, it has a totally different feel. It's a small city. So, you know, Fort Lauderdale to me is a large city. Boca is a lot more beach friendly where you can really get to and from the beach. It appeals to a lot of business people. There's a lot of business that happens in Boca Raton. And a lot of times I feel people have a tie to Boca, whether it was whether your grandparents came to Boca in the past. past, a lot of people are used to coming to Palm Beach County, coming to Boca Raton, and it has an overall great feel. And honestly, the new luxury buildings that are coming to Boca have really changed the buyers that are now attracted to Boca. Alina has really set the new standard for luxury condo living in South Florida. In our location, the walkability, in my opinion, is what attracts people from the Northeast. Because when you come to Florida, you You want to enjoy the sun. You want to enjoy the outside. And when you come to Boca, the nice thing about a lot of our residences is they are walkable. You can walk to the beach. It's one mile away. Right across the street from Alina, we have 37 restaurants, hair salon, nail salon. And Boca Raton really has an unbelievable culinary experience. So that's kind of what I hear from people, why they're choosing Boca over Fort Lauderdale, over Palm Beach Island.
SPEAKER_02:Is the walkability of Boca a new thing? thing though, like two or three decades ago, that wasn't necessarily the case, right?
SPEAKER_01:100%. Now, you know, because now we're starting to see the downtown being developed more residential. So a lot of Boca was on the beach. And when you come from the beach, it's a longer walk to get downtown. Now a lot of our new developments, the luxury projects of Boca are downtown. So yes, the walkability, I wouldn't say it's a new thing, but it's definitely enhanced over the past couple years.
SPEAKER_08:You also think that Boca has a lot less density. So you feel much freer. It's just a nicer, more quiet environment where you can really walk around and enjoy things. And you don't have that feeling of a Fort
SPEAKER_05:Lauderdale or a Miami. Correct. One of the things that always brings people to Boca is the lifestyle. Yes, we are talking about new development, but also the people that live in the country clubs or the people that want to enjoy the golf, either they are coming to those beautiful country clubs and they are downsizing to these areas because they no longer want the big homes, or also they have the beautiful Boca Beach Resort, which is near all these buildings that we're talking about. And people tend to have that also, that lifestyle. Again, golf is very big in Boca. plenty of country clubs, plenty of them that the price points are, memberships are$430,000 right now. And people are coming. So, you know, they are downsizing to buildings like this one with the walkability. And we also have the incredible, just the, you know, the stores and everything that is surrounding us. We have Chanel, we have everything else, just like we have it in Bal Harbor in Palm Beach. For Lauderdale, it's missing a little bit of that country club lifestyle. So Boca is definitely more attractive to them.
SPEAKER_04:Let's start with Alina. This is some pictures from the Alina website. What is Alina positioned as? Is this considered top of the line, condo living? Is this older, newer, larger, smaller? Where does Alina fit in the landscape?
SPEAKER_06:So one of the things that's so unique about Alina is the fact that this is a New York City-based developer. This is the Allad Group, who actually converted the Plaza Hotel into condo residences some decades ago. you know, they brought a style of architecture and lifestyle and obviously high-end, high net worth kind of demographic to a neighborhood that desperately needed it. A lot of the buildings in Boca, obviously the ones on this panel are all new, but there were some really, you know, older buildings in Boca developed, you know, in the 50s, 60s, 70s on the ocean. This is really a lifestyle play. So very highly amenitized. We're sitting on nine acres in downtown Boca. Out of the nine acres, the developer left three of them, the acres, as green space, private for our residents. So we have gardens that connect all three of our buildings. All three buildings have pools, gyms, and spas, reciprocity between the three. So there's really a lot of opportunity as far as amenities are concerned, as far as the lifestyle is concerned. Patrick talked about the walkability, which is one of the things that is so amazing. about the property itself. That's the front side of Lena. And on the backside, we have the Boca Raton, previously known as the Boca Resort. So there's this really great opportunity for lifestyle. There's 14 restaurants there, golf, tennis, pickleball. I mean, everything under the sun pretty much. And then we have just this beautiful campus itself that is fully gated and resident only. So there's no commercial or retail within our gates, which is also, I think, very unique. We don't depend on any outside income to float the building.
SPEAKER_02:John, can you find a map there or something? I'm just curious as to the proximity it is to the beach, to downtown, to the Brightline.
SPEAKER_06:Everything. I mean, it's less than a mile from the beach. So walkability is quite amazing to the beach. Brightline is two blocks away. right across the street. We have, you know, Patrick touched on at least 37 restaurants. And then around the corner, we have 20 more probably, and New York, you know, restaurants. Il Molino, things that people would recognize. So when you come down, there's name brand, you know, recognizability with what's being offered currently to, you know, enhance the lifestyle.
