Latest news with #IsaacToledano
Daily Mail
03-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
How Florida beach town explodes with new residents
Pompano Beach, Florida used to be a quiet retirement community, devoid of the bustle and the noise of its neighbors to the south; Miami and Fort Lauderdale. But in recent years, especially since the pandemic, the area has exploded with new residents. More and more buyers are flocking to the enclave to enjoy its sprawling beaches, crystal clear waters, and luxury for less as Pompano has a unique offering - numerous branded residences. The W, Ritz-Carlton , and Waldorf Astoria, are all opening or have already opened premiere branded residences in the area, an idea that was completely unheard of just a decade ago. Isaac Toledano, the founder of the BH Group , told the Daily Mail: 'If you told someone 10 years ago [there would be branded residences] they'd probably think you were crazy.' His Southern Florida development company was responsible for the W Pompano Beach Hotel and Residences , one of the most notable changes at the forefront of the evolving city. He said as places like Miami and Fort Lauderdale got more and more crowded, moving north to start developing was the obvious choice. 'The next natural area was Pompano Beach. The city is doing a magnificent job at improving the city and infrastructure.' Pompano Beach sits an hour or so north of Miami and just 30 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale. Its crystal clear waters, sprawling beaches, and proximity to the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean make it an attractive location. Realtor and Pompano Beach native Roxanne Hall said she knew people were catching on to the city's appeal when the first Whole Foods opened there. 'Pompano has been considered a sleepy retiree town for many years. I'd say about 10 or 11 years ago we got a Whole Foods. 'When Whole Foods comes to town it knows what it's doing. It does its market research.' She said in the years that followed people from all over North America began slowly but surely trickling into Pompano Beach. However, statistics show that the population has been growing steadily since 2000 when the 25 square-mile city boasted 70,000 residents. In 2023, 113,000 people called it home. But Hall said that the growth has come with difficulties. She explained that during the Covid pandemic the real estate market in the area was a disaster. 'We saw a huge influx. 'I mean it was a nightmare. People were overbidding, we couldn't find homes for everyone and my buyers were crying. Everything was going for a lot of money.' Buyers can get more bang for their buck than they would in Miami or Fort Lauderdale and the area also has far more space on its beaches for beachfront properties . 'You go south, you're getting massive congestion and much higher prices,' said Hall. 'The price point in Pompano was very desirable.' David Marder, an agent in South Florida, Fort Lauderdale, told Mansion Global that buyers pay around $2,000 per square foot for luxury developments. In Pompano Beach, it would be between $1,200 and $1,500 for the same development. Nowadays, luxury is the name of the game in Pompano. 'There's tons of them,' said Hall of branded luxury developments. 'So the appeal is that you buy branded luxury and you protect your purchase. Branded luxuries are there, they're beautiful. 'I mean you don't have to fix anything. There's no assessment so we see a lot of desire for our ultra luxury.' Toledano said when people are investing in these luxury properties they're being sold a brand, and all of the amenities that come with it. The brand recognition of a company that people already know and trust and the luxury of 24/7 hotel living are attractive to buyers, especially when they can get it for around the same price point. 'People want to be affiliated with a brand,' he said. 'They want to make sure that you will deliver a quality product.' And brand recognition is the best way to deliver the amenities and luxury that buyers want to see. Spaces like the W Residences offer award-winning dining, sprawling pool decks, fitness centers, and a concierge on call whenever residents need them. Hall said it's hard to get a desirable single family condo in the area for less than $700,000. Nearby Miami has been at the epicenter of a condo crisis after the 2021 collapse of a condo building in Surfside led to a new law that requires condo buildings to undergo structural inspections and shore up reserves. This has meant that many HOAs have been hiking fees and doling out hefty special assessments to comply with the new rules, which has reduced demand for condos. 'People are staying away from condos that are 40 years or older. They really want 10 years or less and there's only a handful of those,' Hall said. Most people are hoping for one or two bedrooms with a pool or easy beach and water access. Florida in general may be known for Snowbirds and retirees but Hall said buyers and people looking to move there are gradually getting younger. 'You go to a restaurant here and it's the 50s and 60s crowd and the 20s and 30s altogether. It's a real mix,' she said. Toledano said that despite the rapid growth, the city seems to be keeping up. 'Pompano Beach has a lot of places for growth,' he said. Many old buildings and developments are being swapped out for new ones and Pompano Beach has even spent $2 billion on public green spaces, piers, shopping, dining, and walkable streets. A local herself, Hall said natives are open to the changes. 'Pompano Beach is a wonderful town. It's three miles of sandy beaches. We have 18 wreck sites for diving. We have this beautiful pier that they just renovated with new restaurants. 'It's a water town. It's for boating. It's for beach lovers.'
