Mike Ryan is a long-time luxury property developer with an “interesting,” pedigree. Since the age of 14 Mike has been involved in property development in one way or another, from planning, construction and administration. He has earned a reputation as a “hands-on” operator, and has been involved in numerous successful luxury developments around the world. His latest project, The DeckHouses at The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman promises to be one of his most successful so far and is certainly distinctive. I had the opportunity to interview Mike last week, and get some of the reasoning behind the project and his choice of location.

The DeckHouses Grand Cayman

MK -I am seeing more and more mixed-use luxury developments, particularly residential golfing communities and water-based Marina residential developments. Is this a local, regional or global trend?  What does this mean for the Caribbean?

MR - People come to the Caribbean to be connected to the water, physically and emotionally; and there is nothing that solidifies that connection quite like being in your own boat. I would not say that building properties on the water is a trend — people have been living on the water for centuries and have found ways to embrace the connection between their homes and the water from the earliest days. However what is happening now, is that we are seeing more mature and thoughtful designs which are encapsulating this connection and its importance to the homeowner. We are moving away from the high-rise, generic style of development that has characterized much of the coastal and warm weather developments for decades, and are moving towards intimate and personalized homes which truly speak to a person’s inner sensibility.

MK - What do prospective buyers need to know when purchasing this type of property? More on Interview with a Luxury Real Estate Developer - Mike Ryan Owner and developer of The DeckHouses at The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman

Waterfront Dubai

Balli Real Estate Ltd, the UK and UAE based investor-developer, have launched their new website to showcase the company’s brand, services and its $3.5 billion property investment and property portfolio on the internet.

Built using a mixture of HTML and Flash Shockwave programmes, the new website is designed to be simple, stylish and easy to navigate. It sets out the company’s vision through a mixture of images and editorial contained in five main sections, complete with a series of sub-navigation drop down pages.

The new website provides a review of Balli Real Estate’s four core activities: fund management, joint venture developments, direct developments and bulk purchase investment.

Drawing on a series of panoramic images, the website explains how Balli Real Estate is involved in some of the most exciting and prestigious real estate projects in the world.

Balli Real Estate currently has a property portfolio of over $3 billion, comprised of more than 900,000 square feet of property under development with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of $800 million, and an additional 2 million square feet and a GDV of almost $2.5 billion in the pipeline.

The company operates in the UK and UAE and the Balli property portfolio includes four major residential and mixed use projects in Dubai providing a combined total of more than 1000 luxury residences.

The website contains details of the company’s senior management team including Vahid Alaghband, group chairman, Hassan Alaghband, Director, and Group Finance Director, David Spriddell. It also features testimonials from some of the company’s professional advisors and partners, including Sunland Group, CB Richard Ellis, Bank of Scotland Corporate and Forsters LLP.

As part of Balli’s focus on customer service, the website has a special password protected information centre for clients, enabling them to gain access to development brochures, investment documents, development floorplans and legal contracts wherever they are in the world.

The website also has a careers and recruitment section, setting out Balli’s employment opportunities, as well as an interactive press centre which enables journalists to download press information and imagery and make enquiries.

Vahid Alaghband, Group Chairman of Balli comments: “Over 60% of potential purchasers looking for property use the internet as their primary research tool. We therefore felt it essential that we created a property specific website to complement our existing Group corporate website.”

The website was designed and produced by TTA Group, a specialist property marketing consultancy, part of PR market leader Chime Communications plc.

Balli Real Estate

After the recent collapse of the Tamarack Ski resort in Idaho, another luxury ski-resort developer is in financial difficulties, this time in Colorado

Courcheval Development, Telluride

West Galena Real Estate LLC, a Utah developer, filed a recovery plan to surrender what the company called “six ultra luxury ski-in-ski-out townhouse style condominium units” to its biggest creditor - whom is owed more than $53 million - reducing debt by approximately $25.4 million, allowing its exit from bankruptcy.

The properties, in the Telluride ski resort of Mountain Village, Colo, are known as the “Courcheval,” Development. The plan was filed this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit.

West Galena, based in Park City, Utah, sought protection June 10 to halt a foreclosure sale of the condominiums by its largest lender, Narep II US REIT Assets Holdings LLC, which claimed the developer was in default. West Galena sued Narep, arguing that it hadn’t defaulted and Narep had breached its contract by unfairly reducing its funding.

“The chronic delays and unjustified reductions” diminished working capital, making it difficult to pay contractors, West Galena said in the lawsuit.

According to the plan, Narep will receive the Courcheval property, a collateral for its claim, in return for reducing its claim by $25.4 million, subject to approval of the court. The remaining $28 million of Narep’s claim will be treated as unsecured. Other unsecured creditors owed about $7 million will split the proceeds recovered from the lawsuit against Narep.

