Boca Raton: Billion-Dollar Via Mizner Changing the Face of South Boca
The Coastal Star
Published on 01.4.2017
A Glamorous Legacy Inspires an Exciting Future
It takes the perfect blend of colorful history, superb location, iconic architecture and an elite, sophisticated citizenry to create an international destination – a place where every moment is a celebration. This is the essence of Via Mizner, an exclusive, landmark address in the heart of a beloved community, perfectly crafted for world-class lifestyles.
Welcome Home to Bespoke Living at Its Best
As one of a select few locations worldwide with a residential property bearing the Mandarin Oriental name, The Residences is truly a signature address. Upon arriving at the private entrance lobby, the cascading water element and grand staircase only hint at the striking design and details that abound throughout. Incomparable sophistication is imbued into each of the eighty-nine, light-filled homes that celebrate the Boca Raton lifestyle with absolute comfort and complete security.
Internationally Recognized for Luxury and Service
For over fifty years, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s reputation for impeccable service, distinctive designs and renowned, holistic spas has been key to its rapid expansion across the globe. Today, the company operates thirty-two hotels and seven Residences at Mandarin Oriental in 23 countries and territories. A dedication to the highest levels of customer satisfaction year after year has garnered Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group a most enviable ranking as a recognized leader in worldwide luxury hospitality.
While downtown Boca Raton is seeing a huge building boom, no project yet rivals the scope of Via Mizner. The ultra-luxury project, developed by Boca Raton-based Penn-Florida Cos. at an estimated cost of just under $1 billion, encompasses a Mandarin Oriental Hotel, condos, a private club, rentals, shops and restaurants at Federal Highway and Camino Real. 101 Via Mizner, a 366-unit apartment building, is the first phase to be completed and began renting in August.
Construction will begin this spring on the 165-room Mandarin Oriental and the 84 condos in The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, both directly north of the rentals.Those wanting to snap up a condo could make pre-construction reservations even before the sales center opens this month at 10 E. Boca Raton Road. Douglas Elliman Real Estate is the sales and marketing agent.In all, nearly 1,500 spaces will be available in two floors of below-ground parking under the hotel and condo buildings, and on the second and third levels. Parking for the apartment building is in its first four floors.
The Via Mizner Golf & City Club will include an 18-hole golf course, located about 3 miles away, between Palmetto Park Road and Camino Real just west of Military Trail.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus will redesign the course, which will be completed by the end of year, beginning in the spring. Once work at the site at 6200 Boca Del Mar Drive is completed, facilities will include six Har-Tru tennis courts, a fitness center, a clubhouse, a resort-style pool and restaurants.The city club will be in the Mandarin Oriental. Members also will have access to the hotel’s rooftop pools, spa, restaurants and other amenities. The entire project should be completed in 2019, with The Shoppes at Via Mizner as the final piece. The 60,000 square feet of shops and restaurants will line the base of the buildings.
“I think all of Via Mizner is trying to address a lifestyle in Boca that many people have been looking for but is not entirely here yet,” said Al Piazza, Penn-Florida’s senior vice president for development. “There is a level of sophistication … but it hasn’t been fully realized.” New development has stirred passionate opposition from downtown activists who decry the changing character of their city. But 12-story Via Mizner, which does not exceed the city’s height limits for that part of downtown, has escaped the brunt of their wrath. In part, that’s because many residents saw the Mandarin Oriental as a desirable addition to the city.John Gore, president of BocaBeautiful, said residents would be far more vocal if Penn-Florida proposed such a large project now. “It was a beneficiary of timing,” he said of Via Mizner. Citing several other new downtown projects, Gore said, “If you proposed those buildings today, they would face a much more difficult regulatory and political process than they did. They came forward before citizens woke up. … They are not sleeping now.”
Via Mizner is all about luxury and lifestyle, the developer says. The Mandarin Oriental will be only one of five in the U.S. that includes condos, with the others in Boston, New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas. The only other Mandarin Oriental in Florida is a stand-alone hotel in Miami, where rooms start at $539 and move up to $1,549 a night, according to its website.
After the announcement last year that the hotel and branded residences would be built in Boca Raton, “the number of calls Mandarin received exceeded calls for any other [Mandarin condo] project around the world,” Piazza said. The condo owners will have access to all that the five-star hotel provides, including use of concierge, cleaning and valet services. They can get room service or have a chef prepare meals in their condos.
Piazza said the condos will sell for 30 percent to 35 percent more than an unbranded condominium. A one-bedroom starts at $1.8 million and the price climbs to $18 million for an 8,500-square-foot penthouse with ocean view. Amenities will include terraces with summer kitchens, spa- style baths, private elevator foyers and a wine cellar with private storage. He estimates 10 percent to 20 percent of the buyers will be local residents, and the rest those who likely have other homes around the world.
“Typical buyers for this are obviously very wealthy, travel the world, very demanding and know what high-quality service and lifestyle is,” he said. “They expect it and demand it.” Many local buyers may have lived in golf course communities, and no longer need large homes. “But they don’t want to give up luxury, convenience or lifestyle,” Piazza said. “There has been strong demand from the local Boca buyer for that.” Piazza thinks there are many potential buyers in that category. “The number of families with net worth exceeding $150 million [in Boca Raton] is just enormous,” he said.
