The Paramount Bay condominium is a 47-story steel-and-glass cadaver. Conceived at the height of the real estate boom as another ultraluxury tower in a city that would soon be choking on them, it looms unfinished and unoccupied on Biscayne Bay.
The lobby is like a mortuary. There are no chandeliers on the three-story ceiling, no paintings on the walls. And there is nobody at the front desk to greet visitors. The only sound is the eerie gurgle of a 40-foot waterfall.
None of this deters Barry Sternlicht, the real estate investor who owns the building. "The bones," he says, gesturing around the room. "The bones are extraordinary!"
Mr. Sternlicht plans to transform Paramount Bay into a haven for wealthy buyers who will one day want to live here. But he concedes that the building's entrance needs work. "This looks like an abandoned property," he says. "We have to make it look like it's alive."
The pool area lacks something, too. "It needs a concept," he says, wrinkling his brow. He's not yet sure what that will be. But he knows this much: The bamboo trees adorning the entrance have to go. "We should put some wisteria or some vines over there," he says.
Then it's up to one of the top floors to admire the sweeping views from an empty unit. "Look at this," he says, pointing out the landmarks in the distance: South Beach, Key Biscayne and the downtown Miami skyline. "Someone is going to want to live here — someday."
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Source - New York Times
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