(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

MIAMI-Seven years ago Mehmet Bayraktar, chairman and CEO of Flagstone Property Group, was invited to Watson Island by the City of Miami, which was looking to plan a marina on the site that sits just off the MacArthur Causeway between Downtown and Miami Beach. Last week, Bayraktar celebrated an event he has been waiting for since 2001: the groundbreaking of Island Gardens, a $640 million mixed-use yachting resort on the island.

Island Gardens, to be developed and owned by Flagstone, will be built on a 24-acre site owned by the city adjacent to the Miami Children's Museum. The development is set to feature two towers and 221,000 sf of retail space. The first tower will house a 150-room Shangri-La Hotel and 98 luxury fractional residences to be managed by Shangri-La Hotels.

"We are selling a one-eighth fractional ownership that allows buyers to have 45 days per year of usage," says Philip C. Freedman, Flagstone's vice president of residential sales. Pricing starts at $215,000 for a 1,200-sf, one-bedroom unit and goes up to $850,000 for a 3,770-sf, four-bedroom unit. Freedman believes the units will sell, even during tough economic times. "There are 267 fractional clubs worldwide," he explains. "Last year they accounted for $2.6 billion in sales, and the year before was $2.1 billion. Sales have consistently gone up 20 to 30%, and we have 141 fractions sold to date," he adds.