MIAMI-When news started leaking out that Jorge Perez, chairman and CEO of the Related Group, was planning a new venture, local commercial real estate ears perked up. After all, the Related Group is Miami’s largest condo developer--and one that did not escape the distress of the economic downturn.

It wasn’t surprising when Related let the world know who it was forming a strategic alliance with. Miami-based marketing firm International Sales Group is no stranger to Related Group-caliber projects. Now, a newly formed partnership dubbed Related ISG will unite Perez’s vision with ISG’s global sales and marketing power to push the next wave of condos in the Magic City.

“Related represents the best brand in Miami,” Craig Studnicky, principal of ISG, tells GlobeSt.com. “For 30 years they have been a leader in real estate. They intend to stay in that position. When we were offered the chance to partner, we accepted the opportunity. This was created as an equal partnership with a mutual focus on sales and marketing disciplines.”

Indeed, despite some of Related Group’s properties failing in the last cycle, Perez is widely credited with helping to make Downtown Miami the emerging global city it is today. Perez, along with ISG principals Philip J. Spiegelman and Studnicky, plan to break ground on as many as six new high-rises in the next 12 months.

In addition to the recent announcement of Apogee Beach in Hollywood, five new properties under Related ISG are scheduled to launch during the next year in the tri-county area. Spiegelman tells GlobeSt.com the new group’s immediate goals are to engage brokers throughout the world, educating and providing collateral material so they can successfully represent Related’s new properties.

Despite the remaining condo inventory on the market, Spiegelman is not concerned about creating another glut. “The Related ISG business model requires a cash investment which is not attractive to speculators,” Spiegelman says. “The South American market is projected to be responsible for up to 80% of our sales over the next two years.”

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