Latest news with #luxuryApartments
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Outrage after Florida nursing home accused of booting residents to convert facility into luxury apartments
A senior living facility in Florida has sparked outrage after reportedly booting out residents in order to convert their homes into luxury apartments. Oasis Living Quarters, in Fort Lauderdale, has already faced a court injunction over the alleged evictions, and is now being fined over conversion work that officials say is being carried out without permits. 'To me, this is why I'm so aggressive with this particular case,' Fort Lauderdale Building Committee Vice Chair Donald Karney III said during a meeting Tuesday morning, per Local 10 News. 'They've done these people extremely dirty and that's why I'm being such a stick in the mud about it.' The Independent has reached out to Oasis for comment, though administrator Steven Gottlieb previously denied to Local 10 News that any evictions have taken place. However, according to Andrew Gebbia, a Fort Lauderdale building inspector, work is being done, including 'the replacement of kitchenettes, structural plumbing and electrical and replacement of split-unit ACs.' Gebbia told Local 10 News that during an inspection of the facility he had observed renovations being done in 'a number of rooms' and that they were 'much like hotel rooms.' 'There were no permits issued for this work, so I issued a stop work order, left it on the counter in the main entrance,' he said. It was unclear if access to Oasis was available via a website, and review sites for the facility listed it as 'closed.' Per city officials, Oasis will now be fined $1,000 per day if they don't come into compliance within 15 days. Relatives of residents have also been outraged by the sudden transitions by the facility. Jim Woods, whose 93-year-old mother had been at Oasis for almost 10 years, said a notice in March had informed him that she needed to vacate the property by April. "I wasn't getting a signal that they were changing their business profile, but I saw a change in the level of care and that concerned me," he told CBS News. Woods said that prior to his mother's eviction notice, over the past six months, he noticed staff reductions and less interaction with residents. His mother was included in some 180 residents that were told they were to move out, he said.
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Insane Sydney parking trend exposed
Sydney has become swept up in a wheel estate craze as the cost of parking eclipses the price of many apartments and luxury cars. Parking spaces – mere slabs of concrete of about 6m by 2m – have been selling for over $600,000 a piece across inner suburbs, with individual spaces outside the CBD selling for over $200,000. It comes amid a shift by developers to new housing projects without parking – a move primarily guided by zoning restrictions and developer attempts to rein in costs. The extravagant parking costs have also defied a drop in daily charges for commercial parking as the work from home trend continues to leave office vacancies elevated. Daily charges for parking spaces within commercial lots now average about $77, down from $85 in 2023, making the Sydney CBD the second most expensive daily parking market behind Brisbane. Ray White Economics commercial property analyst Vanessa Rader said demand for daily parking was falling because fewer people were coming to the CBD, but it was a different story for private lots near, or within, residential buildings. Private spaces could command hefty price tags because of cashed up residents living in the CBD and its surrounds, she explained. These homeowners often lived in luxury apartments with limited parking facilities, making private parking a sought after commodity – often worth hundreds of thousands. 'It's a very specific category of buyer, they need somewhere to park long-term,' Ms Rader said. Sydney remains in a league of its own when it comes to sales of private parking spaces: last week six neighbouring spaces on Phillip St, near Circular Quay, sold at auction for $3.65 million. The sale of the 85 sqm of concrete equated to a tyre screeching $608,000 per space. Selling agent James Cowan of Colliers, who sold the spaces with agent Cameron Colquhoun, said they had expected demand for the parking to be strong but nowhere near the level it reached: there were close to 100 buyer inquiries. 'Strong bidding saw the reserve reached by the fourth bid, with more than 30 bids received,' Mr Cowan said. He attributed the price to parking 'being one of the most undersupplied and tightly held asset classes in the Sydney CBD'. Other recent parking sales included the $308,000 paid for an individual space within a compound on Clarence St. Another space in the same building sold for $290,000 in February. Single parking spaces in the Macleay Regis, a building on Macleay St in Potts Point, have sold for $200,000-$270,000, with the latest sale coming in late last year for $225,000. Back in the CBD, a double parking space on Bond St is up for sale for $525,000 – although the owner has had it listed for years without finding a buyer. Ms Rader said these sales were all the more incredible when contrasted with the lower volume of people coming into the CBD and its surrounds since Covid. 'Traffic into the CBD is still down about 25 per cent on pre-Covid levels. No vacancy signs are rare at (commercial) parking lots,' she said, adding that recent developments may have been a factor in high private space sales. 'There has been a reduction in parking within new developments,' she said. 'Developers have been encouraged to include less of it in their new projects. 'People living in the CBD need somewhere to park over long periods and there aren't a lot of those spaces.'
