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Private Luxury Storage Space Hits Miami

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You have a growing car collection and you live in a high-rise condo on Miami’s Ocean Avenue with only two parking spaces. Naturally, you don’t want to store a $500,000 Ferrari in the salty sea air, so what do you do?

Answer: build your own luxury storage facility.

That’s exactly what Juan Manuel Fayen did. The Miami businessman and second-generation race car driver had been buying up parking spaces at his office building to store his expanding collection of exotic and vintage cars when he realized that there was a need for private, customized luxury storage space.

“I began to talk with other car collectors like myself, and I realized I wasn’t alone,” he recalls Fayen, whose father, Lino Fayen, raced cars in France and South America. I wanted to create a place where collectors both store and display everything from their cars to fine wines, rare art and other prized possessions. From there, the idea for Collection Suites was born.”

Fayen wasted no time. He purchased a plot of land in the city of Doral about 14 miles outside of Miami Beach and quickly got to work developing a 300,000 square-foot complex from the ground up that could serve as private collection space. Launched only two months ago, Collection Suites is comprised of 38 units, ranging in size from 2,044 to 2,507 square feet. The units can be customized and combined to create larger display spaces up to 5,000 square feet, which Fayen has done with his own space. Prices start in the upper $600,000s and can go as high as $1.5 million if two spaces are combined.

“When I first heard about the concept of luxury storage spaces, I was skeptical,” says Alec String of Coldwell Banker Commercial in Florida who is the exclusive listing agent for Collection Suites. “I’m a car guy and when I toured the building for the first time, it was a wow moment. Inside, the units are like art galleries and are truly state-of-the-art. You can open the garage door from a cell phone app. They’re incredible to see.”

The Collection Suites come appointed with bathrooms and kitchenettes plus a wealth of luxury finishes, Italian finished cabinets, security system, LED lighting, black or white Italian ceramic floors, Swiss wood floors, modern concrete wall finishes, top-of-the-line appliances, a fully integrated entertainment system and air conditioning with CO2 emission alert, as well as humidity control. “For the collector, it’s important to have the best quality systems to preserve your possessions,” says Fayen.

Because they are built in concrete, the units are also hurricane protected. Owners don’t have to worry about security either — there is on-site management, security gate and guards on duty. There is even a concierge service that provides vehicle pick up and drop offs.

“A concierge app will cater your party for you or deliver your car to you. If you want your Lamborghini to be at the airport when you arrive in town, then the concierge will bring it to you. If you want your car detailed, onsite management will take care of it for you. Practically any service you need, they will provide.”

Miami joins other vertical cities where there is a growing trend of collectors who live in condos and need private, secure spaces to house their most prized possessions. In New York, there are companies like Uovo, which specialize in providing concierge storage services for art, fashion and other collections. Crozier Fine Arts is another New York company. In Texas, a company called Urban garages sells private luxury storage condominiums, mostly aimed at car collectors. In Pontiac, Mich., M1 Concourse sells car condos from $125,000 to $1.5 million, with some decked out with cigar rooms and home theater systems. A city like Miami, with its car and art connections, international appeal and party spirit, seems especially well-suited to Fayen’s concept.

Fayen designed Collection Suites to be spaces where owners could entertain or hold business meetings. “The idea is to create a community of like-minded individuals,” he says. They hold events about two or three times per month. Fayen himself has already hosted a number of exclusive events in his space, including a showing during Art Basel.

“This is not just storage,” adds String. “This is a place where you can go and get away. There is a beautiful loft area where you can relax, set up an office and enjoy all of the treasures that you have worked for, all in your own private place. It’s kind of like a man or a woman cave. It’s not just a utilitarian storage facility.”

Ten of the 38 suites have already sold. The team expects to be sold out by the end of 2019, especially since it’s a turnkey experience.

“We have already built everything,” says Fayen. “We just need to deliver the keys.”

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Private Luxury Storage Space Hits Miami

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