Daily Mail
03-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Quiet retirement beach town becomes luxury haven... and it started with Whole Foods
Florida 's Pompano Beach used to be a quiet retirement community, devoid of the bustle and the glamor of southern neighbors, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. That was ten years ago. But then Whole Foods arrived, suggesting the area's fortunes were about to improve markedly. And since the pandemic, the area has exploded with new residents. The buyers are flocking to the enclave not only for the sprawling beaches and crystal clear waters, but to buy into one of Pompano's 'branded' residences. Big names such as The W, Ritz-Carlton, and Waldorf Astoria, have opened, or intending to open, premiere branded residences in the area, an idea that was completely unheard of just 10 years ago. Braded residences are billed as 'luxury for less', combining the convenience of five-star hotel amenities with design-driven style and usually beachfront access. Isaac Toledano, the founder of the BH Group, told the Daily Mail: 'If you told someone 10 years ago [there would be branded residences] they'd probably think you were crazy.' His Southern Florida development company built the W Pompano Beach Hotel and Residences, one of the most notable changes at the forefront of the evolving city. A spec of the Ritz-Carlton Residences on Pompano Beach is seen above He said as places like Miami and Fort Lauderdale got more and more crowded, moving north to start developing was the obvious choice. 'The next natural area was Pompano Beach. The city is doing a magnificent job at improving the city and infrastructure.' Pompano Beach sits an hour or so north of Miami and just 30 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale. Its crystal clear waters, sprawling beaches, and proximity to the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean make it an attractive location. Realtor and Pompano Beach native Roxanne Hall said she knew people were catching on to the city's appeal when the first Whole Foods opened there. 'Pompano has been considered a sleepy retiree town for many years. I'd say about 10 or 11 years ago we got a Whole Foods. 'When Whole Foods comes to town it knows what it's doing. It does its market research.' She said in the years that followed people from all over North America began slowly but surely trickling into Pompano Beach. However, statistics show that the population has been growing steadily since 2000 when the 25 square-mile city boasted 70,000 residents. In 2023, 113,000 people called it home. But Hall said that the growth has come with difficulties. She explained that during the Covid pandemic the real estate market in the area was a disaster. 'We saw a huge influx. 'I mean it was a nightmare. People were overbidding, we couldn't find homes for everyone and my buyers were crying. Everything was going for a lot of money.' Buyers can get more bang for their buck than they would in Miami or Fort Lauderdale and the area also has far more space on its beaches for beachfront properties. 'You go south, you're getting massive congestion and much higher prices,' said Hall. 'The price point in Pompano was very desirable.' David Marder, an agent in South Florida, Fort Lauderdale, told Mansion Global that buyers pay around $2,000 per square foot for luxury developments. In Pompano Beach, it would be between $1,200 and $1,500 for the same development. Nowadays, luxury is the name of the game in Pompano. 'There's tons of them,' said Hall of branded luxury developments. 'So the appeal is that you buy branded luxury and you protect your purchase. Branded luxuries are there, they're beautiful. 'I mean you don't have to fix anything. There's no assessment so we see a lot of desire for our ultra luxury.' Toledano said when people are investing in these luxury properties they're being sold a brand, and all of the amenities that come with it. The brand recognition of a company that people already know and trust and the luxury of 24/7 hotel living are attractive to buyers, especially when they can get it for around the same price point. 'People want to be affiliated with a brand,' he said. 'They want to make sure that you will deliver a quality product.' And brand recognition is the best way to deliver the amenities and luxury that buyers want to see. Realtor Roxanne Hall, said its difficult to buy or sell a desirable home for less than $700,000. This 3 Bed 2 Bath home is listed with Pompano Beach Realty for $1.5 million Spaces like the W Residences offer award-winning dining, sprawling pool decks, fitness centers, and a concierge on call whenever residents need them. Hall said it's hard to get a desirable single family condo in the area for less than $700,000. Nearby Miami has been at the epicenter of a condo crisis after the 2021 collapse of a condo building in Surfside led to a new law that requires condo buildings to undergo structural inspections and shore up reserves. This has meant that many HOAs have been hiking fees and doling out hefty special assessments to comply with the new rules, which has reduced demand for condos. 