News articles of SPACiO Design Build, a South Florida general contractor specializing in luxury commercial and residential design build construction.
than perfection when it comes to high-profile projects.
their SPACiO experience turned out just as they expected it to.
accomplished this major initiative in meticulous fashion, with resounding success.
SPACIO Design Build is very proud of real estate brokers who succeed in the challenging Miami real estate market. We applaud Miami Beach-based Luxe Living Realty Owner Dora Puig and want to share a portion of a recent Q&A with the South Florida Business Journal.
How did you get into the real estate business?
As a total fluke. I wanted to be on the business side of the entertainment business. I moved out to Los Angeles. I was one of nine MBAs recruited in the international business division of Columbia Pictures. Then Sony bought Columbia. The MBA recruits were all on hold for jobs. I did the craziest jobs in the world while waiting. I worked for a retail company. I worked on movie production sets. I worked on commercials as a production assistant. I started working for Harvey Rice with Alvarez, Hyland and Young, one of the big boutique brokers in LA. He was the top-producing broker in the firm. That was the first time I’d seen so many woman executives be successful. I wanted to sell because I loved it. I partnered up with Ryan Hilckmann, and we worked for Fred Sands. I got into the top offices in Beverly Hills because he was my partner.
Why did you decide to start your own firm?
We sold out Bristol and Santa Maria. And then I went to work for Fortune International Realty, back to general real estate. I got hired to run sales at the Bath Club in Miami Beach. Then I decided I didn’t want to be in-house for a developer anymore, and started my own brokerage company.
How do you compete with the large national real estate firms?
I got used to a boutique setting, and that is where I’m at my best. I’m a meat-and-potatoes relationship broker. Some new brokers are internet-savvy tech agents. I’m on the internet because I have to be. I come from the age of getting referred.
What advice would you give to a female broker who wants to become a firm owner?
I got really good at marketing from being a director of sales and marketing for a big developer. If you understand a media budget and the components of a full-fledged marketing campaign, then you can run your own company. Accept the fact that you have to spend money to make money. You can’t just list properties on the MLS and expect to sell. I do websites for each property. I have a social media team. I do VIP broker events at top listings.
When clients can seek you out 24/7, where do you go to find quiet time?
Sometimes I jog the Venetian Islands, where I live, at sunset. Then I go to my gazebo in my backyard and I meditate there and I’m at peace with myself. I leave the phone inside.
Miami Today features Alex Wertheim in their special section on the good life and luxury in Miami in the paper’s print edition from November 8, 2017. Click the link below to read the full article as it appears in print.
Our team would like to congratulate Arquitectonica co-founders Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear for receiving the very prestigious Urban Land Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award. These amazing architects have truly transformed Miami’s skyline and created a brand for our city.
From the Atlantis condominium, featured in the opening credits of Miami Vice, to the recently built Brickell City Centre, Arquitectonica is one of Miami’s most important architecture firms. The firm continues to contribute impeccable work to Miami’s evolving urban landscape.
As a general contractor, it’s always an honor and privilege to bring the vision of incredible architects like Bernardo and Laurinda to reality. Working with visionaries such as them helps the SPACiO team push boundaries to reach a higher level of sophistication and craftsmanship in our work. We look forward to Bernardo and Laurinda’s future projects, as they never stop surprising us.
With cooler temperatures now among us, the weather is perfect in South Florida for outdoor parties and eating outside. We are the outdoor kitchen’s biggest fan. They can take your luxury home to the next level, allowing you to experiment with colors and styles that may not align with the interior of your home. Before you draw up the blue prints, there are some factors, as highlighted in the following Mansion Global article, you need to consider to make an outdoor kitchen a functional yet stylish place to entertain.
“If you’re on the ocean, understand that every metal—even stainless steel—will eventually rust to some degree, so it needs maintenance. It should be cleaned and protected at least seasonally to extend the life. Think of the house as being in a salt bath all the time. Countertop materials have to be able to withstand sun exposure, so natural stones and concrete work well; whereas many composite materials break down in UV.
“One of the biggest decisions is whether you wantyour guests to be involved with the cooking. Are you doing the cooking and want to be part of the party? Or, do you have staff that would function better elsewhere? Travel distance (and routes) from cooking to serving to cleanup also need to be thought through.
“The outdoor kitchen is an area where you can play and experiment, but it should still mix with the rest of the aesthetic inside the home to create a cohesive story. This might be a good place to try out a funky tile that you’ve been eyeing, or brass hardware, but don’t go crazy with a scheme or vibe that doesn’t match the interiors.
“Functional furniture is key for an outdoor entertaining area, but that doesn’t mean it should sacrifice on style. Focusing on durable perennial fabrics and the right sealants and treatments for wood and stone will keep the area useable and durable over time.
“Bistro lights or large hurricane candles in tall pillars create ambient lighting, as do tea light candles around the table. As for wired lighting, be sure to install dimmers to set the mood—that’s half the point of eating outside.
