Why Branded Luxury Condos Hold More Value | Sadek Omar

Sadek Omar (00:00)
luxury is not about saying you’re providing something, it’s about anticipating what you need. Because at the end of the day,

I can say we’re luxury all day long. It doesn’t mean anything. When you’re living in the building, it’s if someone can adhere and anticipate what you would like or what you need, that’s what I find luxurious beyond whether that’s real marble or this is real granite or that’s an R value that’s unheard of, or this is, you know, a glass tint that’s different or unique, or this HVAC system is super efficient. Those things are provided as standard. The things that are luxury is how we treat people one-on-one, peer-to-peer, every single day.

Dylan Silver (02:06)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today we’re joined by Sadek Omar, who is the managing principal of complex projects at Jebcore Companies, where he oversees the development of large scale mixed use and luxury residential projects. Sadek, thanks for joining us here today.

Sadek Omar (02:22)
Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.

Dylan Silver (02:24)
⁓ we were talking in the green room about the Waldorf Astoria residences in Sarasota. What was the vision behind ⁓ that project?

Sadek Omar (02:34)
Well, you know, I think it’s twofold. First and foremost, when you look at Sarasota as a market, it is very unique. Geographically has, you know, beautiful downtown on the waterfront. And then holistically it has all these amenities,

For us, luxury is not about saying you’re providing something, it’s about anticipating what you need. Because at the end of the day,

I can say we’re luxury all day long. It doesn’t mean anything. When you’re living in the building, it’s if someone can adhere and anticipate what you would like or what you need, that’s what I find luxurious beyond whether that’s real marble or this is real granite or that’s an R value that’s unheard of, or this is, you know, a glass tint that’s different or unique, or this HVAC system is super efficient. Those things are provided as standard. The things that are luxury is how we treat people one-on-one, peer-to-peer, every single day.

it has so much to offer.

And so ultimately when you think about what it may be missing, certainly there’s a lot of luxury development that’s going on within the market. But within the downtown market, we wanted to find something that was a benchmark for luxury. And so we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to acquire and ultimately partner on one of the most important sites within the downtown market. And so we had to find the right catalyst for that site.

So when we were able to look at that site holistically and then things that we were studying within the market, it really fit. Waldorf Astoria has a lot of history with luxury. It is some would say some one of the most important brands that established luxury and hospitality. And so it was a it was a match made in heaven. And so we worked really hard and we tried to to talk to a few brands and ultimately we decided to go with the Waldorf Astoria

Dylan Silver (04:14)
⁓ on a granular level, what did the scope of this project look like? I’m assuming there was a pre existing site there, or was it a ground up development? And then what was the timeline from, you know, breaking ground to completion?

Sadek Omar (04:26)
You know, ⁓ the site was not sort of very ⁓ simple to deal with. The site currently has a twelve story office building on it. This office building has been there for about fifty years. And the office building is basically a concrete structure with very little character. It’s an you know old world architecture that’s very absolutist, but we ⁓ we tried to see through that. And so when we acquired it, we ended up acquiring an adjacent site as well.

To expand the footprint. And so the timeline will have a large part in the demolition of the actual structure, which I will tell you. We’re currently in the demolition process of light demo of the interiors, taking out all the soft stuff that’s in the building, carpet, ceiling, towel, et cetera, getting it prepared for the actual demo. The demo process will take about eight months overall. And from start to finish, focusing on interiors throughout, we have our engineers.

working currently on the demolition process because as you go, we we do have a subterranean floor, which is unusual for this part of Florida, but we want to create a parking experience for our commercial, commercial portion of the building. So when you look at it all and all, engineering’s ongoing, permitting’s are are ongoing currently, it’s I think eight months to demo and then thereafter we will start construction. And we target a twenty twenty nine delivery.

Dylan Silver (05:46)
Now, for for folks who are unfamiliar, we were talking in the green room, a lot of condos in Florida, right? So these are all billed to sell, is that right?

Sadek Omar (06:41)
That is correct. There’s 86 units in the building, all for sale. ⁓ you know, it’s an interesting notion. We hear this all the time that condos in Sarasota, condos in Florida, condos are booming, condos are maybe facing some headwinds, right? Certainly there are headwinds. And we have been very active in that space in the last five or six years. But when you look at it holistically, what we now believe more so than anything is quality rises to the top, right? So if you have a really thoughtful business plan.

