Editor's Note: Southwest Ranches, Florida real estate expert and Haute Residence member Bento Queiroz talks about AKAI Estates, which he represents as the exclusive sales agent, in this exclusive Q&A.
What inspired the design of AKAI Estates?
The development team envisioned AKAI Estates to be a luxurious, ultramodern, private, residential haven for high-end living. The project offers chic cutting-edge amenities and customizable space tailored to the wants and needs of the owner. Vasco Vieira, the mastermind behind the design of AKAI, is the founder of Portugal-based firm Vasco Vieira Arquitectos and is internationally acclaimed for his notable projects throughout Europe. Vasco and his team were able to take this untouched 44-acre property and conceptualize the architecture of AKAI’s 16 signature luxury homes through five stunning model units.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
Vasco’s inspiration for the AKAI villas stemmed from his idea to create a new and exciting architectural experience by establishing a constant interaction between the interior and exterior spaces while also providing a sense of privacy to the resident. His understanding to flow the main living spaces flawlessly with exterior spaces creates a contemporary and tranquil residential environment like I’ve never seen before. Our developers also partnered with the Italian kitchen design brand minotticuccine to outfit the model homes for AKAI Estates. They are the perfect brand to transform the vision of AKAI’s design into reality.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
What is the demographic of this market? What does the ideal buyer for this property look for?
The COVID pandemic has stemmed change in real estate submarkets on a global scale. Due to this, a shift has occurred where city-dwellers are looking for safe havens in suburbs like Southwest Ranches, where AKAI Estates is located. Florida, in particular, has seen interest from buyers in the Northeast and the Midwest looking for homes with larger spaces where they can still enjoy the outdoors and the perks of good schools, restaurants, and international access. Even locally, residents are looking to relocate from high-rise condominiums and apartments within the city to suburban neighborhoods. The AKAI Estate’s buyer demographic appeals to those looking to get away from city life, and seek the safety, security, and tranquility of their own private domain during these unsettling times.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
Who will benefit the most from these residences? Why?
Suburban areas are rising in popularity across the country due to the COVID pandemic. People are looking to relocate their families and trade in their city condos or beach pads for large single-family estates. These villas benefit our migrating buyer demographic who want to get away from city life and seek the safety and security of their own customizable single-family home in a private enclave. We have also seen a big interest from buyers in high-tax states who are looking to move to projects like AKAI in Florida due to COVID’s shift to working-from-home. This shift is allowing families to relocate to a state like Florida, where the square footage of property is greater, more spread apart, and in a tropical setting.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
Tell us about the developer and architects behind AKAI Estates.
Alex Yokana, Jairo Vela, and Amos and Michael Sochaczevski are all developers with whom I have had the pleasure to work on AKAI Estates. They each have varied professional skills they bring to the table, making AKAI Estates a truly one-of-a-kind community. Alex Yokana is responsible for the planning, design, construction, management and sales of several commercial and residential projects in South Florida in excess of 1.5 million square feet. He is also a certified general contractor in the State of Florida and the founder and qualifier for Contempus Construction Company.
Amos and Michael Sochaczevski both started their careers in quite different fields. Amos’ first career was actually in the toy industry and Michael had varied management jobs running a newspaper, a golf course, and managing office buildings. They’re now both very successful in investing and real estate development.
Jairo Vela is an architect and co-founder of Axis, a coworking space in the heart of Fort Lauderdale.
Our architect, Vasco Vieira, is an internationally acclaimed architect known for his notable projects throughout Europe. Vasco is the founder of the Portugal-based firm Vasco Vieira Arquitectos.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
How does this project stand out in Southwest Ranches real estate?
AKAI Estate is the only new construction, private community to launch during this pandemic in Florida. Buyers are now purchasing homes without visiting the property due to the current travel restrictions. We are experiencing this even more at AKAI Estates, particularly because our estates are fully-customizable making it easier for the potential buyer to feel comfortable with their purchase.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
When will the estates be completed?
Each villa at AKAI Estates will be built as a unique curated experience. There are five different model homes that buyers can choose from, and from here they can customize their property by adding on any finishes and amenities that AKAI Estates provides. Each model home will be available for purchase at different times over the next few months. Estate A and Estate E were just launched in August and are currently available for reservation, Estate B is launching in late August 2020, Estate C is scheduled to be launched in September 2020 and Estate D is scheduled to launch in October 2020. Just recently, we have broken ground to begin construction of our sales center and we expect to break ground on our Model Residence E in the fall. This unit will be completely finished by the fall of 2021.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AKAI Estates
