Boom or Bust: Miami

Jacobo Cababie is originally from Mexico City. His family founded GICSA–Mexico’s largest development firm. According to the Sun Post, he came to Miami in 2000 and started CABI Corp. Development. Cababie is a relative newcomer in the Miami development scene but has made some serious strides with high-quality projects in Aventura and Sunny Isles. His Turnberry projects have done quite well and cemented his reputation as a quality oriented builder. Since Cababie’s presence in Miami is an extension of his Mexico City/GICSA roots, it is important to briefly consider what GICSA has done in Mexico City and how his CABI Miami developments differ and/or compare.

GICSA’s Mexico City projects are not nearly as tall as CABI’s Miami projects. The tallest, according to Emporis, is Torre Reforma El Angel at 31 floors (430ft.) and the other GICSA towers are on average about 20 floors. The Mexico City projects are still modern looking with plenty of glass–a pattern one sees with CABI’s Turnberry projects. Still, when looking at the Mexico GICSA projects, there are little comparisons to draw. It seems that other than delving into Miami’s real estate market for profit, Mr. Cababie has also come into Miami to take his projects to impressive new heights.

CABI’s Miami developments are all two phase projects. The twin tower Turnberry Ocean Colony project (37 floors), although impressive in scope and luxury is not exactly eye catching in its design. The project blends in well with the surrounding landscape, has plenty of glass, and two stand out crowns, but again, there is no real attention grabbing architectural feature. The 22 floor Parc at Turnberry twin tower project is smaller in scale but retains a similar design to its Ocean Colony counterpart. CABI’s Turnberry Village project is a sprawling and attractive development but certainly not impressive in its design nor height. Still, these projects set the bar high for Mr. Cababie in Miami. He founded his local reputation off of them and they have provided a solid foundation for more expansive and high profile developments in and around Downtown Miami.

In the CBD, CABI Corp. finally put forward a serious, massive, well-designed high twin tower high rise development with Everglades on the Bay. The Fullerton-Diaz designed Everglades on the Bay towers are cosmopolitan looking and vibrant. The location of the project is superb and iconic. EOB will become an integral part of Miami’s skyline because of it. EOB has set a new and exciting precedent for CABI in Downtown Miami. The projects height exceeds all of GICSA’s Mexico developments. The lower base level of the project will have a large retail component that will contribute much needed new retail space to the CBD.

Still, as exciting as the EOB project is, it pales in comparison to CABI’s latest development; The Capital at Brickell. This refreshingly designed Chrysler Building-like twin tower development come from the drawing boards of Fullerton-Diaz. It seems Cababie was impressed with their Everglades on the Bay work. The Capital towers will be Cababie’s tallest to date at 56 and 52 floors (649ft & 607ft respectively). It is apparent that Jacobo Cababies developments are becoming increasingly tall and striking. His acquisitions have been varied from Aventura and Sunny Isles to the CBD and Brickell Village interior. Importantly, his profound reputation in Mexico City has probably carried with it a piece of the country’s market share. He has claimed that Miami is indeed quite the popular place in Mexico City. There is no doubt that CABI has sold significant bundles of units to Mexican buyers. His efforts not only beautify the skyline but enrich the city’s cultural fold with his foreign, mostly Mexican buyers. This is not to say that his buyers are exclusively Mexican, but given his success there, buyers are likely to follow him here. His reputation, at this point, has broad appeal. There will be much more to report of Jacobo Cababie’s Miami development activities in the near future.