An Early Look Inside Edgewater’s Missoni Baia Tower

Atrium

Russian oligarch Vladislav Doronin, owner of the Aman resort chain, is coming to Miami in a big way just as the real estate market begins to cool down. Having already partnered with Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group on Brickell Flatiron, Doronin’s OKO Group is going solo on his next big Miami project (the first of at least three he has in the pipeline). It’s a luxury Edgewater condo tower called Missoni Baia, branded by the eponymous Italian fashion house (a trend which as the New Times noted, has become kind of a thing in Miami lately). The 146 units will be large, ranging between 2 to 4 bedrooms.

Designed by Asymptote Architecture and Revuelta, Enzo Enea is doing the landscaping and Paris Forino design is doing up the insides, at least some of which, according to the first interior rendering released, is going to be all kinds of white-on-white. Renderings of a pair of pools meanwhile, show them to be located on the west side of the building, long and slender, and lined with trees that will give a rather lovely “hey I’m swimming in an orchard” kind of a feel. Shade is good.

Those won’t be the only pools though. According to Real Deal: “Amenities will include a flow-through deck with cabanas, an Olympic-sized lap pool, hot and cold plunge pools, a children’s pool and tennis courts. Residents will also have access to an infinity-edge pool on the development’s bayfront terrace, a gym, saunas and spa treatment rooms.”

Beach DRB Approves Public Art for New Convention Center

At its May 3rd meeting, the city’s Design Review Board unanimously approved the Miami Beach Art in Public Places committee’s recommendations of six site-specific art installations by six international artists selected out of over five hundred submissions, to grace the renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Here they are.

On the River the Old Epic Sales Center is Being Demolished, While Met Square Construction Continues

Former Epic Sales Center. Photo by Lucas Lechuga.

An Argentine developer and grocery store mogul has finally begun demolition of the former Epic sales center at 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way, on the Miami River. The Next Miami has some closer photos of the demolition. The over-the-top 2.5 story structure has stood there far beyond its planned lifespan, more recently acting informally as sort of a yacht club for the superyachts tied along its river dock. (we don’t know how much of the interior was utilized for this secondary purpose, but the parking below the elevated structure was) Epic developer Ugo Colombo sold the 1.25 acre wedge of land for a whopping $125 million to German and Gloria Coto, whose family is best known in Argentina for their supermarket chain. The Cotos are planning an 817 foot ‘lighthouse’ condominium tower on the site.

Meanwhile, across the street construction continues at Met Square, the last element of the Metropolitan Miami megaproject which has been years in coming.

Met Square construction. Photo by Lucas Lechuga.

The Spanish Navy’s Tall Ship, the Juan Sebastian de Elcano, is in Town

The Juan Sebastian de Elcano. Photos by Lucas Lechuga.

A very historic bit of the Spanish Armada sailed into the Port of Miami yesterday, making its birth at the FEC slip in Museum Park. The Juan Sebastian de Elcano, an elegant four-masted training tall ship of the Spanish Navy, is on a four month voyage across the Atlantic to the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. Having just arrived from Havana she (does one still use the female pronoun when referring to a ship named after a man?) will be in Miami until Sunday for free tours, and as a cultural exchange between Spain and the six ports-of-call on her American tour, at least a few of which coincidentally are former Spanish colonies. Built in 1927 the ship is named after the man who completed Ferdinand Magellan’s around-the-world expedition after explorer’s death with the last remaining of Magellan’s five ships, the Victoria. She also, incredibly, has the distinction of having sailed farther than any other sailboat in the world today, approximately 2.3 million nautical miles.

An Awe-inspiring Look at Residence 7085 at Palazzo Del Sol

The second massive condo that I toured last week at Palazzo Del Sol was Residence 7085, a 5 bed, 5.5 bath condo with 7,630 interior square feet plus an additional 2,471 square feet of terrace space. Walking into the residence had my jaw hitting the floor. The openness of the entry and living room areas was highly impressive to say the least. Upon exiting its private elevator, I was greeted with a picturesque view of Government Cut and the Atlantic Ocean. The residence flows beautifully offering fabulous views of yachts entering and exiting the ocean from most of the rooms. The kitchen and bathroom finishes are simple yet luxurious, in line with the minimalist design preferences of today’s buyer. Most impressive to me was the amount of closet space in the master bedroom suite. It comes with over 300 square feet of His and Her closets plus a 230 square foot study located directly off the master bedroom which could easily be converted to a third closet if needed. (By the way, the photo at the bottom is the His closet. The Hers closet is about twice the size.) Residence 7085 is a palatial pad, perfect for a family in search of space and the exclusivity and 5-star services that Fisher Island has to offer. Asking $14M.

