Armando Codina and Jim Carr's Montera Development Bucks Housing Trend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 17, 2010 -- CORAL GABLES, Fla. – June 17, 2010) – Developers Armando Codina and Jim Carr of Codina Partners, a Coral-Gables based real estate firm, recently announced the closing of more than 70 contracts at Monterra Cooper City. Monterra is a 1,600-unit master planned community in Cooper City, Fla. featuring single-family, estate and townhome floor plans with prices starting in the low $200s.

With the first families expected to move in by July 2010, Codina and Carr estimate the project will conclude construction ahead of time. Monterra was originally scheduled for completion in four years, but the developers plan to deliver it in three years. In the future, Codina and Carr plan to construct a shopping center in the Monterra community that will include a drug store, grocery and retail shops.

“To make the numbers work in a challenging economic time, we decreased the density of units and lowered the housing prices,” said Armando Codina, Chief Executive Officer of Codina Partners. “And because of our competitive pricing, we are seeing more sales activity than anticipated.”

Monterra is being built on one of the largest undeveloped parcels in Broward County- 500 acres southwest of Stirling Road and University Drive. In 2009, Carr partnered with Codina to buy the parcels for more than $50 million from the original landowner Tousa Inc., who paid $104 million for the property in 2005. Tousa planned to build luxury homes and 270,000 square feet of retail space, but after Tousa filed for bankruptcy in 2008 the project halted.

Interest in Monterra continues to rise. According to Carr, about 100 families each week visit the Monterra sales center. For more information on Monterra, please call 954-450-2822 or visit www.monterrafl.com.

About Codina Partners
Formed in the fall of 2009, Codina Partners, LLC is Armando Codina’s latest real estate endeavor. Codina Partners is a boutique real estate investment and development firm based in Coral Gables, Florida.

He founded the predecessor of the Codina Group in 1980 and served as chairman until 2006 when he merged it with Florida East Coast Industries. He then became chairman of Flagler Development, part of FECI, and remained in that position after FECI was sold to Fortress Investment Group in 2007.

armando codina     codina partners     jim carr