Mansions at Acqualina sold 40 units in less than a month after opening its sales center

The developers behind the most exclusive condominium tower in the world, Mansions at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Miami Beach, which boasts a 16,000-square-foot penthouse being marketed at US $50 million, stipulated to the South Florida Business Journal that they will cancel a buyer's contract and keep the perspective's deposit if they were to assign their contract, the project’s sales director stated according to the report.

Michael Goldstein told the Business Journal at a broker event Friday that that the people living in the building will be unit owners, not renters. The Mansions at Acqualina is being built by Eddie Trump and Jules Trump (no relations to Donald Trump).

According to the director of sales, reservations in the 79-unit project require a 5 percent deposit. The smallest units, 4,600 square feet, start at $5 million. Prospective buyers are paying at least $300,000 for a reservation and a total of 25 percent at contract, Goldstein exclaimed.

More than 40 units at the Mansions at Acqualina have deposits, with the majority of the pool under contract, he added. The project will take 33 months to complete.

The project is located next to Acqualina’s first phase the Acqualina Resort, Residences and Spa, at 17875 Collins Ave., which includes hotel and condo units.

Nearly all buyers at the Mansions at Acqualina either frequent the 97-room hotel, spending, on average, $100,000 a year there, or own one of the 188 condo units in phase one, which was built in 2006, the developer said.

The custom Ornare closets that buyers can install cost about $100,000, on top of the millions they would pay for the unit. Fendi Casa, the home and design division of the ultra-luxury fashion brand, is designing the public areas, in addition to a special collection for the units in the proposed Sunny Isles Beach property.

The public areas would include onyx, slate floors and molten glass mosaic walls. The sales center door has stingray leather as an accent.

According to the Journal Jules Trump said the new project has responded to market demands, with larger units and windows that provide 270-degree views.

He noted that some buyers in the first Acqualina tower are now upgrading to the second phase because they love the brand and product.

It appears the unusual strategy of the developer is paying off. According to a investigative report the Sunny Isles Beach project had already sold 40 condo units by late February and earned over $200 million — only one month after sales began. Construction is slated to start by the end of the year 2012.

Sales: Brosda and Bentley (786) 406-1757