Where do you store a million-dollar car in a storm?
Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach to safeguard many
SUNNY ISLES BEACH — As millions of South Floridians prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Irma, shelter for their cars is a key item on the checklist.
Insurance companies suggest parking vehicles close to buildings for protection against high winds and to avoid parking under trees. But where does one park $15 million Pagani Zonda, or a $5 million Ferrari? One option: The 60-floor Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach.
Prestige Imports, a luxury car dealership in North Miami Beach, will be safeguarding 10 of its most valuable vehicles in Porsche Design Tower’s unused units, in addition to an unsold penthouse located on the 56th floor with the ability to store up to 11 vehicles.
The tower was built to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and has the advantage of its unique ability to lift cars from ground level, said Porsche Design Tower developer Gil Dezer.
A first-of-its-kind auto elevator lift system, dubbed the “Dezervator” and named after Dezer himself, is a high-tech hydraulic elevator that smoothly transports owner’s cars to private sky garages adjacent to their condo units.
The tower contains three such lifts. The system has received worldwide publicity, having been prominently featured on financial news networks and TV programs touting the lifestyles of the wealthy.
To ensure that there is no flooding, Dezer brought in additional drainage pumps and employed a team to work 24 hours per day. The group is dedicated to keeping the Dezervator’s pit dry.
The unsold penthouse unit, currently on the market for $32.5 million, is identical to another penthouse in the tower that sold for $25 million on March 31 —
just two weeks after the building’s official opening.
Both feature a garage designed to be used as a car gallery that can accommodate up to seven vehicles. In addition, there are two separate two-car sky garages in each of the penthouse units.
With only 10 full-time residents currently living in the recently opened 132-unit tower, Prestige Imports is not the only one taking advantage of Porsche Design Tower’s elevated storage, Dezer said.
An additional 60 cars, and counting, have been delivered by unit owners to be protected during the storm. More than 90 percent of these vehicles belong to residents whose units are currently under construction. Unit owners of the building with more than two cars are also asking tower management to put their extra cars in the few remaining unsold units.
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