SPEAKER_02:What is considered downtown on this map? And where is the bright line? Is this a golf
SPEAKER_04:course?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, so you can see the golf course. Literally, Alena shares a property line with that golf course. So we are just on the opposite side of it. And the Brightline is about two blocks away. If you can see where Dixie Highway is, the Brightline station is right on Dixie and 2nd Street. So it's quite close. They also have something called the Circuit. which will pick you up and bring you to any of these places. So within a two mile radius, it's kind of like a free service for the downtown Boca area. It'll take you to the beach. It'll take you to the resort, to the Brightline, all for free, actually. It's just an app on your phone and you tip the driver. So it's a really nice thing to have downtown and it keeps people who like to drink off of the streets as well.
SPEAKER_04:How old is the... Alina, how long has it been in development? Is it the newest? Is it fully built and
SPEAKER_06:booked? Yeah, it started in 2018 as far as the concept was concerned. The first, it's three buildings comprised of one building was 121 residences. We delivered that building in 2021. The second building was a boutique building, only 30 homes, all three and four bedrooms. We delivered that last summer. And then the last piece of the puzzle, 152 residences. We just delivered, we actually got the full CO about a month ago. So 303 residences altogether. And when we are finished with the sellout, it will be over$1 billion. So that's another thing that is very unique to the area. We have literally set the bar as far as comps are concerned. Are those three-
SPEAKER_02:Are those three tranches of the building similar? Are they like this one is more this type of property? This is more townhouse type property? This is like... No, they're all
SPEAKER_06:pretty much identical, actually. The middle building with only 30 residences is a little bit more upscale, being that there's only 30 homes.
SPEAKER_02:Right there? We can't see that. Just as John started. Oh, there we go. Yeah,
SPEAKER_06:the middle building, the middle piece right there, that's smaller. That's all corner homes, three and four bedrooms. And so a little bit more upscale, the amenities of that building are private solely to the 30 residences. And then they have usage of the other two buildings amenities as well. So that is kind of, I refer to it as our little bougie piece in the middle. And that is definitely larger homes, but all three buildings looked the same, the finishings are the same. So really very high level of architecture and details in all three buildings.
SPEAKER_02:And a blended price per square foot of these is what?
SPEAKER_06:I mean, really at this point, you're looking, we're close to sell out, but you're looking at around 1700 a foot. So as I was saying, we are getting like New York City kind of pricing on these residences. And we've had some go well over 2,000 a foot, especially for the eastern-facing residences with ocean views.
SPEAKER_04:Can I see the glass house or Tower 155 from this picture?
SPEAKER_06:This rendering was taken a while ago. You cannot actually see.
SPEAKER_04:So I'm looking at the, I guess this is the Inland Waterway.
SPEAKER_06:Yes. So this is... mainly the Boca Raton. So the Boca Raton, the resort, which was purchased by Michael Dell in about 2020, I think it was, 2019, It used to be a Waldorf Astoria property and now it's MSD. It's 350 acres. So much of what you're seeing behind us is the resort itself. There are a few older condominiums on that property as well. And then along the beach, you do see a couple of towers, which are individual condominium buildings, not associated with the resort. Got it.
SPEAKER_03:What are monthly fees associated with the building?
SPEAKER_06:So they vary. The two buildings, the two larger parcels, Alina 200 and Alina 220, you're looking at about$1.14 per interior square foot. We don't charge anything for the outdoor spaces. And many of our residences have big, beautiful outdoor spaces. Some have in-ground pools in our villa residences. Some of our other residences have plunge pools on the terraces themselves. So it's nice bonus space. And then the middle building, you're looking at about$1.62. per interior square foot. And these are pretty comprehensive HOAs. They do include a lot of your utilities. So water, sewer, trash removal, property management fees. We have onsite property management by First Service Residential, which is a very well-known property management company. But the main thing that it covers, which people coming to Florida ask about all the time, is the master insurance policy for the premise itself. So all you need is what we call content insurance, which is very similar to renters insurance. And obviously these are brand new buildings. So they are built to code. They are rated to withstand category five plus hurricanes, we're also out of any kind of evacuation zone at Alina. So even though we're about a mile from the beach, we are out of any kind of mandatory zone, which is quite amazing also. And I think that's very important for people to understand because people get nervous when they hear Florida and near the ocean.
SPEAKER_02:What about parking?
SPEAKER_06:We have a parking garage. It's two levels. Every resident gets a minimum of one assigned self-park parking spots. Some of our larger residences come with two assigned self-park parking spots. And then we also have 24-7 valet. in all three of our buildings. So we have residents who have never seen their spot. They have no idea where it is. They literally drop their car with the valet and when they're ready to request their car, they can just call it on an app and it comes delivered right to the front door.
