Expansion Begins The company’s strategy always was to get into every aspect of the multifamily business that its capabilities would allow. Before entering any new business, Meyers and Lopez made sure that not only was the staff in place, but that the people working on the project had the background and the experience in both management and development of the new businesses.
Consequently, about three years ago, Cornerstone made an effort to enter the upscale, market-rate rental business, Meyers says. As a result of that effort, the company has completed three projects–San Marino located in Naples, Fla.; San Marino at Laguna Lakes located in West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Villa del Sol located in Boynton Beach, Fla.
In 2000, Cornerstone began to examine other areas of the multifamily business that it could enter. “We looked at a series of businesses,” explains Meyers. “We looked at military housing and student housing. We seriously considered other markets beyond Florida in the affordable area. But, we finally settled on the condominium business, primarily because we saw the economics and the demand in the South Florida area were very resilient to the downturn that we’re experiencing in the economy.”
While the company had a deep knowledge of that market, it wanted someone to lead the new division who had a wealth of experience. Richard Lamondin was that person. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Lamondin worked in condo development for 25 years and had completed more than $3 billion worth of projects. “We decided to approach the condominium marketplace together,” explains Lamondin, president of Cornerstone Premiere Communities.
The new division is about to break ground on La Perla, its first high-rise condominium tower–43 stories–in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. Out of La Perla’s 326 units, 75 percent of the units have been sold and are under contract.
While it might have been difficult to find financing for a project that was so different from the company’s niche, Bank of America wasn’t nervous about the switch, says Mario A. Facella, senior vice president of real estate banking.
“Meyers and Lopez are very devoted to their work and do a lot of the research and analysis for future developments,” says Walter de Villiers, senior vice president of real estate lending at Ocean Bank. “There was no hesitation [on our part] to get involved in something other than its core business.”
In addition, Cornerstone had the reputation of standing behind all of its projects, says Facella. “If there is a problem, they will fix it and make sure everything is OK. Their properties are done very well and on time.”
When someone drives by one of Cornerstone’s properties, “they can’t tell the two property types (market-rate vs. affordable housing) apart,” says Massirman from CB Richard Ellis. “They put a lot of thought into the design and landscaping of all of their projects.”