Recap: Art Basel + real estate = luxury sales

The mashup of luxury real estate and high-end art hit new levels at Art Basel Miami 2014. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the week:

Christie’s International real estate affiliates joined Miami’s EWM Realty as sponsors of Art Miami in Wynwood. Ron Shuffield, president and CEO of EWM Realtors, said that Miami’s top-10 status as a city for luxury real estate validates the city as a “true international destination.”

“While ultra-high-net-worth individuals are historically private about their acquisitions, the feedback during the grand opening of the fair confirms that Christie’s International Real Estate’s sponsorship of Art Miami is an extremely strong, viable marketing venue,” Shuffield said in a news release.

The Bath Club Estates, which was promoted at Douglas Elliman’s Art Basel booth

At Art Basel, a Douglas Elliman-Knight Frank booth featured 27 properties in London, Los Angeles, Miami and New York, more than double the number of listings offered last year, said Susan de Franca, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing.

Some of the Miami properties that were promoted include the Bath Club Estates and the Residences at Miami Beach EDITION.

Fortune International Group set up golf cart tours and a VIP champagne lounge for brokers and qualified buyers in Midtown.

“We want people to see the growth that is taking place north of Midtown,” said Sofia Espinosa, Midtown’s sales director. “It’s an exciting time to show them how the Design District is becoming Miami’s Rodeo Drive.”

Eastview Development’s Biscayne Beach, a condo tower in East Edgewater, hosted a New York City-based Bonhams Art Auction during art week

Eastview Development’s Biscayne Beach, a 399-unit luxury condo tower in East Edgewater, hosted a New York City-based Bonhams Art Auction during art week. Biscayne Beach is a joint venture with global real estate investment firm GTIS Partners.

Reid Boren, an Eastview Development partner, said that people who look at art and participate in the auctions might also buy units at Biscayne Beach.

“As the winter season kicks off, we wanted to bring our real estate project and the art world together for a one of a kind preview auction exhibition that ties the two worlds,” he said.

The Related Group – which broke ground on two projects last Thursday – displayed millions of dollars worth of paintings and sculptures at Art Basel. The company will exhibit some of the art in outdoor spaces and some of it in the company’s high-end condo developments, Forbes reported.

Patricia Garcia-Velez Hanna, the Related Group’s art director and Jorge Perez’s personal art consultant, told Forbes the company tries to incorporate art so that it’s inherent in the project.

A rendering of Porsche Design Tower

Developer Gil Dezer hosted a party at his Porsche Design Tower’s sales center to sell the remaining units of the Sunny Isles 60-story building, the Miami Herald reported.

It featured a glow-in-the-dark 2014 Porsche 911 Art Car.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach joined the Art Basel celebrations with its own party last week. Units reportedly ranged from $2 million to $40 million. The party also launched Dwyane Wade’s sneaker line.

“We find that there is a tremendous amount of qualified buyers and wealth that descend on this city this time of year, so we try to get some events going on and some cool things that people may enjoy,” Ophir Sternberg, founding partner and chief executive of Lionheart Capital, developers of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, told the Miami Herald.