Miami Beach –Caribbean, the luxury oceanfront condominium nearing completion in Miami Beach, has been named a finalist in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2008 Pillars of the Industry Awards. The winners will be announced at the awards gala in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Each year, the NAHB honors the best work in the multifamily industry through its annual Pillars of the Industry program. Recognized as the industry’s most coveted awards, the Pillars honor superior achievement in apartment and condo development, design, marketing, and management and are considered a showcase of innovation and trends. 

The ceremony is held as part of the annual conference, which, as the premier industry event for the multifamily industry, focuses on best practices and real-life lessons presented in case studies on the finance, design and development of rental apartments and condominiums.

Caribbean was an historic Art Deco hotel designed by Architect Murray Dixon that now comprises a renovated six-story North Tower a new 19-story South Tower.  Caribbean is located 3737 Collins Ave. The entire project will comprise 103 ultra luxury residences along with a 35,000 square-foot underground parking garage, unique to Miami Beach. 

In transforming the Caribbean from an affordable hotel to a state-of-the-art condominium tower, the developer reoriented the layout of the public spaces, shifted all the residences south to take full advantage of ocean views, and added balconies to south elevations. The bathrooms were reoriented and enlarged as well.  Plumbing was modernized to be energy efficient and a grand lobby area was created and a third elevator was added to create semi private access.  After undergoing a complete gut rehab, only the façade of the existing building is being restored to its original grandeur featuring black stone and terrazzo flooring. Completion of both buildings is on schedule for summer 2008. 

The South Tower’s new model residence designed by Jorge Rosso-Ubarri is now open for preview. Rosso-Ubarri is one of the designers working with the developers to offer complimentary consultation services for residences in the Calypso by Caribbean collection. Calypso by Caribbean residences are priced from $1.3 million.

Christa/Bluerock is a partnership between New York-based Christa Development Corporation (CDC) and Bluerock Real Estate. Kobi Karp is the architect for the project. Christopher Ciccone is interior designer and creative consultant for the project at large.  Caribbean’s on-site sales center is open seven days a week. Fortune International Realty is the exclusive sales agent.

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