Situated on the border of Miami-Dade and Broward counties, just north of Sunny Isles Beach, is the well-heeled town of Golden Beach. In a neighborhood dotted with Mediterranean-style estates, one house stands out. Known as the Ark, the three-story home is all angles, with a 30-foot-high glass atrium that stretches over the driveway. “We’re looking at something I like to call modern with soul,” said Jacob Abramson of Miami Golden Properties. The 12,000-square-foot Ark is the first of four homes the developer is building in Golden Beach, designed by Miami-based architect Chad Oppenheim. It’s on the market for $7.7 million.
There are only 370 single-family lots in Golden Beach and the town charter forbids the construction of high-rise condominiums. As a result, new builds by developers like Abramson are rare, but rising prices in nearby Miami Beach could spur some ultraluxury spec-home construction. Golden Beach has a mile-long stretch of private beach along the Atlantic Ocean, as well as its own police force. As one might expect, homes in the area are pricey. The median price this year through mid-October for a house in Golden Beach was $2.225 million, a 10% increase compared with the same period a year ago, according to Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of property appraisal and consulting firm Miller Samuel. A number of high-profile people reportedly own, or have owned, property in Golden Beach, including billionaire Bill Gates, retired athlete Sammy Sosa and singer Ricky Martin. Representatives for Gates, Sosa and Martin could not be reached for comment.
The Ark is a 12,000-square-foot home located in the town of Golden Beach. It's being developed by Jacob Abramson of Miami Golden Properties.
JACOB ABRAMSON, MIAMI GOLDEN PROPERTIESThe Miami market overall is seeing an increase in ultraluxury spec-home development. “It’s a spec buyer’s market,” said Frank McKinney, a property developer who specializes in oceanfront homes in nearby Palm Beach County. McKinney says the rise in spec-home development can be attributed to a growing number of new developers who bought property during the recession, as well as an increasing number of wealthy buyers in search of newly built, turnkey estates. To be sure, the market for ultraluxury spec homes remains small. In Miami Beach, for example, "there’s probably less than 20 new spec homes being built a year,” said Craig S. Studnicky, principal at International Sales Group, a firm that specializes in sales and marketing for the real estate development industry. Abramson, the developer of the Ark, has already found a buyer for two of the not-yet-built homes, which were sold to the same purchaser for $10.4 million in July. The fourth home, a 22,000-square-foot beachfront estate, is on the market for $36 million, which could set a record for Golden Beach. To date, the priciest home sale in Golden Beach was an oceanfront mansion that sold for $22.5 million in September 2014.
Abramson plans to build a 22,000-square-foot beachfront estate known as Casa Playa. When finished, the property will feature a 5,000-square-foot spa and fitness level, as well as a lap pool with a cascading waterfall, among other amenities.
RENDERING: JACOB ABRAMSON, MIAMI GOLDEN PROPERTIESConstruction of the Ark began in 2012 and was completed earlier this year. The home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. There is an elevator and a home theater. The third-floor master suite includes a private spa, a mini kitchen and three terraces. The backyard features a swimming pool, a hot tub and an outdoor kitchen. “I’m trying to provide the same opportunity to different levels of the market,” Abramson said of the Ark. The house has seen a number of potential buyers. “I’ve never had a situation where someone walks in and walks right out,” said Abramson. “People always seem to feel so at home.”
Related: Two Spec Homes Near Miami Sell for $10.4 Million Write to Gina Faridniya at gina.faridniya@dowjones.com