Inside Brickell Heights Part 3: The Mural and Streetscape
One of the goals behind the development of Brickell Heights was to activate the urban atmosphere and make South Miami Avenue a complete, pedestrian-friendly, lively environment, according to Carlos Rosso. The minds behind the project envisioned a well-lit atmosphere where people could be working out in a top-of-the-line gym, or sitting in a lounge at a happy hour below. Once you add in a colorful and lively mural by famed Argentinian artist, Fabián Burgos, you have Brickell Heights.
Watch this video where Fabián speaks about his mural and its effect on our neighborhood:
Under the curtain of the bright and colorful mural, there are several retail spaces that seamlessly connect Mary Brickell Village to Brickell City Centre, making one continuous shopping, wellness and entertainment area. The lights also serve a double purpose, making a safe walking environment for residents.
Directly below Brickell Heights East, residents will enjoy a French Cafe, the lobby of the Equinox Fitness, the elevator lobby for the offices above, and a large new Capital One Bank location with a cafe inside. As the building curves around the corner onto 9th Street, pedestrians will see the East lobby, the motorcourt, the West lobby, and under Brickell Heights West, there will be a large SoulCycle location that is scheduled to open later this year, and an 8,000 square foot restaurant space. Concepts are still being reviewed for the restaurant space (which I will go into more detail on in a separate post).
Once everything is open for business, the vibe of South Miami Avenue will be forever transformed. No longer will we have the bustling financial center by day/quiet residential area by night vibe. Mary Brickell Village was dwarfed by Brickell City Centre, and Brickell Heights is tying the strip together. I cannot wait to take a followup photo to this one below, that was shared by Carlos Rosso to show the lighting of the mural. It is very beautiful, and will be even more beautiful after the building is lit up and people are home.
Tomorrow is the big day!!!
Inside Brickell Heights Part 2: The Amenities
As workers were scurrying around, putting the final touches on the Brickell Heights amenities in preparation for Wednesday’s big grand opening, we were able to take a full tour of everything the building has to offer. Despite the fact that today wasn’t the sunniest or prettiest day in Miami history, you can tell that the building came together beautifully.
Pictured above is the view from the rooftop swimming pool in Brickell Heights East. Even though I admit to being a bit jaded when it comes to Miami views, my jaw dropped when I stepped out of the elevator lobby. On this level, there is also a summer kitchen and dining area. Here are some additional shots. Again, please excuse the dust. They were getting ready for the party.
After we finished on the 50th floor pool area, we went down to the 9th floor to tour the other amenities starting in the East tower and working our way West.
First was the conference room. It also has wifi and docking stations with a view of Mary Brickell Village.
The party room in the East tower also has a polished concrete billiard table and matching ping pong table. All of the design was put together by David Rockwell.
This sculpture is called “Frozen Fire”. It was created especially for this party room.
I am a big fan of the foliage walls. They were found throughout the amenity area. The plants pictured are not plastic either (thank goodness). The real plants are more upkeep (especially if you’re like me and don’t have a green thumb), but they really add a nice touch to the ambiance.
The plant wall theme was carried into the fitness center, that has a nice mix of machines and lots of space for a condo gym workout. For a “kid in Disneyworld” level workout, residents do receive a complimentary membership for a limited time.
As a mother to a toddler, I almost imploded with envy at the play room. Just this alone was nearly enough for me to pack up my apartment in Infinity and move across the neighborhood. The play room is so perfect, I almost feel like someone is baiting me, like a mosquito to a light bulb.
While the kids are tearing down their play palace, the moms can go in the spa and relax.
… or get a massage.
Want to invite your 30 closest friends over for a movie, but don’t want people in your apartment? No problem.
Behind the West party room, the building also has a vegetable garden. Botanists are going to pick the fresh herbs and veggies each week and leave them in the lobbies for the residents to take.
The main pool deck has a putting green for those who want to work on their short game.
