Related Just Unveiled SLS Brickell’s Dramatically Diagonal Balcony Lights

Photo by Marcos Viñas, courtesy Instagram @anapaulacg.

The Related Group’s SLS Brickell condominium tower in the heart of Brickell is fast approaching completion, with closings comin’ up soon. How soon? According to Carlos Rosso, Related’s Luxury Condo Division President, they’re planning on September 1st. In anticipation, the tower was set ablaze last night with a dramatic outdoor lighting scheme of dominated by diagonal rows of twinkling blue dots affixed to small promontories poking out of the building’s balconies, then wrapping around the building at the corners. The effect is really very cool, although last night was a test. How did the test turn out? Well, it looks pretty great,. but as you can see a few big chunks of balcony lights stayed in the dark. Looks like someone might have to do some more testing, Christmas light style.

Construction is Transforming the ‘Entrance’ to Miami Beach, Around a Hostile Intersection in Need of Change Too

Photos by Sean McCaughan.

Multiple construction projects just north of the intersection of 5th Street and Alton Road are transforming the face of the street in that area, from a series underutilized and neglected lots near the prime entrance to Miami Beach to an attractively urban cityscape. The obtuse intersection however, notable for its flyover from the MacArthur Causeway and hostility to pedestrians, has yet to follow with a makeover. I almost died taking the photo above.

On the east side of Alton, at 6th Street, the very attractively designed Urban Box Self Storage (how often is self storage sexy, really?) is well under construction. North of it, developers Crescent Heights (which is dominating new developing all along Alton with a series of quite fetchingly designed buildings) are building a new healthcare center for Baptist Hospital. Construction has already broken ground on that. Last, and by far the biggest, Crescent Heights is clearing and gutting two entire blocks it owns between 5th and 7th on the west side of Alton while lobbying the city for permission to construct a 300-foot tower on the land in exchange for building a new mass transit hub in the base. Until then, a 7-11 still sits splat in the middle of his land even though the convenience store’s old parking lot is half buried under the mountain of an elevated street.

In five years, and again in ten, the main entrance to Miami Beach is destined to look very different than today.

Tri-Rail Launches Miami Link Website, Announces Service “As Early As” December Next Year

With funds in place, its grand Downtown Miami station under construction courtesy All Aboard Florida, and expectations of daily train service beginning “as early as” December of 2017, Trii-Rail has launched a website for its latest and greatest expansion into Downtown. The site includes data on the project as well as a video simulation recorded on Google Earth of the route into the urban core. Check out the video below. As it shows, this is a very significant step toward rail expansion in Miami. It’s also a reminder of just how much underdeveloped land there is in what really is the heart of the city. If we really want things to change, why aren’t we building more there?

Bayfront Lot, With Plans to Rebuild Historic Mansion, Faces “Drastic Price Drop” to $4.95M

A 1920s Mediterranean Revival pile called the ‘Prescott Mansion’ used to sit on this Biscayne Bay-fronting lot in the Bayside Historic District in Miami, at 7101 NE 10th Ave. Unfortunately, it doesn’t anymore. The lot, now listed for sale after a “drastic price drop” according to agent Dora Puig to $4.95 million (a $1.5M reduction), comes with plans to rebuild the house and add a contemporary new wing with some crazy luxe amenities designed by architect Ralph Choeff. The plans for the new house include a 7,000 square foot underground garage, a huge pool, 10 bedrooms, 3 kitchens, and a private sandy beach.

Construction Underway at the Downtown Rental Tower Formerly Known as Vice

Photo by Sean McCaughan.

Following a “groundbreaking block party” back in June, construction is underway at the apartment rental tower being developed Downtown by Property Markets Group between the Miami-Dade College Wolfson campus and Biscayne Boulevard. The site has been cleared and construction workers are driving foundation pilings now. When news of the building originally went public, a year ago (boy some of these buildings take a while to get going, don’t they?) PMG was planning on calling it ‘Vice,’ and now the are apparently not. The flyer for the launch thing just called it the ‘300 Biscayne Rental.’ The building will have small, pricy units with fancy finishes, meant for high flying, well paid young professional types who aren’t ready to buy yet. Or who like blowing their money.

The tower formerly known as Vice.

Royal Caribbean’s Giant New Cruise Ship Terminal at The Port is Officially A Go

Miami-Dade County Commissioners have officially approved a deal with Royal Caribbean Cruises to build a new terminal capable of handling the world’s largest cruise ships at the Port of Miami. The vote was unanimous, reports TRD, and the architecturally dramatic, 170,000 square foot ‘Crown of Miami’ as Royal calls it is moving forward. Completion is expected by 2018.

Arquitectonica’s Iconic Babylon Apartments Wins Historic Designation With 6-0 Vote

Photo by Phillip Pessar.

This just in from today’s City of Miami Historic Preservation Board meeting! In a unanimous 6-0 vote, the board has voted in favor of historically designating the Babylon Apartments on Brickell Bay Drive, a seminal and very early work by architecture firm Arquitectonica which significantly influenced the firm’s later works as well as decades of modern and contemporary architecture in Miami. There is a 30-day appeals process, but the Babylon is closer than ever to being saved.  To recap what has happened up until now, I wrote a nice summary over at the Architect’s Newspaper. Also, check back here for more info on what’s next for the Babylon after today’s HBP meeting as it becomes available.

Calvin Klein’s $16 Million North Bay Road House is Still on The Market

What’s going on Calvin? News broke over a year ago that fashion mogul Calvin Klein’s North Bay Road home in Miami Beach was hitting the market for $16 million because Mr. Klein was up and leaving Miami and going to L.A. That was May of 2015. Fast forward to now, over 400 days later, and the historic Mediterranean Revival house is still owned by Klein, still on the market, and still listed at $16 million. What gives?

Gorgeous 1800 Sunset Harbour Drive PH Sells for Neighborhood Record Despite Being in Building That’s Ugly as Sin

The twin towers at 1800 and 1900 Sunset Harbour Drive are massive, monolithic, boxy, and blah stucco-slathered monuments to architecture at its most obtuse. They come with a lovely yacht club, but besides that these things are uuuuugly. They’re so ugly, in fact, that when they were completed the City of Miami Beach lowered zoning heights in the neighborhood to stop anyone else from building more like them.

Nonetheless, the owner of 1800 Sunset Harbour Drive Tower Suite 2/3 has just made a modest killing selling his unit to an Italian, listing agents Oren Alexander and Lauren Fitzpatrick told the Real Deal. It was purchased for $3.1 million in 2013 and redone, and now sold by Alexander and Fitzpatrick for $7.5 million. Both transactions were records for the neighborhood. “The 7,500-square-foot tower suite includes two master suites, a total of five bedrooms, a rooftop deck, 4,000 square feet of terrace space and water and city views of Miami Beach.”reports the Real Deal.