Ugo Colombo about the Condo Market and Vita at Grove Isle

The Evolution of the Condo Market and the Unique Features of Vita

June 2022: In this new podcast I interview legendary Miami developer Ugo Colombo about his career, his vision for the Miami condo market, the appeal of Coconut Grove and of course we discuss his brand new condo project in Coconut Grove: Vita at Grove Isle

Ugo’s Vision for the Luxury Miami Condo Market

Ugo is the developer behind several of Miami best selling condos such as Santa Maria, Grovenor House, Bristol Tower and Brickell Flatiron. There is a large appetite for Ugo’s type of residences, which characterize as large and livable. When Ugo entered the Miami real estate market the condo market was a ‘second tier’ kind of market. He wanted to open up this market and give buyers another condo experience than what they were used to.

His vision was for his condo developments to be able to compete with the more luxurious single-family homes. Together with his architect, Luis Revuelta another Miami icon, they decided to bring more sophisticated architecture to the table, design larger units, offer private elevators and large terraces. The team decided to stop with the brown colors and to start offering white and brighter colors to reinvent or rebrand the condo market for a new demographic.

All of Ugo’s buildings are different as he tries to give them all a different identity. As we always say “Unique product will appreciate over time and is less likely to suffer during an economic downturn“.

Ugo Colombo’s condos differentiate themselves with large floor plans, which are more suitable for primary residences. Think of well-considered plans with good flow, spacious bedrooms and enough closet space. You would say this is common sense, but this is not always the case in the Miami condo market. Many buyers were fooled with very generic condo product that was bought during the last boom. The floor plans were often not that well considered and when you look at the resale value of this product you see it did not do well. If a property cannot be used as a primary property it generally does not perform very well on the resale market.

The Evolution of Coconut Grove

Coconut Grove has exploited in the last few years. There is massive appetite from relocation buyers, who fall in love with Coconut Grove because of its natural, organic feel. The Grove is a cute, little town, close to Brickell and Downtown, close to the best schools, close to the airport and located on the water. The only problem is that there is not enough land to build. If you look at the Grove in recent years only a handful of condos were constructed, especially condos right near the water. There is huge demand for Coconut Grove luxury condos, but not enough land to build it on.

Vita at Grove Isle’s Unique and Outstanding Features

Ugo was not involved from the very start, when this project was still called The Markers. The developers of The Markers however got into a legal battle with the neighbors, delaying this project for years. The developers then settled with the neighbors and that is when Ugo came back in and took over.

Initially attracted by the project’s unique location and architecture, the challenge then became to transform a concept into a real condo plan. Vita at Grove Isle is high-rise lying flat, which appeals to buyers who love being close to the water as it feels like living in a single-family home. The proximity to water is not the only feature of Vita that makes it resemble a house. Vita offers a circular construction and is located on an island. The upside is that you do not have neighboring buildings obstructing your views. The new luxury condo offers large floor plans and deep terraces and many buyers purchase Vita as a primary residence.

Some of the architectural features are really well done such as the lift-and-slide doors, which allow a seamless transition between the indoor and the outdoors without the usual lip. This provides for a cleaner look and of course less dangerous situations with people falling over these lips.  Furthermore, the living room doors at Vita can completely open. Vita boasts dropped ceilings throughout the entire unit meaning that you can put lighting or air conditioning diffusers anywhere. This is a very unique feature, because most condos have dropped ceilings in a specific area.

Additionally the penthouses come with proper 5ft pools. For the Penthouses the whole floor was raised 5 ft to have a pool that is deep enough and completely sinks in the terrace (40% of total SF). No glorified bathtubs or Jacuzzi-sized pools at Vita! With Vita Ugo really tried to get another level of sophistication to bring the Miami condo market to the next level.

Will there be more appetite for primary condo living? If you ask Ugo, this is a strong yes. There will always be demand for luxury product and Miami is ready for it. As out city is becoming more and more of a world-class city this demand will keep increasing. While many were skeptical in the past about Miami’s potential, its sustainable growth is now widely recognized. More and more businesses, funds and the tech crowd are settling in and we now offer culture, art and important events such as the Grand Prix. This level of development attracts luxury buyers, especially since Miami is still a bargain compared to many other major cities in the US or around the world.