The Passion and Vision of Jorge Perez

CEO of The Related Group has Driven the Multifamily Market to New Heights

By Scott Judy

Jorge Perez is on an incredible run.

In 2005, he was listed as one of only several from the construction and development fields on Forbes magazine's most recent list of the richest Americans, Time ranked him as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in the U.S. and Hispanic Business magazine ranked The Related Group of Florida as the largest Hispanic-owned company in the country, with reportedly more than $2 billion in sales in 2004.

And now the South Florida "king of condos" is looking to expand his empire, with huge developments under way in Las Vegas and plans for others in Atlanta and elsewhere.

Indeed, the CEO of The Related Group of Florida may be on the cusp of proving himself - and his multifamily and mixed-use development company - to be a worthy successor to other great Florida builders before him, such as Henry Flagler or Walt Disney.

Instead of his legacy, though, Perez seems more focused on future opportunities, which may include even pricier developments but also some "affordable" or workforce housing for an increasingly squeezed-out middle class.

"I really love creating cities," Perez said. "I love changing cities. I love changing lifestyles."

Leading the Wave

Perez is certainly not just another developer.

With roughly 27 years in the business, he and his company are revered as the trend-setting multifamily developer of the region - and Perez as someone who has helped define the era.

His South Florida projects include the latest ICON - ICON Brickell; One Miami; 50 Biscayne; and the ultraluxury Apogee. And now he is building the sprawling $3 billion Las Ramblas mixed-use development in Las Vegas with George Clooney and Rande Gerber.

"He's a visionary," said Taras Diakiwski, business development manager for The Weitz Co. in West Palm Beach, the contractor for just one of Related's numerous projects. "He goes into areas where you would typically see no development.

"For example, in downtown Miami, where you saw nothing happening, he was the first who came in. That place used to be dead at night. He started (One Miami) and now everybody else is following the lead and there's one crane after the next. He's the guy who will first go in there and take the risk, because he sees it."

Robert M. Swedroe, a Miami Beach-based architect who's designed for Perez and Related, added: "He shares traits with some of our other visionary clients, like the Soffers of Turnberry. He's on a fast track. He has made a significant mark as a high-profile developer by building a lot of projects simultaneously in key locations around the country. He used to be the rental king and now he's the condo king."

Joyce Bronson, senior vice president with Related and a 20-year veteran of the real estate development business, said she only knew of Perez before joining the firm seven years ago.

"If there was one person I wanted to work for in my career it was Jorge because I sensed the energy and his dynamic leadership," she said. "He's passionate about what he's doing and about his legacy and contribution. He expects a great deal, and I think that's good for all of us who work for him."

Related keeps a close circle of contractors and subs building its projects. John Moriarty & Associates of Hollywood, Fla., has been building for Related for about 10 years and has proven to be the firm's most popular choice.

James Palermo, senior vice president with Moriarty, credited Related's success to the speed with which it starts and builds a project.

"They have a well-oiled machine," he said. Whereas some developers can take up to 18 months to get a condo project started, Palermo said, "Tom Daly (with Related) has a penchant for getting a job going in six months. Once they come into a project, they're totally committed.

"I've been in the business a long time, and I've never been fortunate enough to have an ongoing relationship like this with a developer. They've never failed to live up to any of their promises."

Trend Setter

Perez prides himself on his company's ability to set trends.

"We're at the forefront, nationally, as to cutting-edge development," he said, adding that various groups, such as the Urban Land Institute, regularly seek out the firm's insights.

One of Related's biggest areas of influence is that of urban renewal.

"We've been good at taking areas that have been undeveloped or underdeveloped and seeing the potential they have," Perez said.

He added that, despite being repeatedly sought out by various entities to assist developing a particular building, Related is not currently interested in single-structure developments.

"It's very hard for just a single building to have an impact," Perez said. "What we are trying to look at (is) something that will allow us to not only start with one building but also have other land available to create a center where we can do a mixed-use development. We're trying to do places where people can live and work and shop within a very short distance."

Related wants to work on large, multiple-structure developments that are nearly self-sustaining communities. Bronson cited the award-winning City Place district Related guided several years ago in helping transform an urban section of West Palm Beach.

"We are expanding what we do and City Place is another perfect example of crossing that line of just being a residential developer," Bronson added. "We are expanding as markets change."

Perez said residential "is a driver, but we like to see restaurants and shops in the developments we're doing. So as we leave South Florida and go into other areas, almost every one of the developments we're looking at is a mixed-use development - whether it's Las Vegas or Atlanta or Jacksonville.

"To be successful in creating residential communities, you need to provide the amenities that people need. And people need (more than) a health club, pool and a tennis court. We provide retail establishments and office space and other types of uses that complement our residential use and make it that much more viable."

The incorporation of hotel services for condominium owners is another next step. For example, one of the three towers of Icon Brickell will incorporate a boutique hotel that will provide all of the apartments in that tower with hotel services.

"What we really want to do is make sure that the people who buy from us really have the easiest possible life, and we provide the greatest comfort that we can," Perez said.

Affordable Living

Perez, who started out building affordable housing, is arguably one of the greatest beneficiaries of the booming luxury market. But he still sees the lack of affordable housing as the top issue for cities moving forward - and perhaps another growing market for Related.

"That might be the single-biggest issue facing cities today - how do we provide housing for workers?" he said. "Cities are becoming the places for either the very poor, who get their rent subsidized, or the very rich. Few people can really afford $500,000 to $5 million condominiums So, are we defeating the purposes of cities? Because if you can't afford (to live downtown), you're not going to be close to your employment."

Perez said Related is working with different cities on affordability programs to fill the market gap.

"If we could build apartments at $300 per sq. ft. in downtown Miami, I'd sell them like hotcakes," he said. And, in fact, he has. A recent effort between Related and the city of Miami allowed public workers first shot at lofts selling in the $200-per-sq.-ft. range.

Perez said the units sold immediately. Since then, land and construction prices have shot up so dramatically that that price range is now history.

"We need to continue to work with government to find those alternatives that will make some of this housing available to the working folks," he added. "Affordable housing is really disappearing, and we are going to have a major problem. Prices have just driven up to the point where the middle class is just totally cut out of the housing market."

Expanding Empire

There are still plenty of luxury multifamily and mixed-use offerings in Perez' sight, however.

For instance, Related is going through the zoning processes now on an approximately 4-million-sq.-ft., mixed-use development in Atlanta's Buckhead area and is looking at a development site in downtown Jacksonville for a mixed-use project with luxury high-rise condos.

Building upon its successes already in the Fort Myers area, Related is also looking at waterfront developments in Tampa, Bradenton and Marco Island.

Again, Perez said it comes down to project impact.

"We're looking at important developments," he said. "And we're only attracted to developments that have a real impact on a city - and where we can establish an ongoing presence."

In short, Perez is looking to build a strong presence in Atlanta and elsewhere.

"We think Atlanta has a tremendous future growth potential, so it was a place we felt we wanted to be in a large way - not just doing a building, but sort of re-creating what we've done here in South Florida," he said. "That's what our attempt is - to establish a Related Company of Georgia or Atlanta."

But Perez still sees his home base of South Florida as the strongest market for the long-term future.

"We very strongly feel that South Florida is poised to be the highest-growing area in the country over the next 20 years," he added. "I think the immense demand that we have continues. There's going to be a correction at some point (because) too much has been announced. But once we get through that correction, we're going to have another period of great growth. People want to come to Florida."

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