SPEAKER_04:Right. So now it makes sense that there's a three, one, two, three on the property and that this golf course is part of the Boca. I want to now pull up how close you are to the glass house. So the glass house is, boom. Looks like it's right across the street. Right
SPEAKER_06:around the corner. Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah. We face the same golf course, just different view.
SPEAKER_04:And these are the towers for the glass house? Can you see them?
SPEAKER_08:No, I can't see where you're... We're facing the golf course a little further down. That's better.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, so talk to me about the glass house. It's also in the downtown Boca.
SPEAKER_08:Correct. We're the newest offering in Boca Raton. We're going to be the first hypermodern glass, all glass building or glass building since there was an ordinance that changed about a year and a half ago where you couldn't build with a certain percentage of glass on the exterior of the building. And so we're the first building of its kind that makes us a really unique offering in downtown Boca Raton. We have a 10th floor rooftop oasis where the only 10th floor rooftop oasis in Boca Raton because there's no real true high rise buildings in Boca Raton. There's beautiful views, incredible views better than anywhere else in all of Boca Raton of the golf course of the Boca Raton golf course of the intercoastal notion and also the city views as well.
SPEAKER_04:Residences 2.6 to 7 million. Is it built or is it about to be finished?
SPEAKER_08:Well, our delivery is going to be second quarter of 2027.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_08:And what I was going to say is we're very different than Alina. We are 28 units in total and we're featuring privacy, luxury, really a house in the sky. So people there, we get two underground parking spaces. They get a garage with some of the units. We have beautiful amenities, but we're really selling city living. The Boca resort would be where they would get additional amenities if they wanted golf or tennis or a spa. So it's a different kind of unique building. Yeah. We obviously very private, very boutique. There's no retail on the first floor. Our entire first floor is all amenities. There are no residences on the first floor. And then of course we have some additional amenities on the rooftop. We have a pool and a jacuzzi on the rooftop. We have a fire pit. We have a covered seating area where there's a gas cooktop grill, but it's really where you can sit obviously outside the sun, or if it's raining, It's still a covered area where you can cook and eat, have a party if that's what you desire. There's a lot of seating area, green area. We have cabana chairs and lounges facing the directly facing east. So directly facing the intercoastal notion because we're so high up and on the 10th floor, you're gonna get a beautiful views from wherever you are sitting or decide to sit down on our rooftop. So you just showed a picture, which I think is really important about Glasshouse. We have floor to ceiling glass windows, which stack. So you have this incredible transition from the interior to exterior outdoor living. And all of our terraces are very large that you can have furniture and dining room tables. So you really have perfect outdoor living for the climate in Boca. Another unique thing about the units is that every unit is a corner. So no matter where you are, you'll be on a corner. And we have these beautiful stacked doors that open up from the corner into one panel on each side. So really you get that, you're standing in the living room, you're gonna get that indoor outdoor feel and really is, of course, we live in tropical climate. So it's really an amazing, feature. So it is completely different than Alina. It's built, you know, it's the same architect. Garcia Stromberg is our architect and GS4 Studios is handling all of our design. So it's the same architect, but it's a very boutique building. It's really private. So for that person that's looking for a really private residence and wants to be living more in something that feels like a home, it's a great fit for a buyer like that.
SPEAKER_04:Roberto, do you get the sense that it's private? I think the message is coming through, that if you want private, this is for you.
SPEAKER_02:What are the ceiling heights? That top floor looks like it's got a slightly higher ceiling height than the others. I'm sorry, say that again? What's the ceiling height in these apartments? And the top floor just seemed like it was higher. One
SPEAKER_08:of our houses is 11-foot ceilings, and the others are 9-1. So the one on the front that you're looking at now, that would have a wraparound from the west, north and east terrace and that penthouse is 11 feet.
SPEAKER_02:And what is the building in the far background there?
SPEAKER_08:In the far background, that's 200, I believe that's 200 east. That's another residential.
SPEAKER_02:Residential building.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, it's another residential building, correct.
SPEAKER_04:But they don't have glass.
SPEAKER_08:Nobody will have, we will be the first. hyper-modern glass building in downtown Boca Raton. So it'll be like nothing you've ever seen before.
SPEAKER_02:What pre-existed in this location? Since this is brand new and it's a ground up and that building was there before, what was there? And was there resistance to getting approvals to this being high, et cetera?
SPEAKER_08:No, I mean, there was a, there was, I believe it was a bank, a Wells Fargo, there was a built, a structure that was two stories. And I know they didn't have any problems getting the approvals.
