Ugo Colombo (real estate developer)

Ugo Colombo
Nationality Italian
Alma mater University of Miami
Occupation Real Estate Developer, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist

Ugo Colombo (Milan, 2 March 1961) is an Italian-born residential and commercial real estate developer in Miami, Florida.[1]

Early life

Colombo was born in Milan, Italy on March 2, 1961. He was schooled in a Lausanne, Switzerland boarding school and spent two years working for his father’s industrial empire. He came to the US in 1983 and attended the University of Miami.[2][3][4][5]

Real estate

Ugo Colombo's real estate career began when he acquired and resold a group of foreclosed units from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.[6][7] He then formed his company CMC Group, which focused on the management of distressed real estate in Miami. His company then entered the design and construction industry with a focus on high-rise luxury condominium buildings on Brickell Avenue in Miami, as well as in Aventura and Miami Beach. The first building venture he was a part of was the Villa Regina in Brickell, Miami. One of the next buildings he built was the 1992 Bristol Tower on the same avenue, which cost $80 million. He is also the founder of Glasswall, which creates impact-resistant glass for use in high-rise buildings,[8][5][9] including hurricane-proof glass.[10]

The Bristol Tower was one of the first buildings added to the Miami skyline in fifteen years when it was developed.[4] Colombo has stated that he uses glass and metal in his buildings as opposed to concrete for aesthetic reasons.[5] One of his buildings, the 54-story Santa Maria condominium in Miami, was the tallest American building constructed south of New York City when it was completed in the 1990s.[9] In 2003 Colombo partnered with the developers of a new hotel to replace the Dupont Plaza Hotel in Miami.[11] Colombo’s most recent developments include Epic Residences and Hotel, a 55-story luxury condominium and hotel at the mouth of the Miami River in downtown Miami, and Grovenor House, a 166-unit luxury condominium project completed in 2006 of Miami’s Coconut Grove community.[12]

In partnership with Portman Holdings, Colombo’s CMC Group was one of two groups bidding to redevelop Miami Beach’s aging convention center complex.[13] The project was later investigated due to concerns of bid rigging and Colombo was cleared of any wrongdoing.[12][14] At the end of May, 2014 Ugo Colombo established a joint venture with Moscow-based Vladislav Doronin to develop a number of luxury residential real estate projects in Miami, the first of which is called Brickell Flatiron with artist Julian Schnabel.[15][16] In 2014 Colombo sold an undeveloped parcel of land along the Miami River for $125 million, which he had originally purchased for $25 million in 2006.[17]

The Collection

In 1994, Colombo acquired The Collection, a seven-franchise luxury automotive dealership. Colombo bought The Collection after it had been seized by the U.S. government during a drug prosecution case against his ex-racing partner, Armando “Mandy" Fernandez.[18][19]

Personal life

Ugo Colombo is married to Sara Colombo, who owns the interior design shop NEST in Miami, which specializes in luxury interiors. They have two children together.[8][5][8][5] The two have also held charitable events in their home, including art auctions in support of Best Buddies International and the Brandt Foundation.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Ugo Colombo". Daily Motion. Retrieved 5 June 2014. Ugo Colombo is a Miami residential and commercial real estate developer.
  2. ↑ "Biography of Ugo Colombo". Ugo Colombo. Retrieved 5 June 2014. Born in 1961 in Milan, Italy, Mr. Colombo came to the United States in 1983.
  3. ↑ Ugo Stakes His Claim
  4. 1 2 Life for Miami Real Estate Business Has Not Been All Play
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Epic Miami Overview
  6. ↑ Nordheimer, Jon (20 February 1996). "Nesting Beyond the Snowbirds;Foreigners Flock to Miami's Luxury Condominiums". The New York Times. p. 1.
  7. ↑ NORDHEIMER, JON (February 20, 1996). "Nesting Beyond the Snowbirds;Foreigners Flock to Miami's Luxury Condominiums". New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2014. He started snapping up unsold condos auctioned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
  8. 1 2 3 Haute 100 Miami
  9. 1 2 Miami Today profile
  10. ↑ Trendsetters
  11. ↑ Miami Developer to Erect Condo Towers on Site of Former Hotel
  12. 1 2 Smiley, David Developer tangled in Miami Beach convention center probe, Miami Herald, retrieved on 21 February 2013
  13. ↑ Oscar Pedro Musibay (Dec 7, 2012). "Miami Beach could shortlist top convention center developers". South Florida Business Journal.
  14. ↑ Smiley, David Developer cleared in Miami Beach convention center bidding probe, Miami Herald, retrieved on 21 February 2013
  15. ↑ "Veteran Developers, Ugo Colombo and Vladislav Doronin, Establish Joint Venture to Actively Develop Miami Luxury Residential Real Estate Projects". The Wall Street Journal. May 28, 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014. Ugo Colombo's CMC Group Inc. and international real estate developer Vladislav Doronin, chairman and founder of Moscow-based Capital Group, announced they have entered into a joint venture agreement to develop significant new projects in Miami's downtown Brickell area on land they own jointly.
  16. ↑ Using Artists to Sell Condos in Miami and New York
  17. ↑ http://online.wsj.com/articles/condo-builders-fuel-land-rush-in-miami-1406052941?KEYWORDS=robbie+whelan
  18. ↑ Lyons, David (May 6, 1994). "Racing Buddy of Jailed Owner Bids for His Florida Car Dealership". Miami Herald. Knight Ridder.
  19. ↑ Francisco Alvarado (October 13, 2005). "Miami: See it like a drug dealer". Miami New Times.
  20. ↑ http://hauteliving.com/2013/12/best-buddies-art-friendship-auction-raises-nearly-1-million/425481/#slide-3
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