Restaurateur Myles Chefetz buys at Three Hundred Collins

Myles Chefetz, a rendering of Three Hundred Collins and Jason Halpern

Myles Chefetz, the celebrity restaurateur behind such South-of-Fifth hotspots as Prime 112 and Prime Italian, has signed a contract to buy a $3 million townhome at Three Hundred Collins, The Real Deal has learned.

Developer Jason Halpern, founder of JMH Development, told TRD that Chefetz walked into Three Hundred Collins’ sales center and signed a deal for one of project’s planned four townhomes.

“When he pursued it, it showed that someone like Myles is interested in buying,” Halpern said. “He is a pioneer and contributed greatly to the South-of-Fifth lifestyle.”

Halpern’s New York-based JMH Development’s luxury boutique condominium, at 300 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, marks prominent architect Thomas Juul-Hansen’s first Miami residential project.

Chefetz said he wasn’t looking to buy, but when he went into the sales office, he was “overwhelmed by the design.” The five-story building is a block away from his corporate office, and he can see the site from his window.

“It’s a real interesting, hip project,” Chefetz told TRD. “I love the finishes. I love the design and I love the townhome living, indoor/outdoor. It’s like owning a home within a condominium.”

Chefetz’s three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath townhome will have 2,397 square feet of indoor space and 2,932 square feet of outdoor space. Its features include nearly 19-foot ceilings, a great room, a den, and wrap-around rear yard, Halpern said.

When completed in 2017, Three Hundred Collins will have one-to-four bedroom units, ranging from 995 square feet to more than 3,700 square feet, priced from $1.7 million to more than $9 million. Units will be outfitted with white oak floors, stone finishes and floor-to-ceiling windows, the developer said. The property’s amenities will include a fitness center, valet and 24-hour attended lobby with personal service, plus a rooftop area with a 75-foot saltwater pool and hot tub.

The project opened its sales center in October and is more than 50 percent sold. Construction will begin in February 2016, Halpern said.

Chefetz has lived in the South-of-Fifth neighborhood since 1994, first buying at South Pointe Towers. In May 2013, he sold his penthouse at Ocean House to leveraged buyout king Marc Leder for $15 million. Since then, he said he has been renting at the Continuum, and also owns a home on the Venetian Islands in Miami Beach.

The restaurateur has launched a slew of restaurants in South of Fifth, including Nemo, Big Pink, Shoji, Prime 112, Prime Italian and Prime Fish. He also owns the Prime Hotel.

“I always loved this area to live and to work,” Chevetz told TRD. “It was quieter.”

He views the interior of South-of-Fifth, where Three Hundred Collins is located, as the next wave of development.

“I like getting involved in a project from the ground up,” he said. I love to build things and go from plan to fruition to completion.”