SPEAKER_04:That's good. It's pretty. Really pretty. Yeah. I mean, so I guess if you like high style architecture and all that glass, and you want the privacy and it came through loud and clear privacy and only four units per floor and everybody gets a corner.
SPEAKER_08:And we think it's a very sexy looking building in the middle of Boca Raton. Definitely. And our interiors are going to really have a nice synergy between the exterior and the interior with the architect and the design group. So we think it's going to be a little gem in the middle of Boca Raton.
SPEAKER_02:And what is your price per square foot? More or less?
SPEAKER_08:It's about 15 to 1550 as a blended. We have units that go up to a little over 2000 square, 2000 a square foot for the penthouse that's facing the Southeast because that one has the golf views plus the intracostal notion views along with the city views. But to answer your question before we actually have, on floors two through five. So we have no residences on the first floor, but two through five, we have four units per floor. There are two elevator stacks. So every unit has a semi-private. On those floors, it's semi-private elevators, but every unit has a private vestibule. So you have a private vestibule. You can decorate any way you like. So the elevator does not open up into your unit. And then on the sixth floor through the ninth floor, there are three units per floor because we actually have units on the north side of the building that are actually double corner units. And so they have a private elevator for one. They have balconies that wrap all the way around the unit and they have eastern views, northeast views, northwest views, and northern views. So you get some intercoastal to ocean. You actually can see a little bit of the golf course if you're looking at facing, if you're looking towards the south on your balcony. And then you get vista views to the north. along with some water views as well. And you could see the sunset on the west. So those particular units have double corner, have double corners and they're really expansive and beautiful floor plans as well. I just wanted to say one thing. We do have amenities. We have beautiful amenities. The entire first floor is our amenities floor. Besides, we have a 24-hour concierge. We have a beautiful fitness, sauna, steam room. It's called an ice shower. Snow shower. Snow shower. Snow shower. So yeah, a Palmetto lounge room call it for the residents, where they can have coffee or cocktails or read the newspaper in a relaxation room. So we have everything that they need. If they weren't going to the club, they could, the Boca Resort for additional amenities, but you do have everything in the building as well. Correct, and we have a fitness center, state-of-the-art fitness center, along with the spa that has the sauna, steam room, and a snow shower, like Joanne mentioned, which we also have men's and women's locker rooms and bathrooms attached to the fitness center. We have a little green area that's outside the gym. They're gonna lushly landscape all around the gym area for privacy. So the lobby is absolutely stunning. The building is completely modern and sexy and beautiful, but again, private. Not to mention privacy again, but privacy is the ultimate luxury.
SPEAKER_03:How big is it? How many square feet are the average unit?
SPEAKER_08:They range from 2,505 square feet, our smallest unit, which is a two bedroom, two and a half bath. to all the way up to 3,865 interior square feet. Our balconies, we have generous balconies, a little over 400 square foot would be our smallest balcony. Our terrace area space, I should say terrace area space, all the way up to like 1,653 square foot of terrace space. So we really have, it's like living in a home and having a backyard in that respect.
SPEAKER_03:And
SPEAKER_08:HOAs?$1.43 a square foot. And that encompasses the 24-hour concierge and all the spa and the amenities.
SPEAKER_04:So I can move in in 2027. Do I have my choice right at this point? If I call you now, do I have my choice? I can buy the penthouse. I can buy small, medium, large. I have plenty of choice or are you really all sold out and you just, you know? I have to get on the waiting list.
SPEAKER_08:We have a variety of units available. We've been selling very well. So you have some choice. You can't buy every single unit in the building, but there's definitely a good selection of units left that you can choose from. And I just want to point out too that we have a two-level garage underneath the building. So there are wherever you get to parking spaces, they'll be in close proximity to the elevator. So the garage, you can get to the lobby, to your unit, all the way up to the rooftop, all the way down from the garage. All of the parking spaces will be, they come EV ready. So if you have electric vehicle, they'll be EV ready. And then of course we do have select units are coming with a two car private garage, which is a really unique offering as well. And I think a really big incentive to wanna buy, purchase in our building.
SPEAKER_04:Is that a big deal in New York, Roberto, as an amenity, the whole garage question? Because I have to say that even out here in Connecticut, the difference between one and two garages will make or break a deal for us. I say, oh, this is a really fabulous unit. Oh, but it's only got one garage or it's got no garage. And people just turn
SPEAKER_02:around. It's, you know, what's interesting is people don't necessarily look for a garage, but when they encounter it and they're comparing apartments, but this one has a garage, like it's a big deal because parking here is a big pain and parking spots go from, you know, anywhere from 60,000 to a million dollars.
