Unsold Mondrian SoBe residences go up for sale

The developer of the Mondrian South Beach Residences is about to put the remaining unsold units at the condo-hotel up for sale, The Real Deal has learned.

About 60 units at the 1100 West Avenue condo-hotel are set to be released to the market early next month, Mondrian developer Keith Menin told The Real Deal. Menin oversaw a recent renovation of the common areas and added a new restaurant at the property. More than 200 condo-hotel units have been sold since the Mondrian was completed five years ago.

After last decade’s economic and housing collapse, the Mondrian’s ownership opted to take some of the unsold units off the market and continue operating them as part of the hotel inventory, Menin said.

Prices for the unsold units start at $300,000, Menin said. At about $600 per square foot, the starting price is a significant discount from the $1,000 per square foot early buyers paid for Mondrian units when they were first released.

The average size of the available units is about 700 square feet, Menin said. The smallest units are 520 square feet.

Putting the units on the market now gives the Mondrian a jump on a crowded Miami Beach preconstruction condo market. Preconstruction sales cannot close until a development receives a certificate of occupancy.

Miami Beach currently has eight new condo projects in the pipeline, according to Crane Spotters. Construction has not started on most of the developments, while the rest are in the infant stages. So developers of those projects would not be in a position to close on unit sales for at least another year.

The newest developments primarily target high-end buyers willing to spend millions of dollars on a seasonal residence. They cater to a different market segment than Mondrian buyers.

“What we’re offering is not a ground-up deal; this is reality,” Menin said. “You can come to the beach now and buy something beautiful, furnished and renovated.”

Fortune International Realty is handling sales of the remaining Mondrian units. It is offering six percent commissions as an incentive for brokers.

To date, the Mondrian has attracted a mix of domestic buyers from the New York area and international investors, Menin said.

“Our buyers are a really diverse crowd,” he said. “We have a lot of Brazilian and South American buyers, Canadians and Italians and the weekend warriors from New York. The Mondrian is a residence with hotel services and very big units. People like the second-home lifestyle.”