Elcom Condominium LLC with Jorge E. Arevalo and Thomas D. Sullivan in South Miami paid $2.6 million for 41,047 square feet of saleable space in the 124-unit Regent Hotel tower located on the west side of the 26-story, trophy complex in exclusive Bal Harbour.

Bankrupt residential development company WCI Communities, Inc., based in Bonita Springs, Fla., was the seller of the condo-hotel with 106,051 saleable square feet. WCI's chief restructuring officer Jonathan Pertchik signed the deed.

"Nearly 60 percent of the One Bal Harbour condo-hotel project closed at an average price of $1 million per unit before Elcom Condominium stole the remaining 40 percent of this high-end project for $51,000 per unit," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures®. "Condo-hotels are not for everyone but at $63 per square foot one has to think there are buyers for this quality of product at that price."

This is the eighth bulk deal - and second in Bal Harbour - of new or significantly improved residential product to close since July 2008, according to the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Four deals have closed in Greater Downtown Miami and an additional two transactions have closed in West Palm Beach.

In a separate transaction, Elcom Hotel & Spa LLC with Arevalo and Sullivan purchased the 67,031 square feet of hotel common areas and land for $12 million, or $179 per square foot, according to Miami-Dade County records.

The combined square footage of both transactions is 108,078 at an acquisition price of $14.6 million, or about $135 per square foot.

Industry watchers estimate the cost to construct a new tower in South Florida is about $250 per square foot plus land costs.  

WCI purchased the five-acre waterfront property on which the One Bal Harbour stands for $50.4 million, $231 per square foot, in January 2004.

After demolishing the old rental tower that stood on the trophy site, WCI obtained a $174 million construction loan from the former Wachovia Bank to build a 185-unit condo and 124-unit condo-hotel complex overlooking the inlet connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.

The last bulk deal to occur in Bal Harbour closed on Dec. 31, 2008, when a South Florida private equity fund paid $277 per square foot for 101 units in the neighboring Harbour House oceanfront condominium conversion completed by the Related Group.

A Florida entity called HH Condominium Investments LLC with Thomas F. Daly as president paid $27 million for an average of $268,000 per unit in the 16-story tower, according to a CondoVultures.com article.

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or view our Video Gallery. Looking for bulk projects direct from developers or lenders? Visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™ , Miami's Great Condo Crash: A Chronicle of the Boom and Bust™ , and the First-Time Home Buyers Guide To South Florida™ are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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