West Galena listed debt of $71.5 million and assets of $75.2 million in Chapter 11 documents filed June 24 and filed for bankruptcy with affiliates Lot 129 LLC and West Galena Holdings LLC.

A leading Dubai based real estate developer, Fortune Group, announced yesterday that its high-end retail offering - The Corporate Mall, which is planned to be in the world’s tallest commercial tower, Burj Al Alam, Dubai, has drawn an extremely positive investor response from the ultra-luxury segment of the retail sector.

The group has already sold out 75% of the total 313,000 square feet of available retail space. The mall is not only a freehold facility but also has the distinction of being the only mall within Business Bay, a mere two weeks from the launch. The group has also retained some of the retail area for leasing out to anchor tenants.

The Corporate Mall was designed by the world-famous Japanese architects, Nikken and Sekkei. The state-of-the-art enclosure will cater exclusively to discerning corporate clients, featuring nothing but the most expensive ultra-luxury outlets, top-of-the-line regional and international brands including high-end fashion brands, sophisticated dining and entertainment experiences. Not restaurants – experiences, which is a completely different thing and far more sophisticated.  The mall will also house trendy coffee shops, a modern fitness centre and parking space for over 1000 cars.

The Fortune Group has already begun construction on Burj Al Alam and the project is slated for completion by 2011.

Nikken & Sekkei

Larry Silverstein heads Silverstein Properties, a real estate developer and management organization. The company owns over 7 million square feet of prime residential and office space in Manhattan.

They were responsible for building the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC – at 3.1 million sq foot, the biggest privately developed office building in the US. The building is, of course, occupied by the US government. At that time, the Ronald Reagan building was the most expensive  federal building ever built ($768 million and came in for substantial criticism considering the fact that Mr. Reagan himself was against such ostentatious government expenditure. But it seems Mr. Silverstein has friends in high places

Six weeks before the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, Silverstein Properties acquired the lease to the building which marked the largest real estate transaction in New York history. Only being overshadowed by the subsequent insurance claim which took several years in court to settle. Silverstein is committing the bulk of the $5 billion settlement to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.

Silverstein opened 7 World Trade Center in 2006 – a 52 floor office tower at 250 Greenwich Street near the World Trade Center site.

Many of Silverstein’s properties are commercial, but they also have substantial interests in the luxury residential market with plans to build the tallest residential downtown tower at 99 Church Street. The property will be operated by luxury hotelier The Four Seasons. Architects for the project are Robert A.M Stern. Once completed, the building will stand 80 stories tall and have a slim profile. The lower half of the building will comprise a 175-room Four Seasons Hotel with the remaining floors given over to private condominiums. 143 luxury apartments of up to 6,500 square feet.

Clearly this company is a force to be reckoned with in the luxury real estate market.

The Ronald Reagan Building

Photo Credits

Useful Links

Siverstein Properties

7 World Trade center

Robert A.M Stone Architects

SC Global Developments is a luxury real estate developer based in Singapore that deals almost exclusively in high –end residential properties. Perhaps their most well-known development is The Marq, a luxury condominium development on Paterson Hill. The Marq was marqueted (sic) in an unusual, “invitation only,” preview and set a new record for luxury condominiums in Singapore – a single unit selling for $31 million which pushed the price over $5,000 psf for the first time.

SC Global managed this feat by including some unusual features – each unit in the Marq includes, amongst other things, a 15 meter cantilevered lap pool and takes up an entire floor of the building. The first release sold out within 7 days.

SC Developments is listed on the main board of the Singapore Stock Exchange and quotes them selves as having a market capitalization of approximately $700 million US. They also own a 42% stake in AV Jennings Ltd, one of Australia’s leading housing developers.

Company details:

SC Global Developments Ltd (formerly: ANA Hotels Singapore Ltd)
    
Incorporated in :    SINGAPORE
    
Incorporated on :    15 Nov 1977
    
ISIN Code :         SG1W16938290
    
Registered Office :    47 Scotts Road #18-01
                                     Goldbell Tower
                                      Singapore 228233
    
    
Telephone:    65 67349119
Fax:                 65 62355115
    
Secretary:    Fong Keng Chee
                       Lee Wan Ling

SC Global Developments was originally incorporated in Singapore on 15 November 1977 under the name of ANA Hotels Singapore Pte Ltd, as a subsidiary of ANA Enterprises Ltd. It acquired a hotel from People’s Realty Co Ltd and commenced business as Century Park Sheraton in 1978. It was converted into a public company on 28 October 1982 and took on the name ANA Hotels Singapore Ltd. In February 2000, the company’s principal activity was changed from hotel proprietor to property developer and the name was changed to SC Global Developments at an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders.

They have gone from strength to strength and are now considered to be one of Singapore’s premiere luxury residential real estate developers.

SC Global Developments