Julio Iglesias buys $15.2M home in Indian Creek

Indian Creek Island and Julio Iglesias

Singer Julio Iglesias has paid $15.2 million for a home adjacent to the empty lot he owns on Indian Creek Island. Sources say Iglesias wants to demolish the property, which is located at 7 Indian Creek Drive, to build a new home. The six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 5,504-square-foot home had an assessed value of $7.73 million last year, according to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s office. Iglesias’ mansion at 5 Indian Creek Drive was listed for $28 million in 2006, among the most expensive homes in the United States at the time. After failing to sell it, the singer demolished the property in 2008. It remains a vacant lot.

President of the Title company in Broward pleads guilty

Michelle Austin-Wilks, who the president of a Broward County title and escrow company pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud for her participation in two mortgage fraud schemes according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo Ferrer. Austin-Wilks had been charged with an information for her role in the scheme last month. She could face up to 30 years’ imprisonment for each count. The fraud totaled several million dollars in the two schemes. Sentencing is set for June 15.

$1billion artificial island resort

Real Madrid football club will spend $1B to build a lavish resort island in the United Arab Emirates, complete with luxury hotels, marina and amusement park.
Executives unveiled plans for the “Real Madrid Resort Island”, featuring an oceanside stadium and hi-tech club museum in the northern Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah, on the doorstep of the lucrative football-mad Asian market.
“Real Madrid Resort Island will be a major tourist and sporting centre of great dimensions and the highest level,” club president Florentino Perez said.

“This is a decisive and strategic step which contributes to strengthening our institution in the Middle East and Asia,” Perez said. “Real Madrid will be present permanently in a key region of the world.”

The complex, with $1 billion of investment and backed by the government of the Emirate, is scheduled to open in January 2015, the club and executives said.
It will include a five-star hotel, beachside bungalows and an amusement park with a rollercoaster and hologram show recreating Real Madrid’s goals.
Sports facilities will include training pitches and swimming pools plus a marina for yachting, as well as the 10,000-seat football stadium open on one side to a view of the sea.
Source: AFP

Latest scarf collection from Hermes

Following previous team-ups with the likes of French conceptual artist Daniel Buren, Hermès has announced its latest limited edition scarf collaboration will be with Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
The partnership is in honor of the third edition of the luxury label’s Hermès Editeur project, which intertwines the world of fine arts and crafts with the realm of textiles.
Sugimoto’s limited edition silk scarves have been inspired by his “Colors of Shadow” project, and will be presented at the Art Basel contemporary art fair this June.

Hermès creative director Pierre-Alexis Dumas and Sugimoto chose 20 of the artist’s Polaroids depicting color gradations to be printed by ink-jet on silk twill. The limited edition line will be small scale, with WWD reporting March 26 that only seven of each design will be produced.
The first two series of Hermès Editeur comprised a series honoring Bauhaus artist Josef Albers and a scarf collection in 2010 featuring prints from Buren’s travels.
Art Basel and its sister event Art Basel Miami Beach frequently attract big name fashion/artist collaborations, with the latter’s December 2011 edition showcasing Christian Dior’s collaboration with German artist Anselm Reyle on a collection of accessories including handbags and shoes

Michael Jackson's home is for sale for $23.9M

The plush Los Angeles mansion where Michael Jackson died is on sale for $23.9 million, and a major celebrity is interested in buying it.

The 7-bedroom, 13-bathroom property, described as the centrepiece of an “elegant and sophisticated French chateau estate,” includes its own movie theater, a gym and a pool.
“The estate… offers a glamorous theater for screenings in a grand style, a magnificent wine cellar and tasting room, elevator, a spacious spa with gym, and an elegant guesthouse,” as well as an “expansive pool and gardens.”
The house, built in 2002 in the Holmby Hills district west of Los Angeles, includes more than 17,000 square feet of living space with 12 working fireplaces, and is set in a “lush and mature landscape” of some 1.26 acres.
TMZ reported that the property went on sale on Monday, and said a “major celebrity” is set to visit it on Thursday.
Realtor Mauricio Umansky, head of The Agency in Beverly Hills, will only show the property to serious buyers who have pre-qualified, meaning they have the money to buy it.
The contents of the home, which Jackson rented, were sold at auction in December, although the bed and headboard were not included in items for sale, at the request of the Jackson family.

