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Visionary Viewpoints The Benefits of High-rise Living Words by David Martin For the last 15 years, Terra has focused on creating sustainable, design-oriented communities that enhance both urban and suburban neighborhoods in South Florida. Our most recent residential endeavors have been focused in Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Weston, and Doral. At the forefront are the Bjarke Ingels-designed Grove at Grand Bay and the Rem Koolhaas/OMA-designed Park Grove, two new luxury condos that are breathing new life into Miami's oldest, authentic neighborhood, Coconut Grove. In Miami Beach, Terra recently completed Glass, a 10-unit condo designed in collaboration with Rene Gonzalez in the SoFi district; and we're starting construction at Eighty Seven Park, Renzo Piano's first residential building in the United States suspended above the lush urban oasis' of North Beach along the Atlantic Ocean. Our commercial portfolio embraces areas like Doral and Pembroke Pines with projects like Doral Commons, our newest mixed-use development in Doral bringing 140,000 square-feet of retail with 319 single-family homes, and Pines City Center, a master-planned development set to feature a mix of retail space and multifamily units. With the urbanization phenomenon rising as a dominant force in U.S. real estate, the country is seeing an influx of residents transitioning from homes to high-rises. Rest assured, moving into an apartment or condo doesn't necessarily mean sacrificing the elements that make a home feel like "home." To win over buyers accustomed to large, spread-out homes, we are incorporating high ceilings, expansive floor plans, outdoor green spaces, and even private garages to create new residential retreats. Conventional wisdom tells us urban areas are swelling as working professionals prioritize factors like location and access to jobs over the sheer size of their home, however the appeal of city living is growing amongst retirees and empty nesters. In a recent study conducted by the AARP, half of adults 45 or older said living in a walkable area during retirement is important. With land in metro areas becoming scarce, developers are taking to the skies to meet housing demands in urban neighborhoods – especially when it comes to catering to buyers 50 and up, which are projected to control 70 percent of the nation's disposable wealth by 2017. Additionally, advances in architecture and construction are also dramatically improving the way developers design and build their projects. Factor in the lifestyle advantages found in many urban neighborhoods – including a tight-knit sense of community that converts strangers into neighbors – and you begin to see how high-rise living can mean heightened quality of life and added convenience. While international media has characterized South Florida's real estate market as being dominated by extravagant condos owned by absentee buyers, more than half of the buyers at Grove at Grand Bay, for instance, are end users who will spend all or part of their time here – blatantly dispelling that notion. There's this perception that our market is one-dimensional due to the sheer number of high-rise condos that have risen over the last decade, but today there are thriving single family home and apartment communities underway in neighborhoods like Doral, Weston, Pembroke Pines, and even in and around downtown. The neighborhoods are dynamic, the interest is alive, the residents are here, and these are the buyers we're building for. For more information, visit: www.terragroup.com ML