UPDATED, April 9, 4:30 p.m.: The bellinis, carpaccio and other tasty Italian antipasto were flowing at Cipriani Downtown Miami.
Cipriani CEO Giuseppe Cipriani, developer Camilo Miguel Jr. and Arquitectonica founder Bernardo Fort-Brescia hosted a group of brokers to launch the planned Cipriani Residences Miami this week.
Miguel’s Mast Capital is teaming up with Cipriani to develop the 80-story, 397-unit luxury condo tower planned for 1420 South Miami Avenue in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. Prices start at $1.1 million, and units will range from 1,213 square feet to 3,495 square feet.
Miguel, CEO of Mast Capital, said interest in the project has been strong, with prospective buyers calling the developer’s office directly.
Cervera Real Estate Managing Principal Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, agents Carol Cassis and Stephan Burke of Fortune International Realty, Julian Johnston of the Corcoran Group and Douglas Elliman’s Michael Light attended the event, held at the downtown Miami restaurant on Wednesday.
The Real Deal sat down with Cipriani, a former racecar driver who is the grandson of Cipriani founder Giuseppe Cipriani, to discuss the project and the company’s expansion. The fourth generation of the Italian family, Cipriani’s children, Ignazio and Maggio Cipriani, created the separate Mr. C brand, which operates the Mr. C hotel in Coconut Grove and will brand the under-construction Mr. C Residences.
The Cipriani family has Mr. C Hotel, Mr. C Residences and now this project, Cipriani Residences. Do you plan to expand further in Miami and elsewhere?
No, at the moment we’re really trying to get this sold. This is an important project for us. We have a big project in Latin America, in Uruguay, three towers. We will start selling them in June of this year.
How will Cipriani Residences compare to the Mr. C condos that are under construction in Coconut Grove?
This one has actually more services because we’re going to have basically 24-hour room service. We’re going to have restaurants. We’re going to have the possibility for people to have guests and private parties in their homes or in the common spaces. It’s a little bit more service-oriented than Mr. C. They are in two completely different areas.
I’ve heard rumors of a Casa Cipriani [hotel] opening in Miami at some point. Are you looking and if so, have you secured a location?
At the moment, Casa Cipriani just opened in New York in [September] of last year. We have a scheduled opening in Milano, probably a soft opening in June. The next project is going to be Los Angeles and Vegas. In Miami, we are looking, but we haven’t found the right place. You need to be able to build around 250,000-300,000 square feet, especially here, because you need enough hotel rooms, common spaces for the members.
How involved is Cipriani in the condo development with Mast Capital?
We have weekly, biweekly calls with architects. I really think we can provide services other people can’t because this is what we do for a living. We’re not really real estate people per se, but we are service people.
How did you meet Camilo Miguel?
He is a customer, so we’ve known each other for a while.
I’m sure you are approached all the time to brand real estate developments.
At the moment we are focused on Casa Cipriani and a couple of residential projects like this one. We have our hands full for now.
Editor’s note: Following publication, a spokesperson for Cipriani said Cipriani misspoke about the differences between Cipriani Residences and Mr. C. Cipriani Residences will have a private residents’ only restaurant, as well as private dining rooms, and the two brands have different amenities and services.