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Week of MAY 9, 2002 |
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| Donald Trump just one of many players in popularity of northern Miami Beach By Catherine LacknerBrokers are mixed about whether the entry of Donald Trump and other developers into the Sunny Isles market will further escalate prices in northern Miami Beach. "Sunny Isles Beach was always an opportunity for developers because of the number of small motels and hotels there," said Lydia Eskenazi, sales associate with Harding Realty. "As opportunities disappeared from South Beach and Bal Harbour because the properties got progressively more expensive, it was a natural move for developers to come to Sunny Isles." She said "development is happening in the whole Aventura, Golden Beach and Miami Beach area. "A lot of people are moving north. Golden Beach has been going up consistently in value every year. So I don't think you can single out one factor. She said there may be more awareness now than there was years ago based on the growth of Aventura and the building of the William Lehman Causeway, which links Aventura with Miami Beach. "But," Ms. Eskenazi said, "it's an evolution and something that would have happened eventually." Is the boom drifting southward? "I would say it's the other way around," said Teresa Valiente, sales director at the Blue and Green Diamond condominiums in mid-Miami Beach. "This was always more well-known. I would say the boom is spreading upward toward Sunny Isles. This is a great location." "I think Trump and others are validating what we've known for some time," said Rob Feland, associate with Wimbish Riteway Realtors. "All over the Beach - South Beach, mid-Beach, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles - they're running out of land, especially waterfront." On Miami Beach and in northern Miami-Dade County, real estate values have soared wildly, Mr. Feland said. "The whole upper east side has gone bonkers. The best deals in town right now are inside lots on Miami Beach." The wealth of opportunities in the skinny strip of land known as Sunny Isles Beach "made it a natural for Trump," he said. Mr. Feland said the New York developer's investment, and those of other developers, will catapult the area toward an even greater escalation of prices. |
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