Photo Tour of Penthouse 1 at Palazzo Del Sol; Last Remaining Penthouse

Palazzo Del Sol has a total of 3 penthouse residences, appropriately named Penthouse 1, Penthouse 2, and Penthouse 3; each are trophy properties in their own right featuring 18-foot ceilings, a rooftop terrace with private pool designed by Enzo Enea, and lavish finishes throughout. A few weeks ago, Penthouse 3 at Palazzo Del Sol closed for $21.5M (over $3,200 per square foot) while Penthouse 2 went under contract just last month, making Penthouse 1 the last remaining penthouse at Fisher Island’s recently completed, ultra-lux condo development.

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to tour and photograph Penthouse 1 at Palazzo Del Sol (see above and below). The two-story residence features 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms across 6,644 interior square feet. In addition, Penthouse 1 boasts 3,222 square feet of terrace space on the entry level plus an additional 1,949 square feet of terrace space on the rooftop level, for a combined total of 5,171 exterior square feet. While touring Palazzo Del Sol’s Penthouse 1, what impressed me most, besides its massive size, were the master bathroom, rooftop terrace, and kitchen, each eloquently designed and finished. See for yourself. The asking price for this mansion-in-the-sky is $26.4M.

Super Bowl in the Bag, the Dolphins Are Hustling on That Stadium

Miami Dolphins Stadium Construction. Photos via Miami Dolphins.

The Super Bowl is officially returning to Miami in 2020. However, the shade canopy at Dolphins Stadium, a massive structure now under construction, has to be done in about three months. The Dolphins play the Falcons August 25, meaning the awning has to be done by then. The rush to upgrade the Miami Dolphins Stadium is tight, and now comes with Super Bowl-sized stakes too.

Super Bowl LIV is Coming to Miami in 2020, Which is Just Perfect

Miami Dolphins Stadium rendering with new awning structure.

Today the NFL awarded Super Bowl 54 to Miami for the 11th time in 2020, four years from now. That’s a new record of Super Bowl games hosted in any single city, continuing Miami’s larger than life tradition of Super Bowl spirit, and perfect timing to take advantage of the brand-spanking-new improvements to the Miami Dolphins Stadium. (Recently known as Sun Life Stadium) The game’s real economic impact may be questioned, or bigger than expected, but hey, this is tradition. (Most recently called Sun Life Stadium, but soon maybe not) Giving Miami the yearly game in 2020 is also just clever as hell, with a little subtle Miami love sprinkled in. Written in Roman numerals, as Super Bowl numbers tend to be, this one is Super Bowl LIV. If Roman numerals spelling name of Miami’s biggest club doesn’t say it’s a Miami party, than what the heck would? Bottle service anyone?

Frost Museum of Science Construction Back on Track After Money Trouble

Frost Museum of Science, as of last week. Photo by Lucas Lechuga.

Early last week, Miami Condo Investments reported on the glacially slow speed of construction at the Frost Museum of Science in Museum Park, visible over the past few weeks. With their crucial financial bailout in hand, the Frost site looked surprisingly inactive. However, according to a guided construction tour last Friday, the Real Deal says the construction team is really going at it on the immensely complicated interior spaces and technological systems inside the museum, and that is finally spilling out to the exterior as well. Walking by today, we heard the familiar sounds of c construction.

To get closer to completion, the museum is slimming down some of its extras to complete construction, including certain exhibits, but basic work on other exhibitions that will make opening day has already begun. Still however, Museum CEO Gillian Thomas has (perhaps wisely by this point) declined to name an opening date, while still aiming to complete construction by the end of the year.

Downtown’s Iconic Miami Tower Has Sold for $220 Million

The Miami Tower, an icon of the Downtown Miami skyline since its construction in 1987 to designs by starchitect I.M. Pei, has been sold to the Simitomo Corporation of America, for $220 million. The tall, slender wedge of a building is sheathed in glossy white and mirrored stripes, and puts on elaborate lighting displays nightly with a system of LEDs. (they recently replaced the original floodlights) Always a big visual statement on Downtown’s ambitions to be an au courante urban core, the Miami Tower had a series of owners over the years, and a series of names. It originally was home to to the il-fated Centrust Savings & Loan, and to some will probably always be remembered by its original name, the Centrust Tower.

Inside Jacob Brillhart’s Subtropical Modern Miami River Home

Inspired by a synthesis of the most iconic and minimal of ‘High Modernist’ houses (think of Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson’s Glass House) and the subtropical vernacular of a hot and humid climate, Miami architect Jacob Brillhart designed and built his dream home in Spring Garden, one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods. The neighborhood and the house are both tucked in a tiny peninsula poking out into the Miami River.

