Article
and Video Courtesy of Fox News
By Phil
Keating
Published
December 28, 2014
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VIDEO
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MIAMI – It’s millionaire vs. millionaire in Aventura,
Fla., where the residents of one exclusive island are fighting a
developer's plans for another.
And the deciding factor for who wins could very well be a “phantom
sidewalk.”
Developer Gary Cohen’s private island
had been up for sale three years ago for $50 million, but he
found no takers for the last remaining undeveloped coastal
property between Boca Raton and Miami. Now, it is on to Plan
B for the 8-acre island, which is barren save for some scrub
brush and idle construction equipment. |
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Cohen wants to scrap the idea of selling to a single
homeowner and instead build two, 16-story condo towers, each with 160
units. The cheapest condos would start at about $2 million and feature
top-notch amenities, like private elevators. The island’s views are
spectacular, it’s only accessible to the mainland by one road and there
would be plenty of room for yachts at the planned marina. It’s pure
South Florida.
But the development is currently
frozen -- thanks to a court injunction -- in what is a
uniquely, rich battle of wills. To get to the proposed
condo towers, residents would have to traverse a
neighboring island, where about 20 owners of homes that
sell for $5 million and up are not keen on turning their
own exclusive turf into an easement for the neighbors. |
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And here is where that “phantom sidewalk” enters the
story. The original deal with the City of Aventura required Cohen to
install sidewalks along the road leading through the homeowners’ island,
if the adjacent island was to ever become multi-family. That sidewalk
was never built.
One way for the developer to now get that sidewalk built -- and move on
with what could be a very profitable condo project -- is to persuade the
existing homeowners to sell back several feet of their lots, to make
space for the sidewalk. But the homeowners aren’t selling, viewing the
sidewalk as their magic bullet to kill the condos.
So far, two judges have sided with the homeowners. Cohen is now
appealing to Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeals.
That hearing is in January.
And for now, South Florida’s most valuable, undeveloped waterfront
property sits in limbo.
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