SPEAKER_01:So depending upon where. And down here, everybody wants to have a sports car. So parking is, you know, it's, it's,
SPEAKER_04:It's huge. And they don't want to share a car. He wants a car and she wants a car. Of course. Right. Okay. Katja, talk to me about Tower 155. I'm very excited about this. It seems to me that it's about... a nine iron away from the other two properties. Well, I don't know if I can hit a nine iron that
SPEAKER_05:far. They're really not that far. They're close to each other. We all have the same kind of walkability.
SPEAKER_07:The
SPEAKER_05:tower is closer to Meisner Park, which is obviously a very known attraction with multiple stores and also the museum. Tower 155 was completed in 2020. So it started in 2016, completed in 2020. Stephen G was the designer, which is also very well known. 128 units. I represented a couple of investors. So I am selling the units that they own. Some of them, we have an incredible townhouse. Now you have a two-level townhouse with walkability from the outside. So you have your private entrance and you have two levels and those are three bedrooms you're looking at about two million three five and uh you know your hoa is about a dollar thirty so we are all kind of looking at the same amenities three levels of amenities that is the beautiful entrance uh you have concierge services you have valet You have two parking per unit. And there is just different views and different locations. So you can have, I have some units that are facing east. So you see the ocean at the distance. They are corner units. And those ones are two bedrooms. And you're looking at a lower price point. So we're looking at about$1.7 million. You have penthouses in this one that is again, three bedrooms. You're looking at about a million, eight to five. Important to know that because they were built five years ago, some of these investors already went ahead and did the blinds. That's the townhouse. So it comes with all the blinds, all the closets, and actually, Most of them are furnished. That is the rooftop. So there is three levels of amenities. When you are standing there to the right, you see Meisner Park. And to the left, you have the ability to see Royal Palm Place, which is near Alina. So there is, again, a level of concierge service, a level of privacy, more boutique style for service. That's the entrance to the townhouse. First service residential is also a the concierge service they have a management team in the house and it's just a beautiful centrally located and there's multiple different units different sizes
SPEAKER_04:so it's already built
SPEAKER_05:it's already built completed in 2020
SPEAKER_04:first there was elena then there was tower 155 and next there will be the glass house am i getting it right
SPEAKER_07:yes all right
SPEAKER_06:thanks
SPEAKER_04:And how
SPEAKER_06:was it? Tower was delivered before Alina, wasn't it? It was 2020. And we delivered Alina, the first tower in 2021. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:So how has, just talking about the timeline, how was development between like 2015 and 2020? And then how is it, you know, with COVID coming, how was it up until now? And what's the pipeline? Like what's happening with development there? How's your inventory? Is it tight? Is it?
SPEAKER_04:A lot of people think, oh, if I miss out on this, they're always building more. And it seems to me like that's not true, that there was the building that we've just experienced, and then it stopped. People ran out of money, desire, commitment, and they stopped building at the same level. So there's not a whole lot of new product coming on with the exception of the Glasshouse. Is that right?
SPEAKER_06:That is true. There is not that many opportunities as far as land is concerned in downtown Boca. So you were asking earlier about what was pre-existing on some of these parcels before development started. I can tell you for Alina specifically, there was a rental townhouse community that my developer, the Elad Group, purchased more than 20 years ago. So they kind of had the foresight to look at downtown Boca and understand what it could be down the road. So they literally were managing these townhouses with the knowledge that down the road, they were going to knock them down and someday the renters would not be allowed to remain there because they were gonna build these three big condo buildings. And I can tell you with COVID, the first, building was, you know, built. And the second two townhouses had to be knocked down to build phase two. And there was a moratorium on evictions, as we know, with COVID. So it actually set back phase two of Alina a little bit, about a year. We would have probably delivered phase two in 2023, had it not been, or 24, had it not been for COVID.
SPEAKER_02:But that's the only residential obstacle. There's no rent stabilization or rent control or anything like that there, right?
SPEAKER_06:No, not at all. It was just a rental townhouse community.
SPEAKER_04:But it's safe to say that if... If it's not already in development, I might be waiting 10 years for the next one. I mean, it takes a long time to develop a plan, get approvals, do your evictions.
SPEAKER_06:Yes. And one of the things with Boca, they don't have high rises. All of our buildings are nine stories. I think Tower has 12 stories, but really low rise. They don't want it to be like Brickell or even the financial district in the city. They want it to be low rise. Yes, a city, but not overwhelming where you don't get daylight on the streets because the buildings are so tall.
