CORPORATE BRANDING THE CABI CORP.

A Mexican success story
How Cabi Developers spice up Miami real estate developments with their
proven recipe for success


When Cabi Developers, the US subsidiary of one of Mexico’s largest developers, chose Miami as the base of their “El Norte” expansion plan, they couldn’t have chosen a better locale. In the past few decades, Miami the ‘magic city’ has certainly lived up to its moniker, especially when it comes to fostering business successes from companies originating from Latin America and the Caribbean. Overall, the multi-dimensional, multi-cultural region of South Florida has proven fertile ground for these international businesses, and our ever-increasingly multi-ethnic residents of the area are responding well to businesses that are appreciative of and familiar with their diverse cultural background.

With the recent announcement that Capital at Brickell - Cabi Developers’s latest monumental project in the heart of live, work and play Brickell – has commenced converting its reservations to contract, the company has clearly earned its place as a major player in the South Florida real estate industry. Clearly, Cabi’s success story is more than ‘environmental’. The company’s achievements are results of years of careful and visionary planning, in addition to much dedicated hard work.

GICSA, the parent company of Cabi Developers, is a major Mexican developer which boasts a lengthy portfolio of luxury residential and commercial buildings, along with several modern industrial parks. A central component of GICSA’s business is its major shopping centers and retail complexes that house some of the world’s finest retail tenants such as Fendi, Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli and Hugo Boss.

Major GICSA projects include: 30-story Esmeralda, Mexico’s first high-rise office building with major US corporations as tenants. La Isla, a 300,000 square-foot mall on 20 acres in Cancun, which won an International Council of Shopping Centers Award for best design. GICSA also pioneered a new concept in retail shopping centers by incorporating pedestrian-friendly destinations with culture and entertainment as an integral part of the design. Las Plazas Outlet is Mexico’s first outlet mall and Punta Langosta is a cruise terminal combined with its own retail and entertainment complex.
Jacobo Cababie, one of three brothers from the founding family, relocated to Miami in 2000 and formed Cabi Developers. Under his tutelage, Cabi has quickly emerged as a dominant player in South Florida’s real estate industry.

Some of Cabi’s earlier projects in Miami include The Parc at Turnberry Isle and Country Club Center in Aventura, the former, a high-end condo, completed and moved-in, and the latter, a commercial building in the City of Excellence.

In 2004, Cabi helped spearhead the revitalization of Miami’s business core. The first project there is the 849-unit Everglades on the Bay, which generated major news coverage when the historic Everglades Hotel was imploded on its site.

In planning the two 49-story towers that are just starting to rise at 244 Biscayne Boulevard, Cabi Developers wanted to capitalize on their expertise in retail development and combine it with their propensity for well-designed residential projects. Since its official launch, Everglades on the Bay has received an overwhelming enthusiastic reception from the City of Miami as well as buyers from both near and far.

Not a company that would rest on its laurels, Cabi focused its creative energy on Capital at Brickell, a lavish, cosmopolitan development that embodies the urban lifestyle in look and feel. With its two residential towers rising 57 and 53 stories above ground, and unique and contemporary architecture, the building is reminiscent of New York’s classic skyscrapers such as The Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. When complete, the two towers will incorporate 846 condominium residences, with studios, lofts, one, two and three-bedroom residences, as well as sky-level lofts. The development will also include an office-condo component containing more than 97,000 square feet of Class-A office space. In addition, more than 47,000 square feet of retail space will be appointed for fine dining, fashionable shops and service-oriented business.

The same Cabi/GICSA philosophy will apply when it comes to anchoring the building with choice boutiques and restaurants. As sales of Capital at Brickell residences progress swiftly and the reservations are converting to contracts, the retail spaces are being snatched up quickly as well. Many buyers of other Cabi developments - Mexican nationals who are familiar with Cabi’s standards - are expressing interest in this new venture. But, as details of the unique features of Capital at Brickell begin to spread, the base of support grows and multiplies to include many local, as well as European buyers. In a community such as South Florida, good news travel quickly.

“Miami has been absolutely wonderful to us,” Cababie said. “And we look forward to extend and enlarge that base, in South Florida as well as other parts of the United States.” The ‘magic city’ of Miami has certainly cast a spell on Cabi Developers, or is it the other way around?