A while back, news reports started trickling in that development company Peebles Corp. had plans to sell its much talked-about Bath Club Estates development site. After months of sifting through bids, the nearly 1-acre plot was finally sold to China City Construction Company and American Da Tang Group…for $38.5 million.

The transaction was handled by Robert Taylor, Paul Weimmer and Gerard Yetming of CBRE, and Engel & Völkers Managin Broker Irving Padron, while CCCC was represented by American Da Tang Group and Borda Commercial Real Estate.

Before selling the site, Peebles Corp. intended to develop a 15-story condo tower, which would have included 13 full-floor units – one of which would have been a massive penthouse priced at $50 million.

CCCC and American Da Tang Group have yet to release details on what will eventually occupy the small beachfront plot, but the site is currently zoned for high-density multifamily and was previously approved for 60 residential units or 150 hotel rooms.

In a statement from Peeble’s Chairman and Chief Executive Don Peebles, he explained the reasoning behind the company’s decision to sell as a shift in focus to “large-scale projects in the Northeast.”

He added: “…we will watch with great enthusiasm as China City Construction Co. brings this exciting development opportunity to life, and Miami and the Beaches continue to flourish.”

Despite his professed enthusiasm, Peebles has already expressed doubt in the future of the city’s condo market, and remarked that he sees Miami’s market leveling off.

In an interview with the South Florida Business Journal in June, Peebles said, “This market is in for a leveling off and it will get quieter. The projects under construction will be finished and others will not get built.”

However, in his recent statement, Peebles did call the site “one of the last vacant oceanfront properties on Miami Beach,” adding that, on the part of CCCC and American Da Tang Group, the purchase was a “prudent investment with immeasurable potential.”