SPEAKER_08:But also, like, I just want to point out, too, that that Boca has changed so much. I mean, everybody always knows the old Boca versus the new Boca. Boca has changed so much. And especially, I mean, they just completed the the entire renovation of the Boca Raton Resort Club. And that's a major, major, major thing. And that's going to bring a whole influx of people into Boca Raton because what we're seeing now is a lot of people are wanting to become a part of a member at the Boca Raton. They have some 3,000 members or approximately at this time, but people are just loving the new renovation. They just spent so much money. They actually just completed it. I think they just finished the beach club, you know, a couple of months, a month or two ago. So I think that that's a huge, huge incentive for people for us. Yeah. And a draw for people. Thank you.
SPEAKER_06:And just to highlight on what Bonnie was saying, when Michael Dell purchased the resort, he paid about 800 million for it. I heard before they completed the Beach Club renovation that the property was now valued at over 2.2 billion. So that's a tremendous growth in the area itself, the property values, of course, and showing the demographic. People do want to be in this area. It's quite a special neighborhood.
SPEAKER_04:Let's talk about... Prices. Yeah, let's talk about prices. What are they doing? When we did the Austin show, we were a little bit surprised to hear that, I mean, that market is now in decline. And a lot of people are wondering if Florida, generally speaking, you know, is heading there. But we're not seeing any evidence of that yet, are we? We're not seeing any decline in the prices on a per foot basis or on an absolute median basis, right?
SPEAKER_06:I mean, I think one of the things is about Boca, and we touched on this already, is that there's limited opportunity. If you are looking in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, you know, literally there's a new development popping up on just about every corner. You know, there is not that situation occurring in Boca. It's a limited opportunity. So I do think that we're in a little bit of a bubble, you know, and going back to my New York roots, I remember, you know, 2004, 2005, people were developing up in Inwood and going really far north. And then the market crashed a little bit and people were kind of looking at those neighborhoods and going, you know, maybe I don't want to be in Morningside Heights. Maybe I don't want to go further than Harlem. So I kind of think Boca is very, very special in that way. There is not a lot of opportunity and it is not overly saturated. And
SPEAKER_01:the demand for new development is very high right now. With what's going on in our market, a lot of older buildings, they're being looked at differently by buyers, and it's pushing a lot of buyers into new development. And I think that has helped the growth. I agree with Kathy. Boca... It's a little bit different. There aren't that many opportunities. There aren't that many sites where if you go to West Palm, if you go to Fort Lauderdale, which are more like cities, there's a lot of different players. There's a lot of different opportunities for buyers to move forward on. Where in Boca, we only have a few.
SPEAKER_04:I'm going to ask a tough question, and maybe Scott Hobbs can help me out as a builder. But it occurs to me when Scott builds a house, it lasts 100 years. People have told me that I can't expect the same durability down in Florida when I buy an older home. Would you say that that's the case, Scott, that I can't rely on? Well, if I can't buy one of these, that's fine. I'll just go buy... an older home and I'll hire Scott to just fix it up. Is that also what's driving this? Because I think that the harsh environment in Florida means that you're getting even more of a desire for new development.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I think you end up having that, you know, if you're building on the waterfront up in Connecticut, it's still the waterfront. And I mean, you know how just abusive the saltwater and the wind and the air all are. I will say that housing is fashion. And so whatever, you know, the best place that was built in 1960 doesn't work for today's customer. And the stuff that's being built today, we have no idea what's going to be asked for in 2060, 2050. And odds are, again, some people will like it, but meanwhile, there'll be a new property out there that's offering new things that don't even exist today. And I think that's what a lot of these properties are offering versus the 1980s, 90s, early 2000s properties. Just as a guess.
SPEAKER_04:No, I mean, I really think, we've talked about the amenities, but I mean, I really think that buying a used property For somebody who only wants to be there maybe six months out of the year and doesn't want to be spending all their time maintaining the place, I think the new development, new build may be the only way to go. And I'm getting the sense that there's a lot less of it available than a lot of New Yorkers think.
SPEAKER_08:And it's just a really, really special place because downtown Boca is you can live that where these properties are. You can live in like a downtown lifestyle where you have the walkability. You can go to restaurants. You can go to shops. You can also, it's less than a mile to the beach. It's less than a mile door to door to the cloisters or the main entrance at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. It's a really unique and special place that you can have that city lifestyle, but then you can also go to the resort and have that resort lifestyle where you can go to the beach club and get drinks and food delivered, you know, delivered right to you while you're sitting in your chair, or you can play golf, or you can go to a Carbone restaurant, you know, a Carbone concept restaurant, or enjoy being in a five-star Forbes rated spa and get a spa treatment and all at your doorstep. So I think it's just a really special place that you can have all of that all at once.