Madonna is selling her Beverly Hills Mansion

Madonna has reportedly put up her French Country-style mansion, in Beverly Hills as a pocket listing with the asking price of $28M.

A pocket listing means a real estate agent has a contract to sell it, but it is not listed in the Multiple Listing Service or advertised.

Madonna bought the property back when she was married to English director Guy Ritchie in 2003 and paid about $12 million, according to the Real Estalker.

According to tax records, the 5,800-square-foot home has three bedrooms, but it’s likely that Madonna added to the space, according to real estate insiders.
The superstar currently lives in a triple-wide townhouse on the upper East Side she bought in 2009 for $32.5 million.

World Wrestling Entertainment signed lease on Brickell Key

Courvoisier Centre

World Wrestling Entertainment has signed a 2,000-square-foot lease at the Courvoisier Centre II  building on Miami’s Brickell Key, according to Colliers International South Florida. Colliers’ Joe Abood represented WWE in the transaction. “WWE is launching a new television network, and this location will serve as the Latin American sales office,” Abood said. “This requirement was very unique because the transaction and occupancy had to happen within 45 days.” WWE was originally looking on South Beach, but chose Courvoisier for its tenants, which includes CNN en Español, Abood said. Colliers did not disclose the terms of the transaction.

Miami will see three more condo towers

Currently 26 projects already on the way in South Florida, Miami will now see another three new condominium projects, with two in Coconut Grove and one in Grand Bay, which will be on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Grand Bay Miami Beach, according to a report from Condo Vultures. The Grove at G hotel, will feature two towers, and the Versailles on the Ocean in Miami Beach will have one.“Developers appear to be almost be rushing to market with plans to build new condo towers in South Florida, knowing the process takes time to generate presages, construct the towers and ultimately deliver the proposed units,” said Peter Zalewski, founder of brokerage and consultancy Condo Vultures

Trump Hollywood accused of privatizing public beach

Trump Hollywood and the adjacent Wave condo

For the second time this month a Broward County condominium with Donald Trump’s name plastered across its exterior is ruffling feathers with residents.

Shortly after a lawsuit was filed over sales at a Fort Lauderdale condo that licensed his name, the Sun Sentinel reported that the Trump Hollywood project is being acccused of poaching public beach access.

Trump Hollywood employees have been using chairs and lounge furniture to form a barricade that isolates a section of the public beach, the Sun Sentinel said, and that has riled residents of another nearby waterfront condo called the Wave.

“All we’re asking is be good neighbors and respect that one little area for us,” said Harry Polsky, vice presidnet of Trump Hollywood’s homeowners association. “We’re trying to make our own identity. Our own people are trying to enjoy what they paid $1-, $2- and $3 million for.”

But one nearby resident, upset with the seclusion, insists on sitting on Trump Hollywood’s chairs and stirring controversy.

Hollywood officials say the beach is public and anyone can sit on either side of the barricade — but not on the actual chairs, which are property of the Trump condo. Officials hope the neighbors can reach a peaceful resolution. [Sun Sentinel via Palm Beach Post]

Rosie's Star Island mansion is for sale $19.5M

Rosie O'Donnell and 43 Star Island Drive

Rosie O’Donnell has listed her 11,000-square-foot Star Island home for $19.5 million, according to Kevin Tomlinson’s South Beach Real Estate Blog. The home, which was purchased by O’Donnell in 1999 for $6.75 million, has two private guesthouses and has undergone renovations since her purchase. The house which is located at 43 Star Island, has an appraised value of $8.06 million, according to Miami-Dade County records. The home is 11,104 sq.ft which makes the $19.500,00 price $1,756 per sq. ft.

Office Complex in Hollywood FL sells for $6.8M

DBSI Sheridan has sold a Hollywood office campus has for $6.85 million. DBSI,  was a debtor in bankruptcy, sold the property as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Marx Developments, a limited liability company. Marx was represented by Gary Simon of Simon & Simon P.A., while DBSI was represented in the deal by Brett Lieberman of Messina, P.A. The property is located at 7261 and 7369 Sheridan Street in Hollywood.