Picture this: You’re 59 stories up in your private oceanfront condo, enjoying an ocean breeze, taking in an Atlantic sunrise—and basking in the gleam of your Lamborghini or Bugatti parked right next to you.
Believe it or not, that’s the experience one developer is promising prospective residents of a glass luxury tower under construction in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., that caters to ultra-wealthy sports car enthusiasts. It’s even named after a car: the Porsche Design Tower Miami.
“What we really tried to do is create a home in the sky, and that includes a garage,” said Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Development, with offices in New York City and South Florida.
A “sky garage" for each of the tower's 132 units—some of which list for as high as $25 million—is among the features that will set the tower apart from every other luxury residence in the world, according to Dezer, one of the largest oceanfront property owners in Sunny Isles Beach, a barrier island resort north of Miami.
Dezer partnered with Germany-based Porsche Design Group, founded by the grandson of the man who created the iconic Porsche 911, in designing the cylindrical tower and its sleek glass exterior, the centerpiece of which is its car elevator system.
The elevators will lift cars to all levels of the tower and use a turntable to slip them into each resident’s private garage. The entire process is automated, so the car engines remain off. While a handful of other buildings have automated car elevators, Dezer said the robotics and the ability of an owner to walk from his garage into his home will make Porsche Tower unique. The system will include three car elevators.
“It is the height of cool,” Dezer said. “The inspiration was to create something that had never been created before and most likely will never be done again, at least not in this market.”
The condominiums are listed at between $4.5 million and $25 million, with a maintenance fee of about 65 cents per square foot depending on the size of the unit.
Pampered Porsches
The units will range in size from 4,200 to 17,000 square feet. Most will have two-car garages, but some will have space enough for four. With the option to separate living areas and the garage with glass walls, the cars can become part of the décor and, thus, need to be kept clean. So the building will have a “car concierge” to wash the cars and perform regular maintenance, including tire rotations.
For hardcore sports car enthusiasts, the Porsche Design Tower offers six “man caves"—expansive areas where a gallery of cars can share space with a lounge, bar and billiard table. The developer is billing these as a place where friends can share cognac and cigars as they admire some high-end chrome and rubber. The caves cost between $1.8 million and $2.5 million each, he added.
There will be services for the human residents, too—even the ones who may not care much about cars. In addition to 24-hour valet and security service, the tower will include a spa with treatment rooms featuring Vichy showers, a sun deck with pool and beverage service, a sunset terrace with twin, oversized spa tubs, an exercise facility overlooking the beach, an oceanfront ballroom and multipurpose clubrooms that include a movie theater and a game room. Most units will have oversized bathrooms, pools and summer kitchens on 15-foot-wide outdoor balconies, he said.
“It’s like staying in a hotel without all the guests you don’t know,” he said.
The developer broke ground on the site in April. With about three-quarters of the units presold for about $500 million, the tower is expected to open in early 2016.
The majority of units will serve as vacation homes, predominantly for wealthy residents in the U.S. Northeast and South America, with maybe 30% of the units occupied year-round, Dezer said.
Dezer has already built eight towers, including some with the Trump name, in Sunny Isles Beach and his family owns some 27 acres of oceanfront property. He said he has a 20-year exclusive license with Porsche Design and plans to build unique luxury buildings in other markets.