Bellini developer pays off loan with condo sales

Bellini Williams Island
Bellini Williams Island

Sales have been good at Bellini Williams Island, poised to be among the first condo tower developments in South Florida’s post-collapse real estate recovery.

Developer and art collector Martin Margulies has sold two penthouses and Bellini’s second Artefacto-designed model unit, more than enough to cover an $80 million loan backed by several valuable paintings.

As the 25-story Bellini tower nears completion, the sales team announced it has closed on the sale of its second model unit for just over $2 million to a Northeastern buyer.

The 2,608-square-foot model unit was designed by Artefacto and is furnished entirely in white, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

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Unlike other units in the building, the Artefacto design has a different layout, an open plan between the kitchen, living and dining rooms — a popular trend in interior design, according to the Journal.

Slated to be ready for an October move-in date, the 70-unit building is the last piece of a $10 million investment in Williams Island and could be the current real estate cycle’s first completed condo project.

Margulies, a veteran South Florida developer who exhibits a substantial collection of modernist painting and photography, put up a handful of works as collateral for an $80 million loan from U.S. Trust, as The Real Deal previously reported. [South Florida Business Journal]Emily Schmall