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Mercedes-Benz Places: Glossy Promises vs. Real Risk
The Mercedes-Benz Places project in Miami, developed by JDS Development and Michael Stern in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, is marketed as a “city of the future”: AI-integrated apartments, smart home systems, in-car connectivity, luxury amenities, and a fully digital lifestyle. But when you look at JDS’s track record under Stern, skepticism is more than justified.
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— The Promises:
• AI integration with Mercedes-Benz vehicles
• Voice and mobile smart home assistants
• Panoramic pool, wellness lounges, recording studio, F1 simulator
• ReWyre app as the central digital infrastructure for resident services and building controlSource: Newsweek, “AI Will Connect Mercedes-Benz Places Residents to the World” https://www.newsweek.com/ai-will-connect-mercedes-benz-places-residents-world-2080280
Read from Archive…..— Execution Problems: JDS Track Record
1. Brooklyn Tower (9 DeKalb): Marketed as Brooklyn’s crown jewel with a rooftop pool. In practice, the pool remained a rendering in a glossy brochure. Sales underperformed, the developer defaulted, and the building was taken over by Silverstein Capital.Notably, the luxury Life Time fitness club, originally promised for 2022, is still not operational. Despite early marketing by JDS in 2019 promising a full-scale spa, pool, and wellness complex, the facility now shows a revised opening date of 2026 (Life Time official page).
Source: Business Insider, May 2025
https://www.businessinsider.com/skyline-michael-stern-lawsuits-steinway-9-dekalb-2025-5
2. Steinway Tower (111 W 57th St): Super-skinny Manhattan skyscraper. Went over budget by $100M+, investors were wiped out after a mezzanine loan foreclosure. Some promised features were either cut or never delivered.Sources: The Real Deal, JDSPulse, AmBase Corp. legal filings
3. Monad Terrace (Miami): Despite its stunning Jean Nouvel design, the project was mired in investor lawsuits, unpaid fees, and construction defects (leaking showers, rusting rebar). Residents demanded formal mediation shortly after moving in.Source: JDSPulse, December 2024
https://jdspulse.org/monad-defects-complaints-2024
4. Walker Tower (NYC): Initially a financial success, but riddled with behind-the-scenes partner disputes. Stern sold his own unit at a loss, showcasing a pattern: claim the credit, shift the risk.Source: Billionaires’ Row, WSJ, JDSPulse
— Mercedes-Benz Places: Risks Beneath the AI Hype
• As early as December 2024, consultants flagged inflated budgets: concrete alone $30M over projections, the facade ranked as Miami’s most expensive.
• Italian partner Gianluca Vacchi reportedly tried to exit, demanding a $35M refund.
• A consultant sued for $1.7M in unpaid fees, calling the project team “notoriously problematic.”Source: Florida Consultant vs. Vacchi Holdings lawsuit, JDSPulse, Feb 2025 https://jdspulse.org/vacchi-lawsuit-documents
— Conclusion:
JDS projects love big talk. In practice:
• Smart features are downgraded or abandoned,
• Timelines slip,
• Partners lose money,
• And when the music stops, buyers and minority investors are last in line.Mercedes-Benz Places risks following that same path. Before investing in another “icon of the future,” check the past. JDS’s history speaks louder than its renderings.
JDSPulse Recommendation: Don’t trust the brochure. Demand escrow, legal safeguards, and transparent audits. Remember: a luxury brand isn’t a completion guarantee — especially when the builder is Michael Stern.
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Michael Stern Skips $515K Tax Bill on His Miami Mansion — Again
Miami Beach, FL — While developer Michael Stern continues to promote his image as a reputable businessman, public records tell a different story: he has failed to pay the $515,225.09 property tax bill for his luxury mansion on 6070 North Bay Road for the 2024 fiscal year.
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The waterfront estate — estimated to be worth between $30M and $100M — is owned through 6070 NBR LLC, a Florida shell company managed by Stern himself. According to Miami-Dade County records, the 2023 tax bill of $290,200 was paid months late, in March 2024. This year, no payment has been recorded — and the bill is now flagged as “Unpaid – Not Payable Online.”
“He stiffed lenders at 9 DeKalb, bled investors dry at Monad, and now he’s skipping taxes on his mansion? This man doesn’t forget — he just doesn’t pay,” said one former business associate.
Stern, already entangled in lawsuits over fraud, fund diversion, and project collapses, now adds delinquent property taxes to the mounting evidence of a developer in free fall.
So much for ‘responsible leadership’
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Michael Stern built the world’s skinniest skyscraper — and a mountain of legal disputes
Michael Stern was fed up.
For weeks, an anonymous website had been portraying the real estate developer as a fraud who has a history of deceiving investors and business partners.
Does he? Stern says no. In April, he filed a lawsuit seeking to clear his name, demanding that a judge unmask the anonymous website creator.
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Miami Beach commissioners demand shutdown of hostel sheltering over 100 homeless people
Michael Stern, head of JDS Development Group, has proposed funding the construction of a public parking garage on the site of the Bikini Hostel (currently a homeless shelter) in Miami Beach. This proposal is part of his larger plan to build a 29-story residential tower at 1250 West Avenue. To proceed, Stern requested zoning changes, including increases to allowable building height and density. In exchange, he has pledged to invest between $20 million and $25 million to construct the new parking facility at the Bikini Hostel site, along with additional funding for waterfront improvements and enhancements to the local health center.
However, on March 4, 2025, the Miami Beach Planning Board narrowly voted to recommend against the requested zoning changes, citing concerns about the proposed project’s height and scale. Nevertheless, the final decision rests with the City Commission, which will review the proposal this month, hopefully taking into account the information provided on jdspulse.com.
Thus, Michael Stern’s promise to build the public parking garage at the Bikini Hostel site hinges entirely on the city’s approval of his broader development project. Until the project receives final approval, the future of the proposed parking facility remains uncertain.
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Developer Michael Stern’s JDS brings ambitious luxury projects to South Florida
An interesting article just came out. It seems to us like yet another attempt by Stern to hide behind a pious facade.
But we will tear off that mask. -
Prominent N.Y. Developer Arrested on Charges Tied to Vast Fraud Scheme
Nir Meir helped run the firm HFZ Capital Group, which became a major developer of luxury housing but collapsed amid investor lawsuits and foreclosures.
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Rattling Around an Empty Brooklyn Tower
As Silverstein prepares to relaunch sales, residents say there are perks to living in a ghost town. Condominium-unit owners in Brooklyn Tower say they aren’t complaining too much about the building’s upper-level floors being empty.
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“Out of scale”: Michael Stern’s and Gianluca Vacchi’s condo tower proposal shot down by Miami Beach board, now heads to commission vote
Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group is heading to the Miami Beach City Commission next month with an unfavorable recommendation from the city’s planning board.
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Michael Stern, il progetto della torre 888 Brickell a Miami a marchio D&G in un sistema di gestioni opache e scandali, dal coinvolgimento dei fratelli Alexander alle cause legali di Vacchi
Il fondatore di JDS Development è al centro di un grande progetto di lusso a Miami, ma la sua carriera è costellata da gravi difficoltà finanziarie, cause legali e legami d’affari controversi che sollevano dubbi sulla sua reputazione nel settore
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Miami Beach board rejects high-rise project
A prominent developer’s ambitious plans for a towering Miami Beach high-rise hit a snag. Find out why the planning board voted against the proposal and what happens next.