Related Group, one of Florida's largest real estate developers, is backing a 43-story skyscraper in Mexico City that will include luxurious condominiums and a Hyatt Hotels Corp Thompson-branded hotel.
Designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica, in collaboration with Related Group and three Mexican partners -- Pulso Inmobiliario, Grupo MRP y Moises Farca -- the skyscraper will have 104 luxury condominiums and 115 furnished hotel suites, Related Group President Jon Paul Pérez told Bloomberg in an interview.
The developers began working on the project last year and are now commencing sales. Total sellout is expected to be roughly US $190 million, the company said.
With interiors from the New York branch of Italian designer Piero Lissoni's firm, the Thompson Mexico City Reforma Hotel & Residences will overlook Reforma, the capital's main avenue and the Angel of Independence monument, one of the city's most recognizable landmarks.
"We're known for creating world-class buildings in world-class cities," Pérez said. "So this project was an exciting opportunity to do that in the most important city in Mexico and the most important location in Mexico City." The project will bring the "sexiness of Miami" to the heart of the capital, he highlighted.
Over the past two decades, Mexico's Reforma Avenue has seen a boom of development, with more than a dozen new skyscrapers built along the stretch where Related is building its new tower.
Related already has 60 reservations, Pérez said. Prices for units start at US $8,000 per square foot, with the exception of the penthouse, which is expected to sell for over US $6 million. The tower is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
Pérez told Bloomberg he would be opening the tower's sales center during a trip to Mexico on Nov. 6, where he would encourage wealthy Mexicans to buy property in Miami. "There's always a demand from Mexicans coming to Miami," he said.
The election of left-leaning former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2018 triggered a significant outflow of capital from Mexico, particularly to southern Florida. Pérez explained that the landslide congressional victory by the ruling party coalition in June increased interest among wealthy Mexicans in buying property in Miami.
However, no matter the country's politics, "Mexicans still invest in Mexico. Even during these times, they don't completely divest," Pérez said.
Related Group's founder and CEO is Pérez's father, Cuban-Argentinian billionaire Jorge Pérez, who has been dubbed Miami's "Condo King" due to his influence in the real estate market. In Mexico, the company began operations two decades ago.
In 2017, Related started a round of projects in Riviera Maya. According to Jon Paul Pérez, Mexicans bought around 95% of the company's developments in Cancún, and he expects to see a similar proportion in the Reforma Avenue tower.