Lake Mary-based BlueChip Energy is building what is purported to be Florida's largest solar panel plant, with the power to build approximately 3,200 homes. The $120 million plant in Sorrento Farms is larger than the state's existing DeSoto plant, which is a Florida Power & Light project. The facility is smaller, however, than other announced facilities in Florida -- one in Gadsden County and a second in Walton County. There is room for further expansion of production, according to BlueChip, potentially as much as 80 more megawatts. The planned capacity is for 40 megawatts. [Sun Sentinel]
More than 14 percent of loans in Florida were in foreclosure at the end of the third quarter, the highest rate in the United States, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Just under 19 percent of those loans were "seriously delinquent," that is, more than 90 days delinquent. The non-seasonally adjusted foreclosure inventory rate for all loans in America last quarter was 4.43 percent, which was unchanged from the previous quarter and four basis points higher than the third quarter of 2010. The MBA's report looked at 43.5 million first-lien mortgages on one-to-four unit residential properties in the country. Nationwide, the rate of foreclosure starts was up 1.08 percent in the third quarter, a 12-basis point increase from the second quarter. -- Alexander Britell
Porsce Design has teamed with Gil Dezer and Dezer Properties to build an innovative condo project in Sunny Isles Beach.
Porsche Design’s entry into condominium development features a partnership with Dezer Properties to develop a 57-story tower in Sunny Isles Beach with a one-of-a-kind robotic parking system that will locate owners' cars next to their luxury unit.
Plans submitted to the city in preparation for a Nov. 17 public hearing show that the building will feature 132 condo units with 284 robotic parking spaces.
The architectural plans submitted to the city show that the innovative design features three circular, rotating platforms at the building’s center that operate like elevators, transporting the cars to their destinations.
The robotic parking systems currently used in other condo developments move cars to a rack, similar to boat storage.
The building would be built on 2.21 acres site at the site of the Golden Nugget Beach Club, at 18555 Collins Ave. The site sits on the east side of Collins Avenue, immediately adjacent and north
Neither Dezer Properties principal Gil Dezer nor Porsche Design were available for comment.
The round building will rise to 641 feet, with 595 feet for the building and the balance for the parapet, according to public records.
Many of the project’s units will be duplexes, with pools featured on every other level. Parking is also on every other level.
According to a notice posted at the Golden Nugget, city commissioners will consider granting the developer a transfer of 115,391 square feet of development rights to the project.
“The project is new, it’s exciting,” Vice Mayor Lewis Thaler said.
Dezer Properties is the most dominant condo developer in Sunny Isles Beach, having built several projects there in partnership with Donald Trump. In addition to the Porsche Design site, Dezer owns several other undeveloped properties on Collins Avenue.
Porsche Design Studio was established in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1972 by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, grandson of the Porsche founder and designer of the Porsche 911. In the decades that followed, numerous classic men’s accessories – such as watches, eyeglasses and writing utensils – were created and marketed worldwide under the Porsche Design brand.
Real estate listing supersite Trulia has compiled its first Metro Movers Report, based on data culled from page views of its site. The report shows where Americans are looking to move and where they're looking to leave.
Apparently Miamians have no intention of departing our warm weather, but they would like to explore other Florida options. Meanwhile, not many other Floridians would like to move to Miami, but New Yorkers sure would.
The Metro Mover Index shows that for every Miamian looking at out-of-town listings on Trulia, only 0.82 out-of-towners are checking out real estate in Miami. That's not a good indication for future growth and is considerably lower than most other markets in Florida, but Trulia notes it's a better index than most major metro areas.
Here are the top ten for both metro areas with people looking to move to Miami, and metro areas where Miamians are thinking about moving to.
So where are Miamians considering moving to? Apparently not too far away. Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie, and Orlando top the list. (Ugh, why would you do that to yourselves?) The only non-Florida areas in the top ten are the NYC area, Atlanta, and L.A.
Oddly, for as much as Miamians might want to live in other parts of Florida, most Floridians do not want to move to Miami. Except for Fort Lauderdalians and Palm Beachers, that is, but they've always been wannabe Miamians anyway. Two-thirds of people searching for homes in Miami through the site currently live more than 500 miles away.
Miami is apparently known as the sixth borough for a reason. We're the second most popular search option for New Yorkers looking to move out of their region, only behind L.A.
2020 Alton Road – LEED Platinum / Net Zero Residence
Imagine having a four-bedroom house with a pool and not paying a dime on your electric bill. That's about to become a reality at the first "Platinum" green home in Miami Beach.
"Platinum" is the highest energy efficiency rating you can get for a house.
Robert Arkin is the general contractor of the ultra-modern home that he calls "sustainable luxury." It's a 3,200 square foot house located at 2020 Alton Road and it's so green, they don't plan to pay an electric bill.
"We're trying to obtain net-zero," Arkin said, "which means at the end of the day we're not going to be paying for electricity."
On the roof, they'll have solar panels and collapsible wind turbines. The pool in front of the house will contain no chemicals or chlorine. It will electronically clean itself.
"We'll also have geo-thermal air-conditioning," Arkin explained. "It's where we take water from the ground and we cool the air-conditioning system with [it]."
Ari Sklar is the architect of the house that has so many bells and whistles, it even comes with an iPad that controls everything.
The City of Miami Beach is excited about this pioneering project. It fits right in line with their desire to become a greener city.
Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora visited the site and said he's hopeful this will encourage more green building in the area.
2020 Alton Road is scheduled to be completed in April 2012. The house is currently on the market. The asking price is $2.19 million.[NBC Miami]
2020 Alton is trying to be a "NET ZERO" home. Essentially this means that its system would produce enough power to run the home without taking energy from the FPL grid. In fact, the meter would spin backward and the homeowner would supply the grid with surplus power and receive a credit on their monthly FPL statement. In order to do this 2020 Alton will utilize Photovoltaic Solar panels, Vertical axis wind turbines, Geothermal heating and cooling, as well as the most advanced insulation technologies. In addition 2020 Alton will have in place a rain water collection system to harvest and store all of the rain water.
The 369-unit Oak Grove Apartments in Miami have been sold for $14.2 million, in a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield. The property was acquired by a South Florida-based investment company that paid approximately $46 per square foot. Oak Grove, which was built in 1972, is located at 15401 NE 6th Avenue on a 10.6 acre lot. Cushman multi-family housing specialists Rosendo Caveiro and Brad Capas represented the seller, a private investment group based in the Northeast. The average unit size is 840 square feet. -- Alexander Britell
Miami Heat forward Mike Miller has placed his Hillsboro Shores home for sale, listing the 9,968-square-foot estate for $9 million. Miller, who signed with the Heat in the summer of 2010, has to pay an annual tax bill of $180,000 on the property. Miller's future with Miami could be up in the air depending on the outcome of the NBA lockout negotiations, although he said he was not looking to move. "It's a couple of things," he said. "Just preparing myself; never know what can happen." [Sun Sentinel]