SPEAKER_04:It's definitely not, a city feel. I went to a gala last night and I met a gentleman. He said, I just got back today from Boca. Now the guy can go, he could go anywhere. He came back to New Canaan to his beautiful mid-century modern estate. And he could go anywhere and he chooses Boca. And he was so excited, you know, to be in Boca for the winter and, you know, splits his time back and forth. And he said, I saw your brother-in-law, you know, on the golf course. I saw your brother-in-law, you know, playing tennis. And so I'm finding that when bumping into people who all sort of traveled down there to Boca together to be part of that community. And I don't think Miami's offering that. community feel.
SPEAKER_02:When I think of Boca, I used to think of Boca as it was, you know, I know that it's now, it seems to be now transforming into like a modern transit oriented city in some ways. And we're talking about new development, but it used to have this architectural tone of like Mediterranean and Spanish. And, you know, does that flavor still remain there? Is it still relevant? Are people still looking for houses like that?
SPEAKER_06:That was the Addison Meisner, oh sorry, the Addison Meisner style of architecture. Addison Meisner was very instrumental in most of the original buildings in Boca Raton. And that was the style of architecture. As you see with what's going on with Glass House, things are changing now and people are wanting a more modern flavor. They wanna see these glass towers and Boca has now responded in kind, listening to what the residents are asking for. So I think that is definitely a change towards a more modern look on the city, which is
SPEAKER_02:quite nice. like the houses that do have that, it's like, I'm just thinking of like the co-ops on Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue, which are suffering a bit here. The
SPEAKER_06:old white buildings, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Not those. Those are the white elephants. That's different. I'm talking about like those beautiful pre-war structures with enormous proportions, et cetera, which have all of their own problems in today's world. But are people taking those houses and modernizing them?
SPEAKER_05:Yes, they definitely are. I work also in residential. I work with builders and we completed 10 homes not that long ago. It was about a year ago that we completed. We started in 2018. There were 10 homes. We sold seven of them off market because of the desire for that. The highest price point on those ones, and they were in East Boca, the highest price points on those 10 were about$2 million. Now, as you get closer to where we are all located, you have the intercoastal, you have the canals, you have homes in Royal Palm that are, again, modern homes. They can be$30,$40 million. They can also be around the$5 to$8 million in different areas. The closer you get to Palmetto, which is where the glass house is, the closer you get to that inlet, the higher the price. So we are seeing those beautiful modern homes at a different price point. But again, Boca is somewhere that, People tend to live in Boca. They are, yes, there is people that are using it as a second home, but there is a lot of families. We have incredible schools. We have a lot of, you know, people desire, people want to be here. And the private airport, it is an international airport as well. So you have all those charters. You have everybody coming from New York, coming from different places. And it is a very, very busy airport as well. But those country clubs and everything, but people are downsizing into the Alinas, into the glass houses. They're coming out of there, but we do see a lot of modern residences as well.
SPEAKER_08:And people are, I think the schools is a good point too, because we have some of the best schools in all of Florida, in Boca Raton. So it's very family friendly as well, but also some of the best, the best private schools as well. So I think it's a really big draw for a lot of different people. But I think it's really important to mention that it's, you know, that Boca Raton is a lot of things for a lot of different people. There's a lot of different fire... different types of buyers that would want to live here. But to your point, these old Mediterranean homes, people are not renovating them. They're knocking them down and building beautiful contemporary homes. So the whole vision of Boca Raton has changed considerably. There's still some area, like there's still like old floresta where they have the Addison Meisner homes and they want to keep the integrity of those homes or even at the resort, they still kept the integrity of the style and the architecture, but just modernized those particular historic type properties. But in general, you're seeing a lot, a lot, lot of modern. So there's still a mix, but a lot of the new construction that is happening in residential homes as well as obviously glass house is modern.
SPEAKER_04:My sister went down there and I have to say, I said, explain to me the real estate. And she said, well, Boca Raton is equidistant between Fort Lauderdale, the city and Palm Beach. And my brother-in-law's got an office in both places. So you pick Boca because it's centrally between the two places that people want to go to. And of course, the bright line to Miami. She said there was great schools. It was a half hour to either one of those two offices. It felt like a town in between the two cities. And then she walked me down the block and she said, this is good. This is better. And this is best, you know, and as you move along. So I got the I got the impression that it was very important to connect with somebody who understood that block by block dynamic that you could get value, tremendous changes in value from one block to another. And she started to explain, you know, how far you were from the bridge or not the bridge and the intercoastal highway. And so all of those dynamics. And I thought, oh, my God, there's a lot to know. You can't just kind of wander in and say, oh, that's pretty. You know, I'll buy that. There was a lot more. going on. When we did the show, Roberto, with West Palm Beach, I have to say, very different vibe. They also have a lot of new development going on, but they said, we're going to be new development for the next 20 years. We have a quota to fill. We're going to be growing by 100,000 a year for the next 20 years. I said, where are you going to put all those people? They showed us some pictures of some sugar cane fields and they just said, they go forever and we're just going to
SPEAKER_02:develop it all. Their goal is like building a metropolis.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Wall Street South for a reason. Come on down. I'm not getting that vibe from Boca Raton. And I like it.
