Sixteen months after breaking ground, the contentious Privé at Island Estates luxury condo project in Aventura has topped off its two towers at 16 stories.
Developers BH3 and Gary Cohen, along with general contractor Suffolk Construction, held a luncheon/Halloween-themed celebration for the project’s construction workers over the weekend to commemorate the occasion. With both towers topped off and their concrete shells completed, the developers expect to complete Privé and its 160 units within the next eight months.
Condos at the development range in size from 2,585 square feet to 9,500 square feet, and are priced between $2.1 million and $11.4 million for a penthouse with a rooftop pool. As of late October, 106 of the units are under contract. Amenities at the project include a 10,000-square-foot fitness center, cafe, dog grooming salon, social rooms, a library, and separate cigar and wine rooms.
Privé, which sits on an island spanning roughly 8 acres at 5000 Island Estate Drive, has been embroiled in litigation from neighboring homeowners who allege the developers are violating a 34-year-old legal settlement preventing any new condo developments on the island. The fight has at several times reached a boiling point: two residents rammed their Porsche into a sidewalk the developers were building, and the developers later fired back with a $225 million lawsuit against several homeowners, though it’s since been dismissed.
In a rare peek at the financial inner-workings of a condo project, The Real Deal acquired a memorandum sent by the developer to lenders requesting $147 million in construction debt. The document put a spotlight on everything from the $48 million in equity BH3 and Cohen sank into Privé, down to the $47 million spent on concrete alone. — Sean Stewart-Muniz and Katherine Kallergis