On the Market Since January, Airy Midtown 2 PH Drops Price by $200K

Midtown 2 Penthouse 207.

Eastward facing PH 207 at Midtown 2 has only been on the market since very late January, but just over a month later in March saw a $200,000 price cut to its current $2,295,000. How is that for a sign somebody thinks the market is softening? The 4 bedroom, 4 bath unit has a soaring great room with 22 foot ceilings, views to the east and the bay, and generous balconies. The listing broker points out the big, roomy walls make it an art collector’s dream, so yeah, it could be that.

The Design District’s ‘Living Room’ is Listed With Acre of Land for $37.5 Million

‘The Living Room.’ Photo by Phillip Pessar.

This may look like a post-apocalyptic shell of something in the Design District, but it’s actually an iconic but very mucked up sculpture known as ‘The Living Room’ created by artist duo Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt. Doubling as the entrance to a furniture showroom, ‘The Living Room’ was oversized and adorable, with tangerine orange floral wallpaper, a drapey curtain, a bright lipstick red couch, and even a window that when looked at it in the right way played a clever trick of scale and perspective. The showroom has long gone, but the sculpture itself is still there, under layers of spray paint, signage, and dirt. Although The Living Room has been on the market for a while, it is now being offered by Metro One Properties as part of an assemblage of lots that make up over an acre of land for $37.5 million.

‘The Living Room’ by Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt. Photo v ia R & R Studios.

Rockne Kreb’s Miami Line Light Sculpture is Partially Re-lit

Miami Line Lighting Phase I. Photo by Lucas Lechuga.

The Miami Line, a rainbow neon strip running along the Metrorail’s Miami River bridge which was for years an iconic part of the Miami nighttime skyline, has been partially re-lit in LED lights, after going dark a few years ago. Light artist Rockne Krebs created it when the Metrorail first opened in 1984, and it proved so popular that over the years The Miami Line has appeared in everything from Miami Vice to postcards of Miami, says the Miami New Times, which recently explored the history of the piece. Due to the delicacy of the neon tube medium, and the frequency and difficulty of repairs the pieced needed over the years, in 2013 the county’s Art in Public Places program said they would convert it to much more durable LED. Although completion was slated by 2014, it didn’t happen until 2016, and about 1,390 feet of the sculpture remains in the dark. According to Troy Taylor, VP of the Riverfront Master Association, the rest is hopefully coming in two future phases that have yet to be budgeted. As of now, however, the line goes halfway across the Miami River, then basically stops.

Check Out the Plans for Starchitect Jean Nouvel’s Monad Terrace

Starchitect Jean Nouvel’s design for a boutique condominium tower at South Beach’s Monad Terrace won big applause at the last meeting of the Miami Beach Design Review Board, with the Miami Herald reporting, at the end of a lengthy and powerful review: “The Monad Terrace proposal was enthusiastically approved by Miami Beach’s Design Review Board last week. The DRB cited it as a model for future waterfront development. One board member expressed interest in living there when it was completed. Sales are due to begin this fall.”

The plans, elevations, sections, and most of the renderings below are from Monad Terrace developer JDS Development Group’s submittal to the City of Miami Beach. The design itself is a pair of buildings centered around a watery courtyard, with lagoon and pool, and sightlines straight from West Avenue to Biscayne Bay. More than almost anything else in Miami or Miami Beach, Nouvel’s design psychologically embraces South Florida’s submerged, aquatic future, taking it as a point of inspiration and adapting to it. One 14 story building, and one of only 7, hold 54 condo units in all. A transparent lobby looks out to the courtyard and eventually to the bay, enclosed in a cone of metallic, glassy shields that splay out as one progresses west, and creating was Nouvel calls a ‘reflection machine.’ Certainly, as the sun sets across Biscayne Bay, one can only imagine glowing red skies amplified to the street beyond.

Frost Museum of Science Construction Appears to be Going Very, Very Slowly

Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science Construction, May 17th. Photo by Lucas Lechuga.

Seen from across the street, construction at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science appears to have hardly progressed in weeks. In fact, if we remember correctly, that chunk of yellow wall paneling on the main facade (or insulation?) was the exact same shape a month ago. So, what happened? On April 5th, county commissioners approved a $49 million bailout for the nearly-bankrupt museum, following a bridge loan given by the Frost family to continue construction. Since then, on May 11th the Frost published an ‘OnSite’ construction update video exploring the features of the planetarium but not actually unveiling any new construction. It’s been over a month now since the big bailout, so what’s happening at the Frost Museum of Science?