Soaring 42 stories above South Pointe Park on Miami Beach, the Continuum on South Beach South Tower condominium offers commanding views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Port of Miami, and downtown Miami.

The luxurious building, completed in 2002 on a 13-acre site, pampers its owners with amenities including a clay court tennis center, a gym and spa, three pools, a restaurant, and pool and beach service. “It’s like a hotel. They bring you towels, food, and drinks,” says Jill Hertzberg of The Jills, a Miami Beach realtor and Coldwell Banker affiliate.

Until recently, the building’s lobby was its Achilles heel. “It was very beige, and put together by different entities. The furniture, designs, nothing really matched,” says Caryn Rosenthal, property manager. After eight years, “The furniture was starting to fall apart and the floor was getting worn,” she says. “The board decided that rather than redo, they would ask the unit owners if they wanted a new lobby.”

Million-Dollar Lobby

The owners agreed and the board hired Miami designer Pepe Calderin to redesign the lobby at a cost of $1 million. The 314 individual owners paid special assessments based on unit size, ranging from $600 to $6,000. Construction began February 1; completion is expected in July.

The new lobby will have a glass staircase; a water feature; a striking chandelier; a bookcase wall; a large casual-seating area; and a sleek, modernistic front desk. The décor will include a white marble floor and contrasting chocolate-brown wall elements.

The Continuum’s new lobby “will help everyone in that building by improving property values,” Hertzberg says. “You have to refresh your building to get more money because things become old, they don’t work, they don’t look good. Either the developer will do it [if he is still involved], or the board will meet and have assessments to redo different components. It’s a process. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

A Moving Target

While the boards of older condos tweak their amenities piecemeal, developers of new condos strive to outdo each other with a comprehensive amenities array. The recession has not dampened their ardor, says Beth Kipnis, an EWM Realtor in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood.

“Everyone is setting their new projects apart, everyone has the same cutting-edge amenities,” Kipnis says. “Nobody is going to put effort and money into something that is not cutting edge. Their customers will pay for it. People who can’t afford what is being put into the newer buildings just have to look elsewhere. A lot of older buildings don’t have all these amenities and aren’t as expensive.”

To determine in advance what amenities the buyers of new condos will want, developers take surveys, conduct focus groups, and shop their competition.

“Anyone in business should always know what their competition is doing, and try to do better, or at least meet the standard,” Hertzberg says. “Developers spend a huge amount of time researching the area, demographics, design, layout, and price as part of their marketing plan. They set their projects apart by location and price point, and the amenities and style of their apartments.”

Following the Pack

“All of the new buildings offer the same things—valet parking, gyms, spas. Many of the upscale ones have concierge services. If they have a restaurant or clubhouse, they will come into your apartment and set up a dinner party for you, flowers and all,” says Randie Koroglu, president and broker at Coconut Grove Realty in Miami, the oldest real-estate company in Miami-Dade County (established in 1925).

“The ‘wow’ factor for condo apartments is the water view,” Koroglu says. “For people who don’t have it, the price is lower. Everybody buys a telescope to spy on the street below.”

After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, hurricane-resistant impact glass became a south Florida amenity. After Katrina and Wilma in 2005, demand grew. Now it’s part of the local building code—a requirement in all new condo construction.

In older buildings, “impact glass is so expensive I don’t think you could get all the unit owners to agree to upgrade, especially if they have hurricane shutters,” Kipnis says.

She notes that impact glass isn’t always fully effective, so some owners of single-family homes with impact glass install outside shutters to preserve it. That’s unlikely to happen in a condo, she says. “You can’t change the exterior look of a condo without approval. The whole building would have to approve.”

Also expected now is a generator to operate elevators and emergency lights during a prolonged power outage. Whole-building generation capacity is less common, due to its higher cost. Kipnis says it exists at Bella Maré on Williams Island in Aventura, a 30-story condo with 210 units built in 2005.

Wise buyers will choose a condo near a hospital or other critical public facility, Kipnis advises. In Coconut Grove, Grove Isle and Residences at Vizcaya (a new 18-unit luxury condo on Hiawatha Avenue) share the Mercy Hospital feeder line and can expect to have their power restored within an hour after a hurricane subsides.

Dogs and CAT

Dog-friendliness is an emerging trend among Miami-area condos, Koroglu says. “Most condos don’t even allow dogs, and most others limit the dogs to less than 20 pounds—but the apartments are getting larger and people are downsizing from homes. They’re not going to leave their pets behind.”

“A lot of buildings now have a small dog park,” Hertzberg reports. “Waverly on Miami Beach is very lenient with dogs.” Grovenor House in Coconut Grove also allows large dogs, Koroglu adds.

Many newer buildings have high-speed Cat 5 cable for telephone and data communication, and cable TV wiring. Some offer wireless Internet capability. Also increasingly common are elevators with a private key for each residence. “You may share the same elevator with 20 or 30 other people, but only your key opens the elevator at your floor,” explains Kipnis.

Latest and Greatest

Kipnis says unusual amenities that stand out in today’s market (at least until other developers copy them) include:

• Infinity pools that seem to extend uninterrupted beyond the far edge to the ocean or the horizon.

• Balcony railings of tempered glass or Lexan polycarbonate resin that create an infinity effect.

• Private pools for at least some units. Floor plans for the Residences at Vizcaya show private infinity pools for 13 of the 18 units. All were not built due to cost, but Kipnis says individual buyers can easily add them later.

• Keyless entry systems with fingerprint recognition for access to all areas of a building, including the garage.

• Media rooms with theater-style seating in a common area.

• A business center where residents can meet with clients in a plush office setting.

• Private fitness rooms, adjoining the gym, where individual residents can do yoga or pilates or work out one-on-one with a personal trainer.

More Unusual Amenities

Hertzberg says Apogee South Beach is among the most innovative condos in south Florida. “You have your own private garage underneath the building, with your own garage-door clicker,” she says. “On the outdoor balcony you have a summer kitchen with your own electric barbecue, and a gas stove in the main kitchen indoors.”

Apogee’s 11-foot-wide balconies shade the windows from the most intense rays of Florida’s midday sun. The building also has double concrete slabs between floors to reduce noise transmission.

Another Miami Beach innovator, Mosaic, is a “flow-through.” Each of its 84 units has balconies on both sides, one with an ocean view, the other overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. A common area, the Ocean Room, includes a private wine cellar and wine-tasting area; a cigar locker with a humidor; and a theater with surround sound, custom seating, and upholstered walls.

Hertzberg says the most highly-amenitized south Florida development is Fisher Island. Accessible only by boat, it’s a 216-acre exclusive tropical resort community with high-end condos, single-family mansions, and a boutique hotel.

Amenities there include a nine-hole, par-35 championship golf course designed by P.B. Dye; a golf clubhouse; a private beach club; a lighted tennis club with clay, grass, and hard-surfaced courts; two deep-water marinas; a fitness center and spa; eight restaurants; a shopping center with a bank, boutiques, and a gourmet market; a day school; a fire station; a post office; and 24-hour security.

“Each apartment comes with a golf cart,” Hertzberg says. “The community has an active social program throughout the year, with theme parties, charity events, tennis and other sports tournaments, and children’s activities. They have everything.”

George Leposky is a freelance writer and reporter living in Miami and a frequent contributor to The South Florida Cooperator.