A $200,000 condo for your car

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Here's how you'll know that you have too much money: when you buy a condominium for your car.

But people are doing just that, as two companies in South Florida develop vehicle-only condominium projects with climate control, private bathrooms, round-the-clock security and even concierges.

Robert Oden, a financial adviser and partner in one of the projects, plans to park a Porsche and a "very rare" black-with-red-interior 1961 Corvette in his 760-square-foot unit in Park Place Car Condo's Fort Lauderdale project.

Oden says he knows his market: car nuts like him. The Corvette currently resides in Oden's four-car garage -- and there are three other vehicles in his driveway.

"The No. 1 reason people don't buy more cars (when) they have money," Oden said, "is they don't have anywhere to park them."

1,800 square feet -- for your wheels

Oden's unit sells for $210,000. The condos in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., development, and a sister project in North Miami, range from 620 square feet to 1,800 square feet, which is big enough to park a luxury RV. Prices vary accordingly, from $150,000 to $400,000.

The Park Place projects "are in the permitting stage," said developer Kevin Buckley, and expected to open next summer. About 25% of the units have been sold, Buckley said, with all the buyers so far paying cash, although financing is available.

In another part of Fort Lauderdale, collectors Michael and Dayna Heit are helping develop DreamCar Carriage House, where, according to the Associated Press, prices range from $59,000 for a 300-foot unit to more than $200,000 for a customizable condo that's about 1,000 square feet.

DreamCar Carriage House is expected to open next spring. All together, the three projects will offer 523 units.

Both sets of developers are already scouting other locations, with the DreamCar folks looking at other cities in Florida and the Park Place crew investigating Scottsdale, Ariz., and Las Vegas, among other locales.

Pool tables and valets

Paying six figures for a prime parking spot isn't anything new in crowded Northeastern cities like Boston or New York. But instead of just getting permanent space in a garage, car condo owners are buying self-contained units that offer privacy, security and, in Oden's words, "hurricane resistance" -- no small concern for luxury-car enthusiasts in a Gulf Coast state.

DreamCar Carriage House will offer a club lounge so owners can compare notes about their hobby, while Park Place expects some of its buyers will install pool tables and other amenities to encourage socialization.

Valets will be available to whisk owners to and from their Lear Jets, while detailing services will keep the wheels looking their best.

Much like other real estate, owners will be able to sell their condos should their passion wane, but promoters are careful not to talk about concepts like resale value.

"It's not being marketed as an investment," Oden said. "It's being marketed as storage."

Actually, what's being marketed is exclusivity for the merely rich.

Florida is filled with people wealthy enough to pay $100,000 or more for a car. But most of the folks buying these vehicles aren't flush enough to custom-build a 20-car garage in Manhattan, like Jerry Seinfeld, or fill three warehouses in Burbank with a collection of 50-plus exotic, luxury and vintage vehicles, like Jay Leno.

A car condo, for the really-but-not-yet-obscenely wealthy, might be seen as next best thing.

"They want something no one else has," Oden said. "They want to be treated differently."

Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions in the Your Money message board.