And you have a really thoughtful experience for the end user, not just plopping a you know a building on a random plot and you know, it’s gonna sell eventually, right? We don’t have that mentality. And we believe that our competition ⁓ you know, may be more ⁓ sort of haphazard with some of their analysis. We think that when we develop a condo, we wanna have a story behind it, why it’s there, what’s its purpose, who’s it actually serving? And so, you know, I don’t think

⁓ two condos are alike, and certainly there’s a lot of condominium projects, but maybe there’s not a lot of the right condominium project, which we hope we’re seen as one of the right ones.

Dylan Silver (07:44)
Is there a projected demographic? You know, are these gonna be folks that are working in in the greater urban sprawl of Tampa, or are these folks that are gonna be, you know, living and working in Sarasota? And you know, for folks who may not be familiar, is Sarasota considered part of that urban sprawl or is it something, you know, a separate entity entirely?

Sadek Omar (08:05)
You I think that’s probably the hardest question for me to ever, you know, relate to anyone who who asks me the question to make them understand, especially if they’re not local. Sarasota’s downtown market is actually very robust. It’s fun, it’s lively. It has every demographic you can think of, from 22-year-olds who are you know having their first nights out in in bars to seven-year-olds who are having a nice wine dinner in one of the fine establishments in downtown. So when you look at it, it’s it’s really a medley of everyone. For our building specifically.

You know, we could have priced our building, you know, in the f high threes to fours to start with larger footprints. We were very sort of specific with our thought process. We believe that there’s a large section of the community who would like to live in a very nice building in the heart of downtown. And so we decided to have some smaller sized units to afford the luxury for anyone who has interest in being there, but maybe doesn’t want to leave their home, or maybe they just want to.

P to tear, or whatever reason they might come up with. So, you know, we start with small units that are really in the mid two starting point for one bedroom, which is unusual for branded luxury. And then, of course, some of the more elaborate units rise up into the tens of millions of dollars. Fortunately for us, we’ve seen really strong sales to legitimize our sort of thoughts. And the sales have been sort of a medley of all of the above, right? So we’ve sold some of the smaller units, we’ve sold some of the big ones, and we sold some of the penthouses. So

All in all, we feel like the business plan is actually, you know, working out. It’s it’s being executed correctly and the traction is following the the the dream that we had. So ⁓ I would say for our building specifically, there’s not one singular demographic. It’s a little bit of everyone, but ⁓ for sure it seems to be more people who who want services, who want luxury and who want who actually want surety of experience.

So, right, when you have a brand that you partner with in your buildings, what that affords buyers beyond the cachet of a brand, just the name, they operate and manage their the building with the standards of hospitality that Hilton Worldwide would do for any of their hotels. And that comes with requirements that are brand standards that we have to provide to our owners in perpetuity. So

It’s not like a developer can look at someone and say, come to the Waldorf Astoria, buy a buy a residence, and then you know, we’ll see what happens with HOA. That doesn’t work for the Waldorf Astoria. It has to follow the same brand standards that they’re signing up the day they purchased. So it gives buyers certainty that that’s going to happen. And all in all, ⁓ it’s really buyers who do want a little bit above than just, you know, the standard condominium living living, which is, you know, lock your door and

⁓ leave and maybe talk to concierge once a while. This is going to be a very family experience where the you know you should know the staff. You should know they’re going to know your preferences. They’re going to know what you think about, what you like, what you don’t like, how you want to be greeted, where you want your luggage to go, or whether it’s your orders or your dry cleaning, where does it get put in the in the we have a concierge closet that’s in the laundry rooms of of the units that are accessible from both sides. The concierge team will easily put their belonging your belongings in that closet. So

All these curated experiences we think are are really why it’s gonna transcend the market.

Dylan Silver (11:51)
There’s also an element too of when you’re talking about a branded condo, branded luxury, this is gonna help it appreciate more so than non-branded competitors, especially, you know, when folks are factoring into the arithmetic, you know, what do I buy? Where do I buy? You know, do I purchase, you know, a home with land? Do I get a condo? Branded luxury has a strong case for get the condo because this is gonna appreciate more than a standard condo would.

