Rising from city bureaucrat to billionaire builder, Jorge Pérez became the great American success story, Miami style. The Cuban immigrant made the South Florida skyline his canvas, erecting high-rises from Miami to West Palm Beach.

But not one of them can compare to his latest creation, the ICON Brickell, a sumptuous $1 billion glass-and-concrete city within a city that includes three soaring towers, a pool the size of a football field, 1,640 condos, a boutique hotel and five restaurants.

It is Florida's most spectacular condo, Pérez's masterpiece, his legacy.

And, now, it may be his undoing.

Pérez is scrambling to survive one of the most turbulent moments in Florida real estate history. His company -- The Related Group -- has lost more than $1 billion in the last year and confronts nearly $2 billion in debt. The ICON, responsible for much of that debt, sits largely empty as those who made 20 percent preconstruction deposits either flee or find themselves unable to get a mortgage.

Last month, Pérez met with dozens of bankers at the Hilton hotel in downtown Miami, asking for more time to pay off the debt, mostly due this year. As he waits for the bankers to decide, Pérez's landmark project hangs in the balance.

The ''total meltdown that we are seeing today,'' Pérez said, is far worse than he ever imagined.

``In order for us to succeed, we need help from our lenders.''

It's a new and scary time for Miami's Condo King. But betting big -- and sometimes losing big -- has always been part of the craps game that is South Florida real estate.

In 1920s South Florida, George Merrick created Coral Gables, only to be derailed by the Florida real estate bust, the hurricane of 1926 and the onset of the Great Depression.

Miami Beach land baron Carl Fisher peddled a vision of tropical paradise to Northerners, becoming fabulously rich. Eventually, he, too, would go bust.

The real estate meltdown is Pérez's hurricane, but he says he'll never end up broke.

For three years, he has been included on the Forbes List of 400 Richest Americans. And yet, last month, when Forbes called about including him in its upcoming list, Pérez told them: ``Forget about it.''

BUILDING HIS FORTUNE

Pérez was an economic development director with the city of Miami before he decided to become a developer. In 1979, he founded The Related Group with New York builder Stephen M. Ross, who recently bought the Miami Dolphins. Pérez first became rich by building low-income apartments across the state, then branched off into rental apartments before becoming the most prolific high-rise luxury condo builder in the country.