South Florida-based Verzasca Group has commenced construction at 61-unit luxury condominium Aurora Sunny Isles Beach, the developer’s first project on the west side of Collins Ave. in more than 10 years.

In May 2017, Verzasca announced its plans to break ground on the Aurora in mid-June 2017 after reaching 50 percent in sales. The original sales center, built on the site, was demolished on Sept. 21 to make way for vertical construction. It was transferred to the adjacent 17600 Collins Ave. lot.

Contrary to the announced schedule, groundbreaking was held Nov. 1 with 60 percent of the units sold to buyers from across the world. “Buyers are really responding to the combination of value luxury and lifestyle that Aurora offers,” said John Warsing, director of sales at Aurora. “Having construction activity on the site is taking the strong demand to another level.”

According to Miami-Dade County records, Verzasca paid $10.5 million for the 17550 Collins Ave. site in 2015. The sale was financed with a $7.5 million balloon mortgage from Sal Ganem. Construction of the 17-story condo tower was then put on hold as the Russian developer focused on selling units ranging in size from 1,385 to 2,150 sq. ft.

Designed by local architect Antrobus + Ramirez, Aurora is being developed as part of a collection of boutique residences that include Bay Harbor Islands’ Le Jardin Residences and Pearl House.

The luxury condo offers two and three-bedroom residences that sell from $900,000 to $1.6 million. It offers 5,392 sq. ft. of ground-floor commercial space which Aurora sold in May to an unannounced international investor for $5.5 million or about $1,022 per sq. ft.