A waterfront condominium building in North Bay Village is on the market as nearly all unit owners have agreed to sell. The Harbor Condominium, built in 1951 and located at 7909 to 7911 East Drive on Harbor Island, is being marketed by Blanca Commercial Real Estate and MSP Group. The property consists of 29 units on a 0.54-acre lot.
Cary Cohen from Blanca Commercial Real Estate, along with Deme Mekras and Sam Mekras of MSP Group, are handling the sale. While the listing price has not been set, Cohen stated, “We expect this to shatter the North Bay Village record.” According to Deme Mekras, the current record for land sales in the area stands at $744 per square foot, which would value this property at over $17.6 million.
The brokers explained that a developer could build up to 38 units with a maximum height of 150 feet, or potentially up to 50 units if transferable development rights are purchased from either the city or a private seller.
Deme Mekras highlighted the site’s proximity to planned amenities: “The property will be a short walk to the planned island walk promenade that’ll be part of Sunbeam Properties’ planned development.” Sunbeam Properties, owned by the Ansin family, controls 14 acres in North Bay Village and intends to build a large-scale project featuring approximately 2,000 residential units, a hotel with 300 rooms, and commercial space.
Condominium associations across Florida have faced increased costs due to new safety regulations enacted after the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside more than four years ago. Insurance premiums have also risen sharply. Cohen noted, “Rather than maintaining aging structures that require substantial capital investment, they are making the strategic decision to capitalize on the soaring value of their location,” adding that monthly dues have become “more of a burden than a benefit.”
This trend has led some associations and owners to sell their properties in bulk to developers. Related Group and Macklowe Properties recently acquired other nearby buildings through such buyouts after resolving litigation issues. Their planned project includes two nearly 500-foot condo towers on more than four acres; Arquitectonica is leading design work for this project.
Elsewhere on Harbor Island, S2 Development sold another waterfront parcel approved for a 22-story tower to El-Ad National Properties. Other developers active in North Bay Village include Continuum Company—controlled by the Eichner family—which secured approvals for two condo towers and a hotel as part of its Continuum Waterfront District plan; Riviera Horizons is planning a Pagani-branded condo tower; Shoma Group will develop Shoma Bay with residential space and a Publix supermarket; and Vivian Dimond has taken over an unfinished condo tower project with plans for completion next year.
North Bay Village sits between Miami and Miami Beach and continues to attract new residential and mixed-use projects as development interest grows.