Sadek Omar (12:16)
Yeah, you know, you nailed it. And it’s actually kind of goes hand in hand with the surety of experience, right? When you buy a luxury branded product, certainly it comes with a premium. It’s an expensive acquisition, generally speaking. But when you look at it, it’s giving someone who may want to sell in the future the same surety that they’re going to experience a great building, whether it’s the first buyer or the second buyer. Now, to add to that, as a philosophy for us and our company, we really try to leave some meat on the bone for the

Buyers who buy early with us. We want them to feel like there’s a value proposition. And so we actually end up building relationships with all of our buyers, whether it’s at the edge, which we’re delivering in a few months, or it’s at the Waldorf Astoria We know, I personally know the buyer’s first name basis and we spend time together. At the end of the day, you’re selling someone their home. And it’s a it’s a responsibility that we take rather seriously. It’s not selling a bill of goods that’s, hey, you bought good luck to you. You know, we’ll talk when it delivers.

It’s not because ultimately the feedback that we hear, whether during the acquisition process, whether during its post-acquisition and feedback and thoughts, that’s all valuable. That’s information that is really important to take into consideration. For instance, this morning I got a a text message about a buyer’s current residence, how they don’t have any water treatment facilities in their existing building. And after 10 years, their main lines are basically clogged with all sorts of contaminants, right?

So he’d message just to say, hey, by the way, what what do you guys think about for this? And I said, Well, funny bring this up. If ⁓ if you look on our plans, here’s a picture. We already have a water treatment facility in our building. So all these little nuanced things are what we enjoy doing. This is the fun of selling and being a developer and enjoying rewarding someone with something like their home after, you know, a long wait period. It’s it’s not a it’s not a you know, it’s a serious undertaking for everyone.

Dylan Silver (13:59)
Now, when folks are purchasing these properties pre construction, what is that process like? And i are they familiar with the the process or is this new to a lot of folks who are, you know, considering purchasing?

Sadek Omar (14:13)
You know, it’s a mixed bag, right? So some people have had a lot of experience. They know exactly what to ask and what not to ask, and they know what to look for and what not to look for. ⁓ but whether you’re a first-time buyer of a condominium or not, ⁓ I think it really becomes a people business. So doing business with people that you know, that you can talk to, that you can understand and sit with and talk through concerns, then they were all humans, right? We’re not robots. I don’t care if you bought a one bedroom or you bought the biggest penthouse I have. If you call me with a problem, it’s not gonna be like

Here’s the contract, you signed it, good luck. It’s a conversation. And at the edge, of course, which we have an example to provide, is we’ve had a lot of buyers that had numerous issues, whether some we let them, you know, leave the property without foul or ⁓ we end up working out something that ha allowed them to stay. we think that it’s all always about the people. ⁓ and that’s a reputation we hold very dearly to us.

Dylan Silver (15:05)
I wanna ⁓ pivot a bit here, Sadek can ask you about the elements of branded luxury. For for folks that are not familiar, what specific ⁓ you know amenities or if that’s not the right word, you know, what specific aesthetic ⁓ is going to coincide with branded luxury versus, you know, another luxury property that’s not branded.

Sadek Omar (16:08)
Yeah, another another great question. So when you undertake a a branded luxury project, there’s about a 300-page book that’s the brand standards that will cover everything from material choices to sand attenuation requirements to ⁓ operating staff procedures. You you run the gamut, right? Across all these multidisciplinary items, there’s a comment that says, We accept this, we do not accept that. And so

For us, ⁓ when you’re comparing yourself to to your peers, first and foremost, we’re starting off with this huge book that helps identify all the things that they’ve learned over tens of years that will, you know, will provide the essence of luxury, let’s say. But then more important than that is the people who you’re going to interact with every day have been trained to understand how to anticipate your needs.

For us, luxury is not about saying you’re providing something, it’s about anticipating what you need. Because at the end of the day,

I can say we’re luxury all day long. It doesn’t mean anything. When you’re living in the building, it’s if someone can adhere and anticipate what you would like or what you need, that’s what I find luxurious beyond whether that’s real marble or this is real granite or that’s an R value that’s unheard of, or this is, you know, a glass tint that’s different or unique, or this HVAC system is super efficient. Those things are provided as standard. The things that are luxury is how we treat people one-on-one, peer-to-peer, every single day.

