(This story, in slightly different form, originally appeared in ALM's Daily Business Review.)

MIAMI-Already trailing two rival projects in a soon-to-be crowded office market, the developer of Brickell Financial Centre is adjusting tactics to better compete for tenants down the road. Unencumbered by existing debt, Brickell Financial developer Foram Group is trying to position itself to stay in the race long term.

Not having a lender forcing Foram to rush to finish the 40-story office tower allows the company to sit back, if it so chooses, and let some of the nearly two million square feet of office space in the Brickell pipeline fill up, executives say. And with 1450 Brickell and Met 2 scheduled to be completed in the first two quarters of 2010, Foram has backed off placing a timetable on when Brickell Financial will be completed.

John Breistol, Foram Group president, says the company has enough cash in place to complete the major office project at 680 Brickell Ave. even without obtaining financing, which is only being offered at extremely high interest rates. Foram founder Loretta Cockrum turned over day-to-day control of the project to Breistol about a year ago.