The rentals, featuring European cabinetry and quartz countertops, also command a high price. 101 Via Mizner’s 18 studios are about $1,800 a month, while its 27 three-bedrooms start at about $4,500, topping out at nearly $6,000. There are 184 one-bedrooms and 137 two-bedrooms. Piazza wouldn’t comment on how many had been rented, but The Real Deal, quoting another company official, reported in mid-November that more than 100 were leased.
Membership fees for the golf and city club haven’t been finalized, but all condo owners will be members. Membership likely will be by invitation. “It is too early to say how many members we will have,” Piazza said. “It will not be overcrowded.” The retail component is a work in progress, but Penn-Florida is setting the bar high.
Its website touts The Shoppes at Via Mizner as “destined to rival Worth Avenue, Bal Harbour Shops or Miami’s Design District.” The only signed retail tenants at 101 Via Mizner so far are Citibank and SunTrust, whose buildings on Federal Highway will be torn down to make way for the hotel and condos. Piazza said Penn-Florida is looking for luxury stores that are not now located in south Palm Beach County. Obvious customers will be the hotel guests and condo residents, but other shoppers could be drawn from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach. “We are looking for stores you would find in Paris or Milan, that people at the Mandarin Oriental would be familiar with,” he said. “There is a huge market here in Boca. People here now have to travel to shop.”
Restaurants will range from very fine dining to more casual eateries, he said. Penn-Florida, which also has holdings in Tampa and Orlando, has developed many projects in Boca Raton, including One City Centre at 1 N. Federal and Atrium Financial Center at 1515 N. Federal. The company also is moving ahead with University Village, a residential, retail, office and hotel development on nearly 80 acres at Interstate 95 and Spanish River Boulevard.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Policy for achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising, marketing and sales program which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. The sketches, renderings, pictures, photos, and designs depicted or described herein are conceptual in nature and are not to scale, are based upon preliminary development plans, may depict options, upgrades, features or views not available in all model types and are subject to change without notice in the manner provided in the applicable purchase agreement. No guarantees or representations whatsoever are made that any features, amenities or other facilities will be provided or, if provided, will be of the same type, size, location or nature as depicted or described herein. Any view from a unit or from other portions of the property may in the future be limited or eliminated by future development or forces of nature. Nearby golf courses, open spaces and other areas are not owned or operated by the Developer and there is no guarantee they will be operated or maintained for any particular purpose or in any particular manner. Many of the facilities within the project will not be located within the Residences. Certain facilities or services described herein will be provided by the hotel or club operators or others and may be subject to additional charges. Membership in the Club will be mandatory for unit owners and will require payment of additional dues, fees and costs. A substantial number of Club memberships will be available to non-residents. Business establishments may be sold to third parties, may be used for different purposes, and may change or discontinue operation at any time.
An offering is made only by the prospectus for the condominium and no statement should be relied upon if not made in the prospectus or in the applicable purchase agreement. Penn-Florida Realty Corporation is the Developer’s exclusive broker for this project. No solicitation, offer or sale of a unit in the Residences will be made in NY, NJ, or in any other jurisdiction in which such activity would be unlawful. Via Mizner Owner III, LLC (“Developer”) is a newly-formed entity, which is the sole offeror of the units being offered for sale as The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Boca Raton (“Residences”). Penn-Florida Capital Corp. and the other “Penn-Florida Companies” are affiliated with the Developer but are not the developer of the Residences. All statements and any representations herein shall be deemed to have been made solely by Developer. An affiliate of the Developer is developing the adjacent proposed Mandarin Oriental, Boca Raton hotel (“Hotel”) and the rental programs, if any, offered to unit owners in the Residences. Neither Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group nor any of its affiliates, nor their respective Officers, Directors, Agents or Employees (collectively, “MOHG”), are in any way owners, offerors, promoters, issuers or underwriters of, or responsible or liable for, or are making any representations or warranties with respect to, the Developer, construction of the Residences, any offering for sale of the real property constituting the Residences, or any increase or return on related investment. MOHG has not assumed and has no liability or responsibility for any financial statements, projections or other financial information contained in any sales and marketing materials, prospectus or similar written or oral statements relating to the Residences. Developer has the sole right and responsibility for the manner and means by which the Residences are sold, and for all representations in relation to the Residences. Developer has obtained rights to use the “Mandarin Oriental” name and trademarks (“MOHG Marks”) in connection with the Residences and the Hotel subject to the terms and conditions of non-exclusive license agreements which may be terminated at any time upon certain occurrences. The right to use the MOHG Marks in connection with the Residences is thus not guaranteed and no such right is included in the Residence being acquired by any purchaser. If any of the relevant agreements are terminated, or Mandarin Oriental ceases to manage the Hotel or Residences for any reason, use of the MOHG Marks in connection with the Hotel and Residences may be terminated at MOHG’s discretion.
The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Boca Raton (The Residences) are not developed, sponsored, owned, offered or sold by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group or any affiliate thereof (MOHG), and MOHG makes no representation, warranty or guaranty of any kind regarding The Residences. The developers and owners of The Residences use the Mandarin Oriental name and trademarks subject to the terms of revocable licenses from MOHG which may expire or be terminated.
Photographs and artwork are lifestyle photographs and conceptual artist renderings.