And so that’s where we really, you know, get excited about the experience, because that’s what we’re going to focus on is how you live in the home. And so when we developed the building, we thought of every nook and cranny. And what was remarkable with the team that we worked with at the at Waldorf Astoria was beyond the standards, which really were easy to adhere to, right? It’s a set of principles that you follow. But it was the thoughtfulness of the floor plans and the thoughtfulness of the design team that beyond our consultants, which we have 30 different groups, beyond our experience.

We have people who sit every day who analyze residential developments and hotel developments every day to make sure we’re thinking about how everything flows. There’s a lot of things you can lose sight of, whether it’s trash or elevators or service access or maintenance. All these things we sat there and thought of. We even sat there and thought of when someone walks into their unit, how do they pause? Where do they put their keys? What do you see when you’re walk work or when you’re going into a living area or a kitchen? God forbid.

you see inside someone’s bedroom. That is an absolute no-go, right? So like there’s all these nuanced details that were very fun to explore in this undertaking and I think will yield a result where people are like, Yeah, this just works. You know, at the end of the day we feel good here.

Dylan Silver (18:39)
Now this branded luxury space, is this something that is growing? Is this obviously it’s been around for you know, it’s not brand new, but I’ve seen more of it. Is this expanding?

Sadek Omar (18:49)
For sure, right? If you look at a my market like Miami, if you don’t have a brand, you basically don’t do the project, it seems like, because now I think it’s sort of gonna maybe turn the other way, where you’ve had so many brands that, in my opinion, may not have anything to do with hospitality. And I’ll spare you my thoughts on which brands those are. But at the end of the day, for us as our and for our company, when we’re looking at a branded residential project, we wanna find something that will create value for the person who is occupying that space.

I don’t know if every brand provides that. And so we’re very, you know, we have a very small shortlist of who we really like. ⁓ and we talk to them often. We we we’re very appreciative of our brand partners. But at the end of the day, it’s certainly expanding rapidly. What I hope doesn’t happen is it loses its allure and it loses its value proposition. But I think ultimately will happen is the best will rise to the top, the people who really understand it and do it and take care of their owners and their clients, and then the rest will sort of be tangential and

really will probably fade out. So the noise always gets sort of dissipated. The best will rise. And then ultimately I think it’s going to probably reverse at some point where, you know, the idea of a brand isn’t that, you know, exciting for people. And we’ll find out how that goes in the next 10 or 20 years. But for now, brands are a staple because it gives people an identity and a surety of experience. If you choose the right brand, it gives you a requirement that if this building will have my name on it, aka Waldorf Astoria these are things that are will n will never be compromised.

And that’s important to buyers when you’re spending millions of dollars on a home.

Dylan Silver (20:15)
Do you see this, you know, branded luxury and and d condo development as a whole expanding into some other markets where maybe population is less dense and there’s more available land? Or do you think that, you know, it really is predicated upon there being a shortage of of land in a in a high density population?

Sadek Omar (20:34)
You know, I think it’s gonna adapt. I don’t think you’re gonna find high rise developments in non-dense populated densely populated areas. I will say that there’s gonna be offerings that we’re a part of and we’re underwriting and understanding right now that are experiential sort of developments that maybe require more space and maybe they’re not high rises, maybe they’re low rises, maybe they’re villas. I think

I think at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the product is, it’s the experience and the surety of experience. I think those are things that govern. And as long as someone believes in the development team and the brand, you’ll always have a better opportunity to sell. If you you know sort of try to align with a company that does not have ⁓ those pillars really figured out, I don’t see it rapidly growing to s other subsections. I think

A lot of the brands that are following the trend are doing it in densely popular markets and they probably will not expand much further. I think the best ones will continue to evolve their product for many different sort of varieties of owners.

Dylan Silver (21:31)
We are coming up on time here, Sadek. ⁓ anything you’d like to mention directly to our audience?

Sadek Omar (21:36)
Well, I think I wanted to say thank you so much for tuning in and giving me the opportunity to talk about our project. I think if you’re looking for the, you know, West Coast of Florida, you know, developments and you’re interested in learning more, please reach out. My email is [email protected] And more importantly, ⁓ I’m excited to share all the amazing things that we put in our building. ⁓ more specifically, the amenities are probably the most unreal amenities you’ve ever seen. So

It’s fun for me to talk about. So if anyone has any questions, please reach out.