From leading hospitality corporations, luxury auto manufacturers to haute fashion houses, designer labels are rapidly infiltrating the real estate sector as branded developments take center stage.

Read the latest mention for The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach in The Wall Street Journal.

South Florida’s charity leaders came together for an evening of food and drinks, networking and photography at SocialMiami’s “A Grand Gathering.” The annual photo shoot recognizes individuals who are chairing events to benefit local non-profit organizations and honors their leadership and community service.

More developers and realtors are applying feng shui principles to ensure positive “energy” — and attract Chinese buyers.

Also on Miami Beach, but in a quiet, affluent residential area facing a lake and with sea access, the Ritz-Carlton Residences are nearing completion. The 111 one- to five-bedroom condominium homes and 15 villas designed by Italian Piero Lissoni are 60 per cent sold to overseas buyers. Those remaining start at £1.29 million.

For example, the luxury Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach in Florida. Its developer bought the site for US$20 million in 2012 to turn it into a residential development, and then signed a 30-year agreement with the hotel operator to run the property after it is ready by the end of next year.

Luxury real estate and art are widely interconnected in Miami, but the Art Studio at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach is a first for South Florida.

Developer Ophir Sternberg was born in Israel, but as the son of a sea merchant captain, he said, he spent much of his childhood at sea, with four years in Kobe, Japan.