“The more trips you can reduce between your outdoor space and your main kitchen, the better. Key elements include a sink and faucet, two mini fridges—one for beverages and one for food—and a grill with ample prep space. My favorite one is from Caliber Appliances—the lid folds all the way back and goes flush with the countertop. It’s very sleek and unintrusive.
“Consider a unit that’s mobile to give you more flexibility. I recently collaborated with Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens and Dekton to design my vision for the ultimate outdoor kitchen. Its freestanding modular design includes plenty of storage on both sides of the kitchen to keep counter space clear, allowing it to be a gathering spot from all sides for both guests and the chef—sort of like an island.
Last week, Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani unveiled his succession plan, which is in place to preserve and protect his legacy, a fashion empire, after the 83-year-old designer dies.
The news of this plan led us to pause and reflect on how fortunate SPACiO has been to work closely with Armani through the Residences by Armani Casa project in Sunny Isles.
As a boutique, highly specialized general contractor, we were trusted with building the development’s luxurious Armani Casa sales center. Armani is hands-on, and he was responsible for the interior design of the luxury condo high-rise.
The sales center was built to resemble one of the tower’s most expensive units, featuring high-quality finishes and materials imported from Italy. It was not uncommon for Armani to walk into the sales center while it was under construction to check the quality of our work, and to ensure that it was in line with the integrity of his brand.
The build-out included precise work, such as the inclusion of book-matched stone flooring installed in complex radiuses.
Armani hand-picked all furniture and materials for use in the build-out of the sales center. Our experience with Armani, his complex designs and luxurious taste, allowed us the opportunity to sharpen our craftsmanship skills. Today, we are a more seasoned general contractor firm thanks to our experience working under Armani’s guidance.
We look forward to seeing many more years of his design genius.
MIAMI—As condo buildings get completed, the last units are always the most difficult to sell. At the same time, investors putting their newly built units on the market are facing competition from the condos coming on line.
As a result, many sellers are choosing to position their units as rentals to generate an income. GlobeSt.com sat down with general contractor SPACiO Design Build’s Alex Wertheim to discuss how to build-out a “decorator ready” condo to attract tenants on a tight budget in part one of this exclusive interview.
GlobeSt.com: With so many luxury condos on the market, how can developers and investors position their condos to generate income?
Wertheim: When a developer nearly sells out a project, there are always a few units in the building that are difficult to sell. Increasingly, developers are calling us to turn those ‘decorator ready’ units into livable spaces. Investors who are unable to sell their newly built units as fast as they had planned are also moving in that direction.
We go into those units and install the flooring, paint the walls, build a closet system, create storage space, enclose dens and—from time to time—upgrade the kitchens and bathrooms to turn the condo into rental units. This strategy works well for units in luxury buildings. These units tend to attract affluent renters who want to experience the luxurious amenities of Miami’s high-end condo towers but don’t want to deal with the burden of owning a condo.
GlobeSt.com: What advice can you give developers and/or end-users who are turning their units into rentals?
Wertheim: There are hundreds of new luxury units nearing completion or under construction and hundreds of new condos hitting the rental market simultaneously. Many of the buyers closing on units in recently completed luxury towers across South Florida are investors.
While some of the investors are domestic and others are foreign, they all share the same plan: renting the units out until the time arrives to execute an exit strategy. If the newly-built unit comes “decorator ready”—which means the floor, walls, closets are finished—you should recruit a general contractor before the closing date to start planning the build-out of the unit. This way, a general contractor can start work as soon as the unit is yours, saving you weeks of ‘waiting time’ and placing a tenant in the unit much faster.
Other advice I would recommend would be to stick to neutral colors if you’re painting the walls and using basic standard materials to build-out the unit. The tenants are not going to treat your investment with the same quality of care, so don’t overspend.
For flooring, we recommend porcelain tiles because they are stylish, durable and low maintenance. If the unit seems small, consider knocking down walls to open up the floor plan, which usually involves combining the kitchen, dining and living areas into one large space. This will increase the natural light and create the perception that there’s more square footage.
In case you missed it, Forbes recently published an article featuring a wine cellar we built out in a condo at 321 Ocean, an exclusive collection of 21 luxury residences in South of Fifth, one of Miami Beach’s most upscale neighborhoods. The Forbes article, titled “5 Luxury Homes with Exquisite Wine Cellars,” features five of some of the most impressive in-house wine rooms in homes that are currently on the market across the United States.
Building out the 50-square foot, climate-controlled wine cellar was a treat. It required us to work closely with the interior design firm Associated Design Co. to ensure that we could build out the design and execute the project without a hitch. We built the insulated glass enclosure, using customized acrylic and thermal metal framing, which was power-coated with a matte black finish to match the custom black finish on the rack.
The wine cellar was part of the build-out of the entire condo, which involved installing hardwood flooring throughout the condo, trim window coverings, staircase handrails, millwork and more.
It was a privilege to work with Associated Design Co. on the wine cellar. We’re looking forward to working with this very talented interior design firm again in the near future.
Click here to see the other wine cellars that made the list.