Developing in the urban core is great if you can swing it, but near the core is just as good, according to the Melo Group. The company is active developing residential properties in the once-blighted Edgewater just north of downtown Miami.

Edgewater East is at the center of the action, Melo Group principal Martin Melo tells us, combining a pedestrian-friendly area (at street level) with views of the water (up on your balcony). Martin is pictured with his brother and fellow principal Carlos Melo; they run the company with their father Jose Luis Melo. Since Jose Luis founded the firm in Argentina in 1948, it has delivered about 5,000 units throughout the Americas. The Argentinean father-and-sons team has been developing in Edgewater since 2001, seeing the neighborhoods potential early on, and completing or starting 10 developments since then.

Recently Melo Group launched Bay House, a 36-story condo on the water that has already sold 44 of its 164 units. The property follows on the heels of the 96-unit 23 Biscayne Bay condos, which Melo Group began in July 2011 and sold out in less than 10 months. According to Martin, the property attracted a largely foreign clientele that purchased units with at least 50% cash down a pattern that's become very familiar in the last two years. Other Melo Group developments in the Edgewater East neighborhood include 1800 Biscayne Plaza, 22 Biscayne Bay, 25 Biscayne Park, and Skyview.