Setai two-story townhouse lists for $16.9M

A two-story townhouse at the Setai Resort & Residences in Miami Beach, totally tricked out with sound and light, has listed for $16.9 million, The Real Deal has learned.

“Air Beach House,” the 3,627-square-foot unit TH-A is the only townhouse at the Setai with a direct beachfront view, according to listing agents Beatriz Nahuz and Claudia Murad, founders of Unique Living Miami, an affiliate of The Solution Group. The price equates to $4,659 per square foot.

Owner Doug Rogers, a well known digital sound engineer who is the founder of Los Angeles-based Eastwest, spent three years creating a white jewel box that transforms with sound and light, he told TRD.

“We went all out on the construction, doing something really modern, minimalist, and we consider more art work than a typical real estate development,” said Rogers, who created the townhouse for spec.

When he purchased the unit at 101 20th Street in 2010 for $4 million from the developer, he said it was just raw space with concrete walls and floors. Rogers invested “millions of dollars” designing and building out the double-height unit, which has two oceanfront master suites, a guest room and media room and four bathrooms, as well as 1,000 square feet of terraces. He declined to disclose the exact amount invested in the build-out.

“It took three years because you can only build in this property for six months of the year,” said Rogers, a New Zealand native who has lived in the United States since 1984.

Rogers designed the unit together with CREA, an Italian design firm. Architect Ralph Vidal created the plans for permitting purposes, and the general contractor was MAG Development, he said.

Geared toward entertaining, the all white living room features 18-foot-tall columns and a system of rounded glass walls facing the ocean. It is designed to transform into a dance floor accented with a palette of LED-accented colors. Rogers also added double ceilings to soundproof the unit, which sits over the Setai‘s garage.

Additional features include hand-installed mosaics in the bathrooms, custom-designed white lacquer cabinetry, terrazzo floors, a cantilevered glass staircase, three covered balconies and a multi-media theater.

Rogers initially listed the unit in February 2013 with the Jills of Coldwell Banker, for $22 million, and then reduced the price to $18.5 million in July 2013, before taking it off the market.

In addition to the Miami Beach condo, Rogers owns three homes in Los Angeles and one in Palm Springs. “I’ve done quite a bit of real estate and remodeling,” he told TRD.

“We usually find something that has fantastic features. We’re typically looking for waterfront or an incredible view and then you can justify spending a lot on the build-out because the rest of it is there. If it doesn’t have a view, then an incredible location,” he said.

“I just like doing it,” Rogers added. “I was always really interested in architecture. It’s almost therapeutic for me, believe it or not.”