April 18th, 2017 6:36 PM by Nour Ailan
Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village neighborhood just north of downtown has attracted many apartment projects and now it could get its first new condo tower.
BRYL Development will take its plans for the Flagler 626 building before the city’s Development Review Committee on March 22. It calls for a 12-story building with 99 units, 105 parking spaces, and a pool. The building would total 185,531 square feet.
It would be on the 0.62-acre site at 626, 630 and 636 N.E. 1st Ave. The developer acquired the property for $725,000 in 2014.
Doron Broman, who manages BRYL along with Uri Redler, Shimon Langbart and Doron Brown, said there are too many rental projects in Flagler Village and there’s a need for an affordable condo project. His partners are from Israel and two of them are also investors in the Canvas condo project that recently started construction in Miami.
“We like Flagler Village a lot,” Broman said. “It reminds us of Wynwood with the creativity and the artists so outside of downtown.” Broman said units in Flagler 626 will be priced around $350 per square foot considerably less expensive than condos in Miami or on Fort Lauderdale beach. The units will average 1,100 square feet, he said.
The design plans show units ranging from 671 to 1,580 square feet. However, 67 units would be less than 1,000 square feet. That means prices would start in the mid-$200,000s. Flagler 626 would also have four ground-floor townhouses, ranging from 936 to 1,345 square feet.
“It’s a lower entry point,” Broman said. “As the economy gets better and the middle class is improving, people will have the confidence to buy housing. By the time those condos are ready to sell and finished two years from now, we think the economy will be even better.”
The South Florida economy has done well with steady job and wage growth. However, new condo sales have slowed down in recent months, mostly due to foreign investors impacted by the strong U.S. dollar.Broman said Flagler 626 will employ the deposit model used by most Miami condo projects: 10 percent at reservation, another 20 percent at ground breaking, another 20 percent during construction, and the rest at closing.
Some real estate experts have questioned whether the deposit-heavy Miami model can work in Fort Lauderdale. Broman predicts it will be successful. He needs to sell half of its units to break ground. He expects to sell about 25 units to the domestic market and 25 to international investors, since renting the condos out should generate a nice return.Broman added that his partners recently sold 35 units at Canvas to Israeli investors.Flagler 626, which has a brick facade, was designed by Nest Plans’ Stewart Robin. The attorneys on the project for the developer are Stephanie Toothaker and Jordana Jarura of Tripp Scott.
Source: South Florida Business Journal