And finally, the main pool! It was difficult to get a good shot of the pool today, since it was mostly covered. They covered the pool in clear plexiglass to make a dance floor for Wednesday’s grand opening. Each side of the pool has a concrete arch like the one pictured below. When turned on, the arch becomes a water wall.
The doors open this week!
Overall, I feel Related Group and David Rockwell nailed it with Brickell Heights. The building has a great mix of usability with an edge of the cool factor. I predict this will be one of the more successful buildings long-term that comes from their portfolio.
Now, the streetscape!
Inside Brickell Heights Part 1: The Condos
We are going to take a break from #MarketStatMonday this week, because I have a ton of photos to share! Brickell Heights and Brickell Heights 02 are opening this week, and we got a preview tour of the project. There are so many photos, I will break them up into three posts. First, we’ll look at the units themselves, then we’ll tour the amenities and the new streetscape, curtained by the mural from famed artist, Fabián Burgos.
When we arrived in the East lobby, Jorge Perez, Carlos Rosso and Jon Paul Perez were finishing up a walk through to get ready for their big opening celebration on Wednesday night. They were followed by a swarm of people, an art curator, a landscape architect, and several others.
You can see by Mr. Perez and Mr. Rosso’s faces that the project is almost there, but not quite perfect yet. The lobby needed more trees, but not just any trees… there is a specific look they are going for. The trees needed to be tall, decorative trees to highlight the art. I was pleased to see them involved in this level of detail of the project. So, let’s get going…
Brickell Heights’ East Lobby
After finishing up his appointment, Carlos took us on a thorough tour of the building. Here he is, getting into the elevator to get started.
We toured the units on level 10, and the amenities are on level 9. Here is the branded elevator panel.
I like how the new kitchen designs allow more storage. Even in the galley kitchen of the two bedroom corner layouts, there is a large wall next to the kitchen that allows for custom cabinetry.
Kitchen in 1 Bedroom Unit
Kitchen In 2 Bedroom Corner Unit
Master Bath Double Vanity
Master Bath Soaking Tub
Guest Bath
This is the view from the lowest residential level of the building. On the North side, residents look into Brickell City Centre, which is 4 stories. On the East, they look onto the pool deck of SLS Lux. On the South, they look over Mary Brickell Village.
10th Floor City View
View of SLS Lux’s pool deck from the 10th floor of Brickell Heights
For those interested in renting in the building, we are keeping a list of people who want to be among the first residents. Let us know if you would like to be included.
Stay tuned for the amenities’ tour, including rooftop view photos and news about the streetscape.
Will Chris Bosh Stay In Miami After His Career-Ending Diagnosis?
It is a sad day for Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. The NBA doctors have officially ruled that his blood clotting disorder is a career-ending ailment. The 11-time all star maintains that he is in good health to play, but the ruling has been made and it looks like the Heat will waive him from the roster so that they can make room for a new player to take his place.
So, if he is indeed forced off of the roster, will he stay in Miami? What will happen to the $12 million luxury home he purchased in 2010 on North Bay Road? He still has $52 million left on his contract, which he will reportedly get to keep, so he doesn’t really have to work again although he maintains a desire to continue playing. He is only 33 years old, after all. What would you do?
Here are some additional photos of the Miami Beach waterfront mansion that he calls home. It has 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, 2 powder rooms and 12,000 square feet of interior space. The North Bay Road lot has over 100 feet of bay frontage.
The Towering Tower Crane at SLS Lux Is Coming Down – How Do They Do That?
The tower crane that erected the nearly sold-out SLS Lux to its height of 60 stories is being removed this weekend. Allen Morris, the co-developer of SLS Lux has joked that the tower crane is the State Bird of Florida and while I chuckle, he does have a point. During the high point of the building boom, I’ve counted as many as 33 tower cranes in the skyline.
Many people have been curious about the process of building and disassembling such monstrous tools. How do you build something that is designed to build a building that tall? There is no tool tall enough or strong enough to take it down when the job is complete, so how do they do it? Interestingly enough, it takes itself down.
