Buyers from out of town aren’t just snapping up Miami’s prime real estate, they’re also changing the way developers build, the Miami Herald reports. As more out-of-towners decide they want to put down roots in South Florida rather than simply buy investment properties for the rental market, they’re asking for bigger, better, more expensive designs. For example, units equipped with quarters for a nanny or maid; guest suites for visiting relatives and friends; and high-tech security with biometric identification.
Those requests come from both Latin Americans, who have driven Miami’s latest real-estate boom, and wealthy Americans (some from New York), who are appearing locally in greater numbers. Some developers, hoping to lure a growing pool of Chinese buyers, are even turning to “feng shui” consultants who specialize in the eastern art of balanced design.
At Paramount Miami Worldcenter, a luxury condo tower planned for downtown Miami’s Park West district, about 80 apartments out of a total 513 have a bedroom and bathroom — called a “lockout suite” — branching off from the main entrance near the unit’s private elevator. The studios, between 250 and 280 square feet, are envisioned as space for a maid or nanny, although they could also be used for teenage children de for privacy or an elderly parent who needs quiet. Part of Miami’s cultural evolution is that out-of-towners feel the city is safe and entertaining enough to raise a family or stay for extended periods. Units with a lockout suite start at about $1.5 million, or $650 per square foot.
Developers are building to their buyers; people want to feel like they’re at home, especially if they’re spending time with their families.
In the high-end condo market, developers are turning standard balconies into outdoor living rooms. At Louver House, a low-density Mast Capital project with 12 apartments in South Beach, terraces for 2,400-square-foot units are about 700 square feet. That’s enough space for a dining table, sitting area and lounge. The sliding glass doors open up completely so that the terraces can be fully connected with the interior space.
Interior designer Claudio Faria said that Latin American, European and New York buyers are asking for closets that feel like “boutiques.”
For an Edgewater project called Aria on the Bay that will open in fall 2017, the plans include a 2,360-square-foot play room for children, equipped with toys, board games, rock-climbing, ping pong, televisions. The developer of the project says:  “We are expecting a new generation of young families who want to live in the city.”
“People like having their friends or family in the same building, but not necessarily in their own unit,” said developer Edgardo Defortuna, who is building the 52-story Ritz-Carlton Residences in Sunny Isles Beach for the first quarter of 2018 along with partner Château Group. The 212-unit project, where two-bedrooms start at $2 million, will include eight 600-square-foot guest suites.
The condo association will own the suites, and only unit owners who live in the building will be able to reserve them.