Having completed the house a year or two ago (for much more on the Brillhart House and its design, check out his portfolio) and settled in with the family, the Brillharts opened it to the public over the weekend for Our House, “unique design and retail initiative,” as the invitation put it, with furniture, art, and design pieces all for sale, accompanied by a lecture and workshops.

Inside the warm-but-restrained, modernist vessel for living was a colorful smorgasbord of design, with just the perfect amount of well-selected clutter to make it feel cozy. Outside again, Jacob had another surprise: a half-built movable wooden vacation home, which he’s building in his back yard. It’s designed to be disassembled into a flat-pack and shipped to Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, where a gorgeous beach-front lot is waiting for it.

Brickell Flatiron 55% Sold, Releases Video From Ground Breaking

Brickell Flatiron Lobby.

CMC Group‘s current flagship condo project, Brickell Flatiron, so named because of the distinctive wedge of land it and the accompanying Brickell Flatiron Park both sit on, has reached 55% sold, according to a sales rep for the project. Of that 55%, sales have averaged about $600 a square foot says the rep. The tower broke ground about two months ago, and has just released a snazzy video of the event.

Brickell Flatiron Groundbreaking Video

Aventura Mall’s New Wing Designed by Carlos Zapata is Going Vertical

Aventura Mall New Wing, designed by Carlos Zapata.

Since news first broke a few years ago of Turnberry Associates‘ plans to undertake yet another massive expansion of Aventura Mall, officially making it the second largest shopping mall in the country, the new wing has been redesigned, and construction has begun to emerge from the ground. The Next Miami has some site photographs, and points out the building has ‘gone vertical’ (meaning construction is now above ground level), typically a more significant milestone for much taller buildings which need deeper foundations to be laid underground first.

The design of the new wing has been completely transformed compared to earlier schematics, which were of a much simpler enclosed mall layout, with skylights and an exterior oriented toward a new garage and various driveways. The new plan, by architect Carlos Zapata, is sleek, steely, and futuristic, with flying cantilevered awnings shooting out at jaunty angles, tons of glass, high ceilings, and a completely outward orientation. Shoppers stroll on bridges spanning a lower shopping area with a driveway artfully cut through. An exterior court ringed with shops and restaurants is the futuristic counterweight to Aventura Mall’s more traditional piazza area. That outdoor space, near Cheesecake Factory and the movie theater, has sunny pink stucco, Spanish tiles everywhere, terra-cotta barrel tiles on the roof, and an aqua blue statue of seahorses holding up some kind of orb.

A press release goes into more detail:

Aventura Mall has launched construction on a major expansion that will include a new three-level, 315,000 square-foot retail wing and multi-level parking garage.

The new wing, which is expected to open in late 2017, will include several destination restaurants, more than three dozen retail stores, a new food court with indoor/outdoor seating and a rooftop garden, and VIP concierge area perfect for private dinners and events.

Designed by renowned architect Carlos Zapata and JPRA Architects, the new wing will be built on the east side of the property, near Macy’s. The structure will blend seamlessly with Aventura Mall’s existing architecture but also provide a completely unique experience for visitors. The contemporary space will blur the lines between inside and outside with an immense glass façade and a skylight that extends the entire length of the concourse. The design will provide an abundance of natural light and panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Outdoor courtyards will be ideal for dining and people watching, and select pieces from local and international artists such as Wendell Castle and Mark Handforth will spark conversation.

First Look Inside the Completed East Hotel at Brickell City Centre

Underneath the climate ribbon, the incomplete mall is visible from the hotel. Photos by Sean McCaughan.

Last night we were lucky enough to attend an event, the PAMM Corporate Cocktail, at the brand-spanking-new East Hotel at Brickell City Centre, which is currently in its soft opening. The party and the venue were both spectacular, and the service was wonderful. Although not a full tour of the building (that’s coming soon) we did get a good look at some of the more spectacular elements including the lobby, the pool deck, the incomplete mall, and of course the famed ‘climate ribbon’ sun shade. The hotel has begun taking reservations for dates starting May 31st. And now, a quick tour in thirteen photographs.

One River Point Rendering Crush

One River Point, the ultra-luxury residential and hotel project planned for the Miami River that has Hong Kong-level service and a boat valet, just released new renderings of unit interiors, showing off mighty deal balconies, vast great rooms, and views that seductively mix water and city. Other renderings, most of which are older but just as sexy, show the project’s twin towers connected by a gigantic bridge and private club floating in the sky, a huge waterfall, the main pool, and the exterior from various angles. Designed by starchitect Rafael Viñoly and developed by KAR Properties, One River Point is taking reservations at the moment. It’s also the fanciest place to hit the Miami River probably ever.