MIAMI-Leviev Boymelgreen breaks ground this week for Marquis, a 67-story condominium tower at 1100 Biscayne Blvd. that includes a suites hotel. Described as the "flagship" of the Brooklyn, NY-based developer's announced plan for a $1.5-billion investment in South Florida over the next 10 years, Marquis unit pricing raises the bar.

Marquis will contain 306 residential units, ranging from 1,500 sf to 7,000 sf. Pricing begins in the $900,000s and reaches to $11 million a unit. A majority of units in the company's Soleil and Vitri projects are selling for under $1million. Lynn Coulter, project developer, tells GlobeSt.com the residential component of the project is 72% sold. She declined to provide an estimated construction cost, saying, "the bidding process is not yet complete."

Negotiations for an operator of the 56-suite hotel, which is not condo, are under way, "and the operator should be named within the next two months," she says. Hotel suites average 1,000 sf, and condo residents will have access to hotel amenities.

A Howard Johnson motel on the 1.5-acre site has been razed. Boymelgreen acquired the land in July 2004 as part of a $130-million, 25-parcel buy aggregating 12.5 acres, according to a GlobeSt.com report. Soleil, a 288-unit Boymelgreen condo development on a four-acre parcel at 3050 Biscayne Blvd., broke ground this June. Construction of Vitri, a 66-unit, two-building project, is set to begin this month at 541 W. Ave.

Marquis units feature top-tier fixtures and amenities. The architect is locally based Arquitectonica, and the building includes a restaurant and 10,000-sf spa. Completion is scheduled for late 2008. Douglas Elliman Florida, a partnership formed this August between Boymelgreen and New York City-based Douglas Elliman, is handling sales and marketing for this and all current and future Boymelgreen projects here.