San Marino Island Miami Beach

PRICE: $827,526 **VENETIAN ISLANDS**

Description | A classic home located on San Marino Island in the Venetian Island chain practically minutes from Lincoln Mall Road, Epicure or The Standard Hotel, this home offers sophisticated entertaining and relaxed island living. The home is fully renovated and features hurricane impact windows, granite counter tops, ceramic tile floors, stainless steel appliances plus one car garage. This property is also available for rent asking $3,500 per month. To view this home in Miami’s renowned Venetian Islands, please call 305-673-5300 or email info@miamiangelproperties.com.

Address | 114 Venetian Way, Miami Beach  -  map it

Property Type | Single Family Residence
Year Built | 1941
Living Area | 2,157 SF or 200 m2
Bedrooms | 3
Bathrooms | 2
Waterfront | N

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Lincoln Road’s 50th Anniversary

Next year in 2010, Lincoln Road, considered by residents and visitors to be the heart of South Beach, will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. This outdoor pedestrian mall is my haven and my daily ten minute walk to the office full of delight, sounds, smells, colors, people, and always an experience.

As a resident of South Beach for almost a decade, I am still constantly enamored by the vitality and life on Lincoln Road. Yes, we have seen several changes over the years, some for the better and some towards the mainstream and name brands. Who would have thought that we would find such generic stores on Lincoln Road such as Ghirardelli, Gap, Banana Republic, American Apparel, Guess and Swatch. On the flip side, who would have imaged the annual Comedy Festival, the incredible popularity of Halloween and free world class live jazz, R&B and soul at the Van Dyke.

Let’s face it. There are very few pedestrian streets in the world similar to Lincoln Road. Morris Lapidus, the architect of Lincoln Road, stated that “my whole concept of life is to make it more unusual, more interesting, more warm.” He envisioned Lincoln Road as a fun experience, full of energy, contrasting shapes, with enchanting storefronts and a place to be seen.

The history of Lincoln Road begins with Carl Fisher, the founding father of Miami Beach. In 1912, Fisher cleared the mangroves in the area to make way for the Lincoln Road mall, his vision for the “Fifth Avenue of the South.” Then in 1921, the Miami Beach Community Church was the first building to be erected on Lincoln Road. From the 1920’s through the 1950’s, Lincoln Road attracted major retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, Woolworths, as well as many of America’s finest auto dealerships.

In 1957, Morris Lapidus was hired to rebuild and recreate Lincoln Road as Fisher’s “Fifth Avenue of the South.” According to historians, it was Lapidus that proposed to close most of Lincoln Road and make it solely a pedestrian destination. From 1957 through 1960, Lincoln Road was closed to vehicles and rebuilt. Then in 1960, Lincoln Road was officially re-opened and it enjoyed great success.

Unfortunately, during the recession of the 1980’s, Lincoln Road was literally empty as crime, vacant storefronts, and the homeless took over the area. According to Lynn Bernstein, a former city coordinator, Lincoln Road even enjoyed a weekly circus complete with elephants! Then in the early 90’s, the City of Miami Beach commissioned a design team led by architects Ben Wood and Carlos Zapata, to work with Morris Lapidus, and transform the storefronts and Lincoln Road to its former glory.

The latest addition to the Lincoln Road Mall will be extension of the pedestrian plaza between Lenox Avenue and Alton Road. This plaza is scheduled to open in 2010 and features a water garden, interactive public art, and a multi-use structure with an additional 250 parking spaces, high-end residential and office space. World famous designers, Herzog & De Meuron, that designed the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, designed the new space and extension to Lincoln Road.

So if you are new to South Beach, a resident, visitor, or live in South Florida, come and spend a day or an evening and enjoy the many restaurants, shops, art, culture, live music or just people watching on Lincoln Road.

If you would like more information on Miami Beach or South Beach real estate, please contact us at         (305) 673-5300         or email info@miamiangelproperties.com.

Lincoln Road Mall – 1111 Project

One of the many great pleasures available to the residents and visitors to the city of Miami Beach, is enjoying the many shops, cafes, restaurants, galleries and theatres that make up the Lincoln Road Mall. Carl Fisher, the founder and developer of Miami Beach, originally named the street after his favorite president.

Following a $600,000 transformation in 1960, this stretch of Lincoln Road became the first pedestrian mall in America. This nine-block open air pedestrian mall extends from Washington Avenue west to Alton Road.  The block between Lenox Avenue and Alton Road is currently undergoing a major tranformation, and although slightly behind schedule, it will add yet another major architectural treasure to our beloved Lincoln Road Mall.

At the entrance to this block you will find the Banana Republic store at 1100 Lincoln Road. This building was the former branch of the Chase Federal Savings and Loan and is historically protected. Enter the store and you will shop upstairs in the bank vault and pay for your items at the original teller’s counter.

The majority of this block on the south side is occupied by the Regal Cinemas South Beach, which is a hugely popular cinema and hosts many internationally recognized film festivals. If you look over to the north side of street, you will see the construction on the new Eleven Eleven Lincoln Road project. This site was until recent times an empty parking lot, however, it was the original site of the Miami Beach First National Bank building, which was the first bank founded in Miami Beach in 1921.

