This rendering of Brickell Heights, a Related condo project slated for construction in 2014, shows the colorful murals of Argentinean artist Fabian Burgos that will scale the first eight stories. Modern art is a common tool for marketing properties. Rendering Credit The Related Group.
Brickell Heights, a Related condo project located near S. Miami Ave. and 9th St., is selling pre-construction and is set to break ground in early 2014. The first phase of the project consists of two towers, which total 690 units. The plans include 100,000-square-feet reserved for commercial use. Luxurious, rooftop pools top-off the 49 floors. Near ground level, however, is another standout feature: three colorful murals by Argentinean artist Fabian Burgos that stretch 400 ft. long and scale eight stories high.
The murals symbolize the pairing of fine art with Miami’s luxury real estate, a trend that increased in popularity with help from Art Basel, a modern art festival started in Basel, Switzerland in 1970. The festival first visited Miami in 2002, and it welcomed approximately 75,000 guests during its 2013 stint from Dec. 5 – Dec. 8.
Carlos Rosso, executive vice president of The Related Group, said art is crucial to selling units to today’s buyer, specifically the buyer Related works with: sophisticated, cultured and wealthy.
“The latest gadget, the latest kitchen, the latest finish, the latest art – it’s part of the whole thing that the buyer is looking for,” Rosso said, speaking while on a business trip in Argentina . “We have to try to stretch our imagination and find new ideas to sell real estate, and art is one of them. People appreciate art and see signfigance in art, so that’s why we do it.”
Rosso said Related began incorporating fine art with its properties in 1979. He said the company invested approximately $50 million into art and continues to add new pieces to its properties.
Related doesn’t stuff its lobbies, common spaces and model units with traditional paintings, Rosso said. Rather, the company implements modern, avant-garde pieces. The company doesn’t seek art that fits in, he said. It wants art that stands out.
“We don’t pick a piece of art because it matches the sofa,” Rosso said. “We pick up art on its own merit.”
Edgardo Defortuna, CEO and president of Fortune International, said his company uses art to increase a property’s appeal, too.
Defortuna said the trend started for Fortune in the early 2000s – a bit later than Related. But Fortune didn’t hesitate to throw large amounts of money at modern art, according to Defortuna, who said Fortune spent millions on art.
Though Fortune hasn’t quantified art’s impact on sales, Defortuna is certain the presence of art increases the likelihood of a buyer wanting a given unit.
“To have a very well-done unit – from the interior design point of view and the art point of view – increases the speed of sales and the value of the unit in a significant way,” Defortuna said. “We have proven this time after time. Sometimes the units will sit empty for two or three months without a buyer, and than you spend a significant amount of money decorating them and putting art in it, and it sells for way more than what we had offered in the past – and a lot faster.”
Defortuna said buyers typically don’t ask to purchase art they see in the lobby or common area. However, Defortuna said having art in such areas increases the comfort-level of buyers who are looking for their second or third residence – buyers whose favorite pieces of art might remain at a primary living space.
“They don’t necessarily have their main works of art in their unit,” Defortuna said. “So we try to compliment that by including some nice pieces of art in the common areas, so they feel more at home, and they feel like they can appreciate this building.”