Adapting to challenging market: Developer retools planned Aventura condo tower

The developer of a planned Aventura luxury condo project that launched sales in the fall is expanding the number of units and lowering prices to adjust to the challenging market, The Real Deal has learned. 

Matthew Rosenblatt’s 2151 Development Group and Efrem Gerszberg’s 2020 Acquisitions will add more than 50 units to Tal Aventura, with less expensive prices than previously planned. The partnership between Miami-based 2151 Development Group and New Jersey-based 2020 Acquisitions tapped Douglas Elliman to lead sales of the then-planned 26-story, 86-unit tower in November. Unit prices at that time ranged from $1.4 million to $9.9 million. 

Now, most units will range from below $1 million to about $1.6 million, Rosenblatt said. One-bedroom units with dens could start under $900,000, and the majority of units will be two- and three-bedrooms, he said. 

Compass had previously taken over presales and will continue to lead sales, and the design team of Idea Architects and IDDI also remains the same. Moss Construction is also still the general contractor for the Aventura development. 

Amenities will include a pool with cabanas, a fitness center and spa, co-working lounge, sports courts and more. The building is planned for the 1-acre site at 2785 Northeast 183rd Street. 

Rosenblatt said in a statement provided to TRD that he was adjusting to buyers’ demands. 

“We listened to our buyers and have expanded our design plans to deliver residences that fit their lifestyle needs and preferences, at a more affordable price point,” he said, adding that city staff has preliminarily signed off on expanding the project. 

To lower prices, the developer would have to add density, especially as builders and developers across the country and in South Florida continue to struggle with rising costs tied to construction, insurance and financing. Mortgage rates have more than doubled in a year, which affected both buyers and developers seeking construction loans. 

The sales center will remain open as the developer finalizes the new plans and submits new condo documents to the state for approval. 

Property records show the site sold in 2015 for $6.3 million. 

Rosenblatt’s 2151 Development Group is working on a nearly 500-unit project nearby in Aventura, and a spec house in Bay Harbor Islands that Douglas Elliman’s Dina Goldentayer will list for $27 million. He’s developed in the Northeast and Florida. 

Gerszberg’s 2020 Acquisitions has developed residential, industrial and other commercial projects in New York, New Jersey, Florida and California. He was also previously president and director of George Foreman Enterprises. 

Related Group and Integra Investments last fall did the opposite as Rosenblatt and Gerszberg’s firms.  Instead of two 46-story towers with about 330 units, their planned St. Regis Residences in Miami’s Brickell will now have about 150 luxury condos in one waterfront building, and the unsold units increased in price.