OKO Group’s latest development, the nautically-inspired Una Residences, has now been approved by Miami’s Urban Development Review Board. This key step brings the 47-story condo building, proposed for 175 SE 25th Road, a little closer to inception at the crossroads of Coconut Grove and Brickell.

The building will feature 135 waterfront condos starting at $942,000, an underground parking garage, and public baywalk that connects to an adjoining park. The review board granted a request to allow ingress for vehicle entries at the loading docks and service area, which will pave the way for the demolition of the current structure.

This process of condo termination and redevelopment has been fueled by CEO of OKO Group, Vladislav Doronin’s confidence in the site, which he began to assemble back in 2016 by buying out current residents at nearly double the expected market value. “There has been no new construction here for the last 10 years,” says Doronin. “We were lucky to manage to purchase this site. And for the near-future, no one else is going to build here. We won’t have any competitors in South Brickell.”

This developer strategy of parcel identification and repurposing can be expected to continue in the upcoming real estate cycle as waterfront property becomes more scarce in Miami. Sales for Una, which are being handled exclusively by Fortune International Realty, went live back in March. Cash buyers have been the cornerstone to Una’s pre-sale success, most coming from overseas, since the building has not yet secured any form of traditional financing.

The project is expected to be completed by 2021.

Article by: Katya Demina