Robert Wennett, the developer of the 1111 Lincoln Road Project, arrived in Miami from Washington in 2003. After building a contemporary townhome overlooking the Miami marina, he then proceeded to purchase the SunTrust building on Lincoln Road. Following teaming up with Swiss artist Rene Buser, and Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, he then decidied to add an incredible open-air garage with floors up to 30 feet in height, a structure he terms a “parking sculpture.”

The Miami Beach Preservation Board approved the building variances and approved the impressive design, and Wennett agreed to extend the Lincoln Road Mall and pay for the park to be designed by the same architects as well. The estimated $70 million project involves renovating and expanding the existing SunTrust building to 50,000 square feet of retail and 100,000 square feet for office space for MTV, Nickelodeon and other creative businesses.  It will also include a spa, a rooftop restaurant with 360-degree views, and five residential penthouses.

Featured in the Architecture section of the Art Basel Miami Beach magazine, Wennett described his development as a “Design-driven, experienced based venue. Another luxury mall would have been the kiss of death here. This is a cultural site as much as retail site, featuring tenants who will treat their spaces like evolving, curated art galleries rather than stores.”

I am looking forward to the completion of this exciting project and think that it will be fantastic new venue on this our world famous Lincoln Road Mall.

Miami’s Venetian Islands

Stretched across Biscayne Bay between South Beach and downtown Miami sits a chain of six reclaimed islands known as the Venetian Islands. These six inhabited islands, from west to east, includes the romantically named isles of Biscayne, San Marco, San Marino, Di Lido, Rivo Alto and Belle Isle. Some are part of the city of Miami, others part of Miami Beach.  Originally designed and developed in the early 1920’s to mimic Venice with numerous bridges and street lamps, the secluded Venetians are home to some of the most eclectic, unique and stimulating waterfront homes in Miami.

When the Collins Bridge was opened in 1913, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world and a solitary drive across the bay. After twelve years of service it was on its last legs. The Collins Bridge was then sold to the Venetian Islands Company, which proceeded to build the beautiful Venetian Causeway and fill in the bottom of the bay. With the building of the Venetian Causeway, Carl Fisher brought a small fleet of Venetian gondolas, complete with Italian gondoliers. The gondolas were used for close to fifteen years in Biscayne Bay to ferry locals, tourists and potential buyers around the islands. It did not take much for potential buyers to recognize the ease of access and location of the islands along with the tropical urban lifestyle afforded to one as a resident.

Traveling west on the Venetian Causeway from South Beach towards downtown Miami one first arrives on Belle Isle, which consists of several medium to large sized condominium buildings, together with a variety of multi-unit residential properties, and the completely renovated and re-designed The Standard Hotel. Belle Isle sits literally a short five minute walk to South Beach’s Lincoln Road Mall and also features a totally redesigned 3.3 acres “dog-friendly” Belle Isle Park.

The seven condominium buildings located on the Island Avenue, range from the classic Belle Towers Condominium to the modern Grand Venetian tower. During the real estate boom many of these properties were out of reach for the average buyer. However, in today’s market there are more than 80 properties available at attractive entry prices as low as $200 per square foot. A wide variety of apartments are to be found in these seven buildings, ranging from large one bedroom units to fully modern residences with large wraparound glass balconies. It is easy to recognize the allure of Belle Isle to second home owners and Miamians alike.  Revel in some of the most breathtaking views of downtown Miami, cruise ships and several surrounding islands, experience the tropical colors and serenity of a sunset over Biscayne Bay, or simply enjoy a weekend brunch and day at The Standard Spa to absorb it all.

Continuing further west on the Venetian Causeway one crosses over the islands of Rivo Alto, Di Lido, San Marino, and San Marco. This cluster of islands only allows for single family residences, of which approximately one third are waterfront properties. Waterfront lot sizes range from the standard 10,500 square feet up to 15,750 square feet for the larger properties on either the northern or southern points of the islands. Each island varies in size and number of homes, with the most exclusive waterfront properties considered to be situated on the island of San Marco. Currently, there are 58 single family homes ranging from $899,000 to $14,900,000 available on the market. It has been quite a number of years since we have seen waterfront homes available on these islands for less than two million dollars, however, this may just be the year to take advantage of the slow and distressed real estate market to snap one up.

So who lives in these homes? You would be surprised to learn that only approximately twenty percent of all residences are occupied as second homes, with the remainder being full time local residents. This is one of the many attractive features of living on the Venetians, you have a real sense of community and a safe neighborhood. Sure, there have been a number of real estate investors speculating on the increase in popularity of these unique homes, including the likes of Eddie Irvine, Larry Groll, and DCA Trust. However, included in the mix of homeowners on the Venetian Islands are just a handful of celebrities such as Paulina Rubio or music producer Estefano.

Miami is a unique city unlike few others in the world. It is the American Riviera that should be experienced from both the water as well as from the beach or comforts of your home. Living on the Venetian Islands offers everything to you. It is a melting pot that attracts successful locals, Latin Americans and Europeans alike. You can live large like Michael Stern, a commercial real estate developer, that incorporated his own indoor basketball court in his Mediterranean villa on Di Lido Island, or, you could simply enjoy the stunning sunsets from your one-bedroom apartment at Nine Island Avenue Condominium.

To view a map of the Venetian Islands see below. If you would like further information on any properties available for sale in this area, please do not hesitate to email us at info@miamiangelproperties.com or call 305.673.5300.