SPEAKER_08:And I think the other thing too, is you brought up Palm Beach. So one of the nice things, or one of the reasons that I like Boca, particularly myself and why I wanted to live here is because when I, you know, because I used to live near, near Palm Beach. And the issue with Palm Beach is that there's a lot of seasonal people in Boca, but there also are a lot of local people. So when the season ends and people go back up north or wherever they have their other homes or their main homes, this city still has a very local presence and it's not desolate. So in Palm Beach, it tends to be, in my opinion, people pack up and it's really quiet. And I'm not speaking about West Palm, I'm just speaking about Palm Beach Island. West Palm is completely different. There's, you know, it's very much a city, but like you said, a lot, a lot, it's very different from Boca. Boca is definitely quieter vibe for sure.
SPEAKER_04:Well, this has been awesome. I want to thank Katja who represents Tower 155. It's already built. You can give Katja a call and you can find her at element.com Katja Reisler. I want to thank Joanne Scher and Bonnie Schwartz of Glasshouse, which is coming soon, 2027. Give
SPEAKER_07:them
SPEAKER_04:a call. By the way, I'm going to stop, Scher, and say, by the way, I have one of your brochures. So if somebody wants a brochure, you have a lot of material that you can send them.
SPEAKER_08:Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04:And then also, Alina, I have to say, this is a very impressive, I mean, wow, Roberto, you know, you wish you had one of these. I mean, beautiful book and very detailed on Alina. Beautiful stuff. So I'm going to, and you can send that to somebody who inquires, right?
SPEAKER_08:Absolutely. Or you could call us at 561-232-2644 at our showroom. Our gallery's open from Monday through Saturday at 10 to 5, and we do appointments on Sunday, but we also can do outside appointments if you just give us a call.
SPEAKER_04:So there's the number on the screen, right? 991-3222? That's
SPEAKER_06:my cell. Feel free to
SPEAKER_04:use it. Okay, we're all calling you on your cell. I'm still a
SPEAKER_06:New Yorker. You can take the girl out of New York, but I'm never losing that 917.
SPEAKER_04:And there's Pat, Pat's website as well. Yeah, and so this is Burrows and Burbs. That's us, Roberto and myself. And you'll see this if you want to tell people about this episode. It'll be right here in about an hour, burrowsandburbs184 at burrowsandburbs.com. I want to say one other thing. I want to thank our sponsor. Tonight I'm going to this event over at... Grace Farms in New Canaan. Grace Farms is having Indre Rockefeller talk about sustainability in new development tonight. And since I'm on planning and zoning, I want to go listen to her talk about the circularity project and sustainability in new development. Does anybody want to take a parting comment about sustainability. Is that a thing? Is that important to your buyers and to your developers at the Glass House and Alina and Tower 155?
SPEAKER_02:Ricketts. Ricketts. Ricketts. That's the way I feel. They're like, how much does it cost? I don't care about sustainability. That's just what I hear. It's the truth. No, I think it's
SPEAKER_04:fair.
SPEAKER_07:I
SPEAKER_02:mean, conceptually, everybody wants that. And of course, if you can do something sustainable, but then it comes down to like, how much is it? Right.
SPEAKER_04:But they want to know that it's energy efficient. I think energy efficient. That's different. Well, that's different. Right. And
SPEAKER_06:it's
SPEAKER_04:the way a lot of us measure the sustainability.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah. And I can tell you, you know, these buildings are built of concrete. They're built with impact glass that have UV ratings. I mean, they are very sustainable. And I can tell you the difference between an FPL bill and a Con Ed bill. It's dramatic.
SPEAKER_02:But they need to change their sales pitch from sustainability to efficient.
SPEAKER_06:Efficient. That's, there you go. I agree with that.
SPEAKER_04:All right. I'm going to tell them that tonight. Good point. All right.
SPEAKER_02:Parting words, Roberto? No, I'm very pleased. I've learned a lot. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy about Boca. I got to tell you, I really am like, I want to go.
SPEAKER_05:Come on down.
SPEAKER_03:Boca's come a long way since it was God's waiting room.
SPEAKER_05:True
SPEAKER_06:story.
SPEAKER_04:All right. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, guys.
SPEAKER_06:Until next week.