'People are staying away from condos that are 40 years or older. They really want 10 years or less and there's only a handful of those,' Hall said. Most people are hoping for one or two bedrooms with a pool or easy beach and water access. Florida in general may be known for Snowbirds and retirees but Hall said buyers and people looking to move there are gradually getting younger. 'You go to a restaurant here and it's the 50s and 60s crowd and the 20s and 30s altogether. It's a real mix,' she said. Toledano said that despite the rapid growth, the city seems to be keeping up. 'Pompano Beach has a lot of places for growth,' he said. Many old buildings and developments are being swapped out for new ones and Pompano Beach has even spent $2 billion on public green spaces, piers, shopping, dining, and walkable streets. A local herself, Hall said natives are open to the changes. 'Pompano Beach is a wonderful town. It's three miles of sandy beaches. We have 18 wreck sites for diving. We have this beautiful pier that they just renovated with new restaurants. 'It's a water town. It's for boating. It's for beach lovers.'
Daily Mail
29-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Expert: How to fix the condo crisis sweeping the South
With the turbulent real estate scene in Florida being described as the 'epicenter of housing market weakness', one developer is going against the grain. Billionaire real estate developer Isaac Toledano plans to completely alter the Miami skyline. While some developers have hit pause on Florida for the foreseeable future, Toledano is taking full advantage of the state's widespread 'condo crisis' and the ensuing buyout frenzy. He's got his eye on the thousands of older buildings along Florida's coastline and wants to turn them into luxury housing that is better equipped to withstand the area's natural disasters. Not everyone is happy with his plans. As Toledano bulldozes the prized coastline, the buyouts have become one of the few ways to secure prime real estate in the area. For some owners in these aging buildings, selling to a developer can be a welcome relief from finding a buyer in a sluggish market, especially when the cost of bringing the property up to code outweighs its current value. But some residents refuse to sell - no matter the price. It's an uphill battle as a once-necessary measure of unanimous resident approval becoming a thing of the past. These sales can leave many people displaced. Some are being forced onto families or into assisted living, while others have nowhere to go. Meanwhile, Florida's controversial Live Local Act - passed in 2023 and amended in May 2024 - is only assisting developers in their takeover, offering them the right to build at maximum capacity if 40 percent of the units are set aside as 'affordable,' but it's usually still more than retirees on a budget can afford. Still, with all the problems the older condos are having, Toledano's bet is paying off. His company has broken ground on a new build called The Residences on Six Fisher Island in Miami, which has already sold $650 million-worth of homes inside the $1 billion property. His other ultra luxury branded projects include The Ritz-Carlton West Palm Beach, W Pompano Beach and Viceroy Residences Aventura. Toledano, who owns BH Group - a major Miami-based real estate investment and development firm working exclusively in Florida - currently has over 1,100 residential units in his portfolio, with over 10,000 residential units in progress. 'We're seeing a very, very healthy demand and we still see buyers relocating here across our portfolio,' Toledano told the Daily Mail. 'We own office buildings, we own retail, and we're involved in a lot of residential projects, so we have the opportunity to speak to a lot of buyers.' He said more South Americans are flocking to South Florida now that the dollar is weaker, adding that more Europeans are also looking for properties. 'We see more foreign nationals coming and we think that will continue. 'We still see a lot of US based buyers - especially New Yorkers - in our Ritz-Carlton Residence up in West Palm Beach, at the Ritz-Carlton Residence in Palm Coast, the W in Pompano Beach and our project down in Miami or Fisher Island.' Toledano had been a quiet figure in the South Florida real estate scene until he founded BH Group in 2009. He runs the company with his wife, Liat Toledano. Florida saw a huge influx of new residents during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its affordability, weather and the possibility for Americans to work remotely. But the Sunshine State has since turned into a housing market nightmare - especially for sellers looking to get out. The area has been hit by a mix of high home prices, soaring insurance premiums, rising property taxes, natural disasters and the need for remote workers to return to offices. Still, Toledano says he's 'doubling down' on the state. He's betting on the luxury market for single family homes, too. He says he will buy outdated properties, tear them down and build new. He's currently developing an entire gated community of high-end homes for those who don't want to live in condos. 