Lionheart wants $40M for its Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami Beach penthouse

The trend of ultra-decadent penthouses is apparently here to stay in Miami Beach, where developer Lionheart Capital has officially begun marketing a $40 million unit atop its Ritz-Carlton Residences project.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Lionheart is shopping the eight-bedroom condo with a price tag of roughly $3,252 per square foot. Arguably its most standout feature is a collection of four private pools on its 13,000 square feet of terraces, though the penthouse also boasts its own library, wine tasting room and two summer kitchens.

The 12,300-square-foot unit is actually composed of two separate condos: Penthouse 1 and 12, which could also be purchased separately, the Journal reported. Potential buyers also have the option of buying the penthouse raw for a $3 million discount. A similarly-sized, tri-level penthouse at the Apogee hit the market just two weeks ago with an ask of $65 million, or $4,378 per square foot.

Douglas Elliman is handling sales for the eight-story project, which has so far sold 60 percent of its 111 units, according to a recent new development survey from brokerage ISG. Prices range from $2 million square feet for a two-bedroom unit to the $40 million penthouse, averaging about $900 to $1,200 per square foot. A collection of 15 villas are also being built alongside the project.

Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami Beach is being built over the former Miami Heart Institute site, which Lionheart demolished. It’s expected to open by the second quarter of 2017.

The project’s penthouse announcement comes at a difficult time for Miami-Dade County’s luxury market, often pointed to as the softest among the price brackets sold.

Just last month, EWM International Realty CEO Ron Shuffield cautioned that many luxury sellers would have to drop their asking prices if they hope to entice buyers. [Wall Street Journal] — Sean Stewart-Muniz