40-story building to rise
Hyde Beach House, a 342-unit condominium-hotel, is in the works.
The RelatedGroup plans to break ground Sept. 6 onHyde BeachHouse, a 342-unit condominium-hotel inHollywood.
The 40-story project, at 4010 S. Ocean Drive, will have 265 condohotel units and 77 traditional condo units.
Units will range from$690,000 to $1.3 million, and the project is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2018, said Eric Fordin, a vice president of Miamibased Related. Buyers are required to make down payments of 50 percent before closing, he said.
Condo-hotels are vacation homes, which are professionally managed and rented to the general public when the owners aren’t living there.
Hyde BeachHouse is across the street fromthe ocean and next to Hyde Resort& Residences, another Related condo-hotel project that’s expected to open later this year. Related also built Beachwalk Resort, which opened last year in Hallandale Beach.
“The people who are investing in these projects are [primarily] fromLatin America and looking for vacation rentals, so when they come to visit, they have a home to come to,” Fordin said.
AtHyde BeachHouse, buyers will have the option to rent the units through amanagement company or on their own, including placing ads on VRBO.com, Airbnb.com and otherwebsites, Fordin said.
The condo-hotel concept struggled during the housing collapse, with some buyers frustrated because they didn’t receive enough rental income to make the investmentworthwhile, housing analysts say.
Howard Elfman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors, said many buyers have chafed at overly restrictive rental requirements in condo-hotels that limited when and howoften the owners could use the units.
Related decided more flexible rental guidelineswould be best for business, according to Fordin, who added that buyers atHyde Resort & Residences and at Beachwalk also can rent units on their own.
Elfman said the keys to a successful condo-hotel are sound management and buyers with control over the rental process.
“They’ve got the versatility to utilize it when theywant, and it’s a good cash-flowincome,” he said.