Colombo teams with Russian developer on Brickell Flatiron condo

BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

Veteran Miami developer Ugo Colombo is finalizing negotiations to jointly develop a luxury condominium, the Brickell Flatiron, with Russian developer Vladislav Doronin of Capital Group.A new rendering of the Brickell Flatiron project shows a flowing, curvy structure soaring 65 stories on a triangular lot at the intersection of South Miami Avenue and Brickell Plaza.

Plans for the fledgling partnership include developing a second tower on a lot Doronin controls at Brickell Plaza and Eighth Street, according to Colombo, of CMC Group Inc.

“The idea is to join forces and jointly develop the Flatiron and a second building, which has to be designed in the future,” Colombo said.

Doronin, a billionaire developer sometimes called Russia’s Donald Trump, has drawn paparazzi attention for, among other things, keeping company with supermodel Naomi Campbell; media reports said their relationship ended last year.

Colombo plans to launch sales Tuesday on the Brickell Flatiron at 1001 South Miami Avenue. The Flatiron name — most famously associated with the iconic Flatiron building at 175 Fifth Avenue at the intersection with Broadway in Manhattan — comes from the triangular shape’s resemblance to the old-fashioned clothing flatirons that were heated on stoves.

The luxury condominium project —which comes as the Brickell neighborhood is in the midst of a condo building boom — is planned to include 552 units and 40,000 square feet of retail development, including restaurant, lounge and shop space.The 750-foot skyscraper is designed with floor-to-ceiling glass exterior throughout the units, which will feature 11-foot-deep, elliptically shaped balconies.

“Working with a triangle is not easy,” said Luis Revuelta, the architect who has designed projects for Colombo for more than two decades. “It required studying a lot of options in order to get the highest efficiency for the parking and to see how it all interacted with the core.

’’Colombo said the project — his first major undertaking since the recession — “has great access to the street.” He recently returned from his native Italy, where he was shopping for materials for the project, including “good quality” marble and kitchen and bath materials, he said.

“I’m very hands-on. I like to get involved in the details,” said Colombo, whose earlier projects in Miami include Epic and Santa Maria.

The building will have a rooftop pool with a gym and spa plus an outdoor lap pool on the 15th floor.

Units will range in size from one bedroom with an average size of 1,250 square feet. Plans for penthouse units are yet to be announced.

Prices, Colombo said, will be “in line with other upper-end projects in the area.”The developer plans to use the Latin American financing model that has been used in the current round of condo projects, relying on large deposits from unit buyers to fund much of the construction.

CMC will require a 20 percent deposit from buyers upon signing a contract, 10 percent at groundbreaking, 10 percent when construction reaches the 18th floor pool level and 10 percent at top off.

The developer is building a sales office on the site and plans to handle sales in-house. Colombo said he expects to break ground “by year-end, maybe before.

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