The tower portion (also called the mast) is designed in a way that it has a brace, allowing workers to raise the crane with hydraulics, then the crane lifts the next piece and workers slide it into place. This happens gradually as the tower rises, and then the opposite happens when they are finished. When the tower is low enough, a mobile crane will arrive and disassemble the rest.
Here is a short video that demonstrates how the cranes build themselves up:
Below is an image taken from Brickell Heights next door. You can see that the crane is being lowered for disassembly. The jib (arm) is moved into the North/South position so that it does not damage the building, and is slowly shrinking from its tallest height of 700 feet. According to the workers onsite, the process takes about a week.
SLS Lux is expected to open later this year. All of the residences and designer suites have been sold, but 2 penthouses remain available. We had the opportunity to preview the penthouse views when the building topped off in December.
Aria on the Bay Construction Tour
Today we were invited to take a construction tour of Aria on the Bay in the Omni District of Edgewater. I had been curious to see how the building would turn out ever since the day I first saw the renderings, and I was very impressed!
In touring with the developers, Martin and Carlos Melo, their passion and pride in their craft was evident. They seemed to genuinely enjoy giving the tour and were excited to go through the project with us, often pausing to tell the stories behind previous buildings they have built. Aria on the Bay is the first luxury condominium they have built in Miami, but they have built almost 20 buildings in total, typically rental developments that they hold and run. They explained that they build for what the market calls for, whether it be an affordable yet well-appointed apartment building attached to a metromover stop, or a glitzy waterfront development with private elevators, which is what we saw today. Here’s a preview of the residences, which will begin closings early in 2018:
The East view from the 51st floor
The East view from the 51st floor
The Northeast view from the 51st floor
The North view from the 51st floor
The South view from the 51st floor
The views checked out beautifully, and I was also impressed to see that even the residences on the West side of the building (facing Biscayne Boulevard, rather than the Biscayne Bay) also had partial bay views. Bravo!
The interiors of the units were still very much under construction, but some already had the kitchens and bathrooms installed enough to where we could see the quality of the finishes.
This is the vanity in one of the master bathrooms. You can see the cabinets are a textured wooden design from Italkraft and the vanity top is quartz. In the background, you can see the standalone tub. It was still covered to protect the fixture, so I didn’t take a direct photo of it. In the photo below, you can see the rendering of a similar master bathroom.
Here is the soaking tub in one of the guest bedrooms. It hasn’t been shined up yet, but you can see that it is nicer than the soaking tubs in the master bedrooms of some of the competing developments.
This is another guest bath in the same apartment.
Sadly, none of my kitchen photos came out very well, but the finishes are similar to the bathrooms with the same textured wooden paneling from Italkraft on the cabinets and the appliances. Here is the sample kitchen, which has been built out in the sales center.
The amenity deck was also very much still under construction, but I had to make note of how similar the pool deck came out when you compare it to the rendering. They elevated the jacuzzi so that when people sit in it, they can see over the glass and into the bay.
Another aspect of Aria that I was impressed with was their range of floor plans. Buyers have the option to pay a little more and live in the more exclusive East side of the building, that has private elevators and direct bay views. They also have the option to pay a little less and live on the West side of the building with semi-private elevators and partial bay views. Apartments with private elevators have two private elevator bays as well as a shared service elevator. Those with semi-private elevators have four elevator bays for eight apartments on each floor, so residents should feel comfortable that there are plenty of bays to eliminate wait times.
The project is currently 80% sold out and has a nice selection of availability in both sections of the building. For apartments with semi-private elevators, units are available from $433,000 – $597,000 and for apartments with private elevators and direct bay views, prices range from $794,000 – $1,769,900. Penthouses are priced upon request. Buyers of the penthouses will be able to say that the Miami Marlins’ outfielder, Giancarlo Stanton, who just signed the richest contract in MLB history ($325 million over 13 years) is their next door neighbor.
