Amid Growing Demand, Luxury Miami Beach Apartment Project Nears Completion

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

While strong signs of life are shining through in Miami Beach’s condominium market, the cry for upscale apartment rentals can still be heard loud and clear and the Monte Carlo is one step closer to answering the call. Rilea Group, project manager for the 136-unit Monte Carlo, has just overseen the completion of the apartment high-rise’s foundation.

Rilea Group is acting as project manager for Monte Carlo under a fee-for-development contract with Key Montecarlo L.L.C. Carrying the address of 6551 Collins Ave., the 21-story tower is sprouting up along the ocean in the city’s highly coveted North Beach area. The building, designed by Revuelta Architecture International, will provide the increasingly hungry Miami Beach rental market with what Rilea CEO Alan Ojeda describes in a prepared statement as “a new standard of luxury living.”

The numbers tell the story. According to a report by Marcus & Millichap, the consistently declining apartment vacancy rate in Miami-Dade apartment market is on track to drop to 4.1 percent for 2012. And investors, particularly foreign buyers, are taking note. While they have been quite active in Miami’s condominium market, as per a report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, they have also shown their fondness for rentals, especially properties in Miami Beach and South Beach. The dollar signs are flashing. In the first half of the year, per the report, “a desirable beachfront submarket, North Miami Beach/Bal Harbour/Golden Beach, posted a 6.8 percent rise in Class A asking rents.”

Demand for premier apartment accommodations is on the upswing and the team behind Monte Carlo is rising to the occasion. Coastal Construction is the contractor aboard the project and, with the foundation now in place, the firm is preparing to commence vertical construction. Monte Carlo is on schedule to open its doors to residents in February 2014.