In order to have its cake and eat it too, the city raised property taxes on newly-built beach condos, hoping to use the money to save those same homes from south Florida’s floodplains.
The latest condo tower, the Faena House has just gone onto the market and units are already being snapped up for millions each. Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine hailed developer Alan Faena calling him “a genius and a visionary."
“The biggest investors in the world, the smartest minds in the world… they’re all buying,” Levine said.
They believe Miami Beach has a tremendous future, and they put their money where their mouth is.”
That’s despite the fact that those condos are just feet away from an encroaching water table.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
The ocean around South Florida, which sits on porous limestone, is expected to rise nearly three feet in the next 86 years, according to Florida State University research, putting much of the low-lying region underwater. Surrounded by water, Miami Beach will be one of the first to be lost. Additionally, climate scientists say warmer weather will increase the number and strength of hurricanes.
The situation is dire enough that the city of South Miami voted to split off from the state because of Tallahassee’s lackadaisical attitude towards global warming.
Miami Beach is working to reduce the flooding that swamps the streets at high tide even without any rain and are counting on collecting enough property taxes to fund a $300 million stormwater project that would defend its shores. Construction started in February and is expected to continue until 2020 when 80 new storm pumps that will collect and banish up to 14,000 gallons of seawater per minute back into Biscayne Bay will be installed.
The city already charges homeowners, hotels and stores a new storm-water utility fee that was used to fund one-third of the project.
“We don’t have time for analysis-paralysis,” said Levine. “We are going to have to get creative.”
Catch-22: Build, Tax, Defend
Apparently, getting “creative” means building more luxury units at risk of falling into the sea but just might raise the necessary capital to stop that from happening.
Faena House just listed its penthouse at $55 million making it the most expensive condo in this city’s history. It features a private elevator, an infinity pool, and an uninterrupted view of the Atlantic.
While it has the highest price tag, it’s only a small piece of the expanding luxury condo market.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Peter Zalewski, founder of condo consulting site CraneSpotters.com said 32 new condo towers have been proposed since 2011 with 12 already under construction. The average asking price per unit: $1.1 million.”
Many of the buyers are from South America who are only looking for a secure place to invest their money.
“They want somewhere safe to park their money,” said Zalewski. “A lot of buyers here never step foot in the condos. They’ll sell them before the water makes it to the bottom floor of their buildings, anyway.”
One has to wonder, as the water laps at the front door, “To whom?”
