"We are down to about 20% inventory," Flores says. "We still have 37 units available out of the 224. We anticipate going into the next (tourism) season with optimism of selling out."

Although Flores didn't talk about specifics, industry sources tell GlobeSt.com the premium ranges from 1% to 2% above the standard fee. Instead of tying the incentives to the closing, sources also say Flagler Holding is offering to fast track broker payments.

"We're the only property where you can come in, sell it, close it out and get paid in less than six months," Flores acknowledges. "We're going into the close-out phase through December. So we're really trying to make a commitment to the brokerage community, since we so close to the end."

When it opens next year, Mutiny on the Park will represent the fruits of a two-phase $110-million redevelopment that included the $40-million conversion of the old Mutiny Hotel into a condominium hotel. Flagler Holding Group sold the Mutiny Hotel to a private investment group when it completed renovations in 1998.

The project that Ricardo Dunin executed as president of Flagler Holding Group could become one-of-a-kind, with the notable exception of Residences at Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, a condominium hotel project that is expected to open later this year at 3300 SW 27th Ave. It may be some time before a developer can overcome the scarcity of land in this suburban bayside hamlet.

"The biggest challenge in that area is assembling the land to build on," Sheldon Greene, a Miami-based hotel industry consultant, tells GlobeSt.com. "Coconut Grove is fairly built out. Assembling land is one of the most difficult jobs in the real estate world, and takes only one landowner to thwart development."

Then there is the question of assembling land in a community composed mostly of exclusive homes and large estates, notwithstanding its reputation as a haven for upscale retail shops. "There are questions of zoning that would have to be overcome," Greene says.

Meanwhile, Flores notes, Sonesta International Hotels Corp. is moving quickly to establish operations for the hotel component of Mutiny on the Park, 2996 McFarlane Road.

"They've done a lot of marketing of the property under the Sonesta Hotel & Resorts flag," Flores says. "Sonesta has hired a general manager, a director of sales and a director of programs. Existing buyers are now being introduced to the Sonesta program."

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