'You have people that are trying to sell their older homes - either they want to upgrade to a newer place, or families are growing and want to move from a smaller apartment or condo to a bigger unit. 'Then you see couples whose kids have left the house, and they don't have a reason to keep a big condo, so they want to downsize to a single-family home. This happens all the time.' The Greenview at Presidential Estates will total 103 luxury single-family homes. 'We're already under construction, and we see healthy demand as well,' he said. As for the area's natural disaster rate, Toledano said he predicts the high insurance rates will eventually come down with all the new builds because they are built to withstand hurricanes and storms much better than older condos. 'Obviously natural disasters is not something that we can predict,' he said. 'Look at the terrible fires in California; the huge storm that took place in Texas. 'I would say that Florida is still a great place, a safe place, and you cannot predict where the next natural disaster is coming. 'The good news is that we see insurance rates are going down with the luxury buildings. And I think this will continue.' Toledano said branded residences are also the future of South Florida. This is when a residential building will have its name attached to a brand, such as The Ritz-Carlton West Palm Beach, and the building will feature the same amenities as the brand's hotels - down to the saunas, gym and valet. The brand affiliation will attract buyers, and the brand will get a cut of sales. 'We have lot of new product coming, new projects, great architecture, a lot of buildings offering great services, great amenities and a great lifestyle, all tied to brands' he said. 'I think this momentum will get better and better, and stronger and stronger.' And the shock of the Champlain Towers South tragedy in 2021 still lingers. When the Surfside condo collapsed, killing 98 people, it exposed shocking design flaws, rotting concrete and decades of neglected maintenance. In its wake, Florida passed a tough new law requiring all condos over 30 years old to pass a structural inspection, with owners footing the bill for repairs. Developers began circling like vultures, eyeing buildings on the beach with surface-level parking lots and fewer than 100 units - translation: easy to demolish. Realtors will come knocking when a developer is interested, Toledano explained. The 80 percent ownership mark required by Florida law to dissolve a condo association and take over completely can be easily hit with the right dollar amount. As Toledano continues to snap up the aging condo buildings, he's offering big money to preexisting residents. But where are older Florida residents going? With skyrocketing costs, mandatory repairs, expensive HOAs and aggressive buyouts, these longtime residents who are being priced out of their homes are, in many cases, also being priced out of Florida entirely. After selling their condo, m any retirees are being forced to move out of the state unless they can find housing in another part of Florida with lower living costs. States like North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee also attract retirees due to lower costs and similar climates. Joseph M. Hernandez, partner at Bilzin Sumberg, which specializes in condo terminations and sales to developers, said the dramatic increase in assessments for a large number of unit owners across the state will incentivize them to sell their property to developers. 'They'll avoid the costly repair and retrofitting work that's now mandatory for older buildings,' Hernandez said. According to a report by Florida Realtors, which releases real estate data in South Florida, Gerard Yetming, executive manager of Colliers, said condo buyouts are a 'growing trend,' but that sellers need to consider one thing. 'The only time this makes sense is when the value of the underlying land is significantly more than what the collective units are currently selling for,' Yetming said. 'Why else would somebody want to sell their property unless they can make a significant profit?' As for Toledano, he's got a vision for a skyline that's entirely remade and that he says is 'going to get nicer and nicer'. He's now leading a demolition that's underway in Boca Raton for 500 residential units, 45,000 square feet of retail space, and 400,000 square feet of office space, much of it already pre-leased. 'I can tell you that overall we really believe in the growth of South Florida,' he told the Daily Mail. 'This market is going nowhere... There is really no crash,' he added.
Daily Mail
29-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
They've found a bold fix for the condo crisis sweeping the South... it's sparking an angry backlash
With the turbulent real estate scene in Florida being described as the , one developer is going against the grain. Billionaire real estate developer Isaac Toledano plans to completely alter the Miami skyline.
