BAY HARBOR ISLAND, FL-Within 45 days, Philadelphia-based Switzenbaum & Associates will break ground for Ecco, an 18-unit residential complex on this island municipality on the Intracoastal Waterway between Bal Harbor and Indian Creek Island. "We got in just before the dust cleared following a lost lawsuit by a developer that wanted to build a 14-story project," David Waxman, a Switzenbaum partner and SVP, tells GlobeSt.com.

His firm acquired a half-acre parcel for $1.4 million, and Waxman, who summered on the island as a child, says the same parcel "would cost double that today." Switzenbaum worked with the township to gain approval for a four-story, U-shape design that includes two four-story, single-family units and 16 bi-level units. Of the bi-level units, eight occupy the first and second floors and include ground-floor yards, and eight occupy the third and fourth floors and have roof decks. The building also contains underground parking.

Waxman estimates the construction cost at $11 million and expects completion within a year to 15 months. Units range from 1,800 sf to 3,000 sf. "Prices will start in the $425-per-sf range, and the four-story units will probably be over $1 million," Waxman says.

While Sam Switzenbaum, a principal in the company that bears his name, has been involved in some South Florida development, this marks the firm's first foray into this area. "We're starting small but looking," Waxman says. "While there are certain areas that are over-heated, we think there are some niche opportunities, and we like the Miami area."