Art Falcone Speaks at The Real Deal’s Annual Miami Showcase

Falcone Group’s Art Falcone shared his thoughts on the Miami real estate market and his major mixed-use project, Miami Worldcenter, as part of a panel of leading developers during The Real Deal’s annual Miami Showcase & Forum on Thursday, October 26.

During the spirited discussion, Falcone noted that Miami real estate is becoming increasingly attractive to major Chinese investment companies. In the past, Chinese conglomerates would only be interested in a U.S. project if they could make a minimum investment of $1 billion. That minimum threshold has dropped significantly.

Falcone, co-founder and managing principal of Encore Capital Management, said the company is in the process of opening a Beijing office to accommodate the demand. Chinese buyers are the third-most active group at Paramount Miami Worldcenter, the luxury condo tower situated in the heart of the Miami Worldcenter project.

The philosophies of the developers on the panel were also a topic of conversation. Falcone cited his company’s approach of focusing on large-scale mixed-use developments. He and his associates have six active developments in Florida that “are the size of cities,” he said.

On the subject of real estate cycles and timing investments and projects accurately, Falcone noted “there’s never a bad real estate deal as long as you have time and no debt.”

To learn more, read The Real Deal’s article about the discussion.