ISG takes over sales from Elliman on Fort Lauderdale condo project

Douglas Elliman is out, and ISG World is in at 3000 Waterside, billionaire developer Bill Malhotra’s planned waterfront Fort Lauderdale condo project.

Malhotra’s Claridge Homes tapped ISG World to take over sales that Douglas Elliman launched a year ago, ISG World CEO Craig Studnicky confirmed. The planned 15-story, 103-unit condo project at 2910-3000 East Oakland Park Boulevard and 3000 Northeast 30th Place is 25 percent presold, he said.

Despite tepid presales, Claridge plans to break ground next month, and finish construction in the spring of 2025, according to a press release. 

This is Malhotra’s first foray into the U.S. market. His previous developments are all in Ottawa, Canada, where Claridge Homes is based, the company’s website shows. Malhotra founded Claridge Homes in 1986, and Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.9 billion. 

Studnicky said that when Malhotra approached him it was clear that he wanted a new sales team.

“Douglas Elliman, to their credit, has a lot of business in South Florida. They might have been a little too busy to pay attention,” Studnicky said. But, “you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.”

Studnicky said the combination of the project’s site, Malhotra’s reputation and  construction timeline, and the comparatively low price per square foot of $950 drew him in.

“So we got married,” he said, joking. Douglas Elliman declined to comment on the sales team replacement.

An affiliate of Claridge Homes bought the 2.2-acre development site for $12.5 million in February last year, records show. 

Floor plans for the planned condo building include one- to three-bedroom options, ranging from 1,490 square feet to 3,550 square feet, the press release shows. Prices start at $1.1 million and go up to $3 million, Studnicky said. Miami-based architect Kobi Karp and Coconut Creek-based Berrie Architecture & Design are designing the project, according to the release.

Amenities will include a restaurant, wine tasting room, golf simulator, movie theater, dog run and washing stations, pool, fitness center, and a wellness center with a yoga studio, salt suite, saunas and steam rooms, the release said. The project also will have 14 boat slips available to unit owners for purchase.

The project’s target buyers are Northeasterners and Californians relocating to South Florida, Latin Americans, and empty nesters, Studnicky said. The 22-month turnaround on construction makes it easier for him to sell the project to buyers who are relocating, he said.

“Most of the Americans moving here can’t wait past two years,” he said. “[Before Covid] if I sold someone a second home and the delivery date got extended, no biggie.”

Other Fort Lauderdale projects in the works include Rishi Kapoor’s planned 11-story, 65-unit Edition Residences; Ocean Land Investments’ 100-unit Sixth & Rio, which recently tapped Compass to lead sales; and Tavistock Development Group’s mixed-use Pier Sixty-Six, which includes 61 condos.