Two of Miami's most prolific condo developers are placing their chips well beyond the city's skyline. Property Markets Group and KAR Properties, both fresh off record-setting construction loans in downtown Miami, are now building Waldorf Astoria-branded towers in Denver and St. Petersburg, while KAR pushes into Utah and even Iceland. It is not, both companies insist, a sign they are souring on Miami.
Why Miami's Builders Are Looking Elsewhere
Speaking on a panel at the Real Estate Forum held at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center on Thursday, PMG managing partner Dan Kaplan said the firm's expansion reflects opportunity-seeking rather than retreat. As reported by The Real Deal, Kaplan said PMG is developing outside Miami because it sees openings in other markets, not because it is bearish on its home turf, framing the move as a recognition that “there are a lot of products” rather than a lack of confidence in South Florida. The panel, moderated by Keith Larsen, the outlet's senior reporter and investigations editor, also featured KAR Properties CEO Shahab S. Karmely.
Miami itself remains a tough market to build in, with land scarcity, high construction costs and an expanding development pipeline all factors cited in the discussion. Against that backdrop, PMG is now developing Waldorf Astoria Residences projects in both Denver and St. Petersburg, while KAR is developing separate projects in Utah and Iceland, according to the same panel discussion.
Cherry Creek's Condo Tower Takes Shape
The Denver project, a Waldorf Astoria tower in the Cherry Creek neighborhood, traces back to 2021, when developers bought the land at 185 Steele St. for $18.75 million, per the Denver Gazette. Construction formally broke ground at a groundbreaking celebration on Nov. 19, 2025, with the building planned to hold 37 condominiums — 65% of which had already sold by the time of that report. The Gazette noted the project's reported completion timeline is the first quarter of 2028.
But building in Denver has not been simple. Kaplan told the panel that construction costs there rival New York City's, and that the subcontractor pool “isn't great.” He said projects can take longer in the market because there aren't enough people to build them, and the broader article noted that finding contractors and lenders in new markets can be difficult for developers entering unfamiliar territory. Those on-the-ground complaints line up with harder numbers: nonresidential construction costs in the Denver area rose 6.84% over the past year and 1.37% in the latest quarter, according to Mortenson's Construction Cost Index as reported by ColoradoBiz. Denver construction employment averaged 21,200 workers in the first half of 2026, up 4% from the same period a year earlier, and some electrical equipment like transformers and high-voltage circuit breakers has faced procurement lead times exceeding two years.
St. Petersburg Tower Already Topping $200 Million in Sales
On Florida's west coast, PMG's other Waldorf Astoria project is taking shape in downtown St. Petersburg as a planned 50-story tower with 163 luxury condominiums, an approximately $500 million development according to St. Pete Rising. The project was announced in June 2024 and approved by the St. Petersburg City Council later that year. If the schedule holds, the outlet reports the tower is expected to be completed in 2030, and the project had already surpassed $200 million in sales earlier in the month covered by that report.
Kaplan pointed to the Waldorf Astoria brand itself as a selling tool in markets where buyers are more accustomed to single-family homes than condo towers. He said branded projects have pushed buyers to make a decision that “15 to 20 years ago, they might otherwise not have considered,” framing the brand as a way to overcome resistance to condo living outside Miami.
KAR's Playbook: From Hallandale Beach to Reykjavik
KAR Properties built its Miami-area track record with 2000 Ocean, a 38-story, 64-unit residential building in Hallandale Beach that the firm completed in late 2021, per the panel discussion covered by The Real Deal. After finishing that project, KAR closed on a $128 million condo inventory loan. More recently, KAR Properties and Fortune International Group scored an $817 million construction loan from private lender Tyko Capital for Faena Residences Miami, a deal described as the largest condo construction loan ever in Florida.
Karmely told the panel he chooses projects based on whether he would want to live in and help design the location himself, and he said entrepreneurs must persist through criticism and setbacks. KAR's current push into Utah and Iceland follows that same instinct to find new ground, even as the firm continues building in South Florida.
Betting on the Next Market, Not Chasing the Last One
PMG's own Miami pipeline has kept pace with its outside bets. The firm and its partners landed a $668 million construction loan for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences in downtown Miami in 2024, and PMG secured a $413 million construction loan for One Twenty Brickell Residences last year. Kaplan said PMG builds where it expects a margin and actively seeks out new development opportunities rather than sitting still.
Kaplan also acknowledged that entering each new market comes with trial and error, a process he described as part of expanding into unfamiliar territory. “We don't want to be the guys chasing the market,” he said. “We want to be the guys figuring out what the next market is going to be.”
