The Aventura Mall is getting a new tenant, Tag Heuer, which will enter a 1,200-square-foot space by the end of the year after construction is complete, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The project, which has been undertaken by Shawmut Design and Construction, is the company’s first standalone store in South Florida, the latest in a slew of luxury retailers heading to the mall. [more]

Miami’s trendy STK steakhouse, frequented by the likes of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, will be opening a second New York branch as a “high-end, yet less formal dining spot.” The Miami outpost is located in the Gansevoort Hotel in South Beach. “This is STK’s kid sister,” said Jonathan Segal, CEO of parent company the ONE Group. “She’s going to show the world she’s got the same genes, but her own vibrant personality.” [Eater]
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The Aventura Mall will be the site of a new retail chain in which Miami Heat star LeBron James is a minority investor. The first in a series of UNKNWN stores, which was first planned to be in Akron, Ohio, comes from James’ friendship with the Fontainebleau Hotel’s Jeffrey Soffer. “LeBron James has become a world-renowned brand and we’re very excited to partner his new retail concept,” said Ted Siegal, vice president and director of leasing for Aventura Mall. [Miami Herald]
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From left: Vanilla Ice, NBA star-turned Miami real estate pro John Crotty, new Miami Heat star LeBron James and a view of Miami Beach

Between the ongoing foreclosure crisis, still-declining home prices and an ominous
proclamation by Moody’s Economy.com that a full residential recovery may elude
the area for another two decades, there wasn’t a ton of good news for South Florida
real estate this year — but there was some. A slew of high-powered athletes moved
into the tri-county region, including a certain trio of Miami Heat newbies, and brokers
clamored for their attention. Meanwhile, residential market activity picked up on the
whole, spurred by foreign, all-cash buyers and short sales. The Real Deal’s readers have spoken on their 10 favorite South Florida real estate stories of the year, and here they are, ranked by the number of page views between Jan. 1 and Dec. 28. [more]

From left: Sandra Bullock, Sarah Palin, Charlie Sheen and the cast of MTV’s “Jersey Shore”

The results of Zillow’s annual celebrity neighbor survey are in, and America’s (literal) girl next door is actress Sandra Bullock. More than one quarter of those surveyed said they’d most like to have the Academy Award-winning single mom as their neighbor. The next most-popular prospective neighbor, Sarah Palin, trailed with 10 percent of the vote. Lady Gaga, who has been spotted apartment hunting in New York City lately, and newlyweds Katy Perry and Russell Brand, who just dropped $2.7 million on an apartment in Tribeca, took 3 percent and 2 percent of the vote, respectively. The cast of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” was picked by 26 percent of those surveyed as the least desirable neighborhood addition of 2010, even beating out drunk-driving Mel Gibson and Plaza Hotel room-destroyer Charlie Sheen. Another 3 percent of voters believed Coconut Grove’s latest celebrity resident, LeBron James, would be the worst neighbor, but Zillow didn’t note whether those voters were from Cleveland. TRD [more]

South Florida was just as shocked as the rest of the sporting world when LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to join the Miami Heat in July, but a banner year for Miami sports has turned into a solid one for the higher-end real estate market, with Miami Heat’s Big Three — James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade — leading a year of high-profile purchases and sales by local athletes. The Heat stars weren’t the only ones buying or selling high-end properties in South Florida — athletes from baseball, football and basketball have purchased some of the area’s biggest and most expensive homes in 2010, led by Chris Bosh. See the list after the jump. [more]

It was reported at the end of September that LeBron James had entered into a contract at 3309 Devon Court in Coconut Grove. Now, it turns out that the home he was reported yesterday to have purchased is a totally different one: 3590 Crystal View Court, also in Coconut Grove. The Crystal View home has more bedrooms and is nearly 2,000 square feet larger than the original one. [Curbed]

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Miami Heat superstar LeBron James has purchased a 12,000-square-foot home in Coconut Grove for $9 million, according to sources. The 20,000-square-foot lot was purchased by Suite 823 Investments Florida; Suite 823 is the office unit of James’ marketing company in Cleveland. Judy Zeder of EWM was the selling broker and P.U.R.E. Investments’ Ashley Michelle-Velez was the buyer’s broker. [SFBJ] [more]

Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade has settled on a $10.65 million Miami Beach home with more than 150 feet of bay frontage and a tennis court that he plans to turn into a basketball court, after months of speculation about his and his new teammates’ South Florida real estate searches. His broker, Gloria Salom of Beachfront Realty, called Wade’s house hunt of at least 50 coastal homes “a project-and-a-half,” but even after the exhaustive search, Wade went into contract on the six-bedroom property, which is just blocks away from Chris Bosh’s new house, sight-unseen. The seller was Mel Harris. [WSJ]

Realtors say that the buzz over new Miami Heat members LeBron James and
Chris Bosh is helping the four condo towers near the American Airlines
Arena. “You can call the sales office and sometimes not get through to
anyone because they’re so busy,” said Lori Ordover, director of sales
for Africa Israel USA, developer of the Marquis. “That bodes well for
what’s going to happen this season.” Russell Wright, who bought the
penthouse unit at the Marquis for $4.2 million, said he chose the
building partly for its location. Wright has floor seats for Heat games. [Miami
Herald]

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