Ian Bruce Eichner.

Ian Bruce Eichner also belongs to a group of New Yorkers who continue to invest in real estate in Florida. Eichner has been pursuing the re-zoning of the last huge 13-acre site in Miami, and finally got it approved so that his company can develop two buildings totalling 300 apartments in 1.3 million square feet. Of those, they have already sold 186 units, averaging over $460 a foot through 46 amazing price increases.

Eichner says Florida law allows the developer to take a 10 percent non-refundable deposit on condo units, plus require another non-refundable 10 percent upon the pouring of concrete - and these are dollars that can be used for construction, not just poured into an untouchable escrow account.

"I've never, never, in 20-something years of doing real estate, I've never built a bigger building," says the developer of City-spire and 1540 Broadway. Since May, when the approval came through, he's been working on the final construction drawings so a contractor and guaranteed price can be put into place, thereby allowing a construction loan to close around April 15th.

By then, the Continuum is expected to have $440 million in total sales, which will amount to some $30 million over the total development cost of the first phase, plus the price of the land.

"I never had anything like it in New York. There is no parallel," says Eichner, amazed at the dollars. "When you compare that for the risk in Manhattan - paying $120 a foot for land and $180 a foot in construction you have [to have] one aggressive projection after the other in terms of what people are going to achieve on a square foot basis. And you realize the virtual total underpinnings of the condo market in New York is tied to the stock market. And if you're not, shall I say concerned, it means you must be very young."

Stephen Anfang, a SoHo pioneer, has actually moved his operations to Ft. Lauderdale and is opening a nightspot on the site of the old Down Under club along the Intracoastal. There's an 8,000 square-foot building with 300 feet of bulkheaded frontage where he will also park a 90-foot yacht.

"We're completely renovating an existing building from 1965 that you couldn't reproduce today, which has tons of glass and an angled roof," he says. "The all-glass disco will be one of the most beautiful rooms in South Florida, and you'll be able to bring your boat and go to a night club and dance 'til 4 in the morning. It will be disco with a 2000 twist."

His operating partner, Jean-Pierre Porte of Cannes, worked with Regine's and helped Buzzy O'Keefe open the River Cafe.

"It's a cross between what's going on in South Beach and a New York City/European feel," Anfang says of the local scene. "We're actively in negotiations with banks and private lenders for further acquisitions for hospitality oriented deals in the Palm Beach/Ft. Lauderdale area. When a New Yorker spends time to unearth deals, there's no one that knows how to negotiate like a New Yorker.

Meanwhile, Omni Equities is bringing Internets and dot-coins to South Beach -although watching their financials. "The market is tight and we can afford to be selective," says Bruce Graeber, an Omni principal. Already ensconced in the penthouse of 1680 Michigan Avenue, a/k/a South Beach Tower, is Patagon.com, Latin America's leading financial trading web site, which is funded through JP Morgan, GE, Goldman Sachs and Reuters. Another floor is occupied by ZDNet.com, a Ziff Davis company. Some of the retail, meanwhile, has been leased to the Italian design company BLUE. The building, steps from Lincoln Road, has a five-story indoor garage and additional outdoor parking. More offices, retail and parking are planned for their adjacent development site.