Great Artwork in Miami Condo Buildings
Walking through the common areas of some of the new condo buildings in Miami feels almost like walking through an art gallery. It’s great to see that some of these developers have decided to add an artistic touch to their buildings. You’ll find a lot of artwork in buildings such as Quantum on the Bay, 900 Biscayne Bay and 500 Brickell. Below I’ll share with you a few pieces that I really like. I had the chance to take a picture of these yesterday afternoon.
The one above is my favorite. It looks so much better in person though. This piece can be found at 900 Biscayne Bay on the 15th floor between the club room and spa. The building is full of art and the developer has chosen the pieces from local art galleries. I’ve visited 900 Biscayne Bay over the previous 5 days in a row showing units to various clients. The more I visit this building the more I LOVE it. Of all the new condo buildings completed within the past 2 years, this is hands down the BEST. The quality of the building and units is impeccable. The views are fabulous as well. When I show clients units in various buildings, I usually leave 900 Biscayne Bay last on the agenda. It’s on a completely different level.
I found the piece above to be quite interesting as well. It can be found on the rooftop lounge room at 500 Brickell. The building has lots of artwork throughout the common areas. You’ll definitely find more artwork at 500 Brickell than other Related Group condo developments in Miami. I wonder if Icon Brickell will have as much eye candy when it is completed.
I heard that there’s going to be an art show at Quantum on the Bay next week. I saw various art pieces throughout the lobby on Monday or Tuesday that I found appealing. Does anyone know the date and time that this art exhibit will occur?
A Preview of 500 Brickell
Last Thursday night, I attended the brokers preview party for 500 Brickell. It was great to be in the company of the one or two Realtors left in Miami. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit. The place was actually pretty packed. The wine was flowing and the hors d’oeuvres were everywhere. The picture above was taken from the rooftop pool on the 42nd floor.
Jorge Perez attended the party. Jorge gave free copies of his newly published book “Powerhouse Principles” and stayed around to sign books. Above, Jorge is doing his rendition of “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley. I’m joking. Actually, he was thanking his staff and everyone involved in the 500 Brickell project.
I was actually very impressed with the amenities at 500 Brickell. It’s definitely a very “hip” building. That’s the word that kept coming to mind for me at least. Here you see the lobby of the east tower at 500 Brickell.
This is a shot of the Sports Bar room at 500 Brickell. The room also has a billiards table and a bar with flat-screen TVs which you’ll see below.
Another shot of the Sports Bar.
The spa was very nice, complete with a steam room and sauna.
A shot of the hot tub in the men’s spa room.
I’m kicking back in one of the reclining seats at the back of theater room watching “Bourne Ultimatum”.
Above is a shot of the fitness center. This is one amenity area that didn’t quite impress me. I found it to be rather small to accommodate the residents of the east and west towers at 500 Brickell.
The all-famous halo at 500 Brickell. I was laying back in a lounge chair as I took this shot. It was kind of trippy. I felt like I would be beamed up to the Related Group mother-ship at any moment. I spoke with an architect who worked on 500 Brickell who mentioned that the scattered windows running down the sides of each tower were to resemble water running down. I thought that was pretty interesting.
The kitchens were nice but they’re identical to the kitchens that you’ll find in the “Sky Residences” at Plaza on Brickell, so they were nothing new to me. Each of the condos at 500 Brickell comes with a Jacuzzi tub in the master bath that are the same, or at least resemble, the ones found in the “Sky Residences” at Plaza on Brickell as well.
The floor plans were pretty spacious and the bathrooms in most of the lines were rather large. However, the group I was with did find a major flaw in the 00 line of the east tower. The shot above is of the shower. Take note of how narrow it is. A slender lady in our group entered the shower and pretended to wash her hair. She couldn’t lift her elbows without hitting the glass. The 00 line does have the best views of all the 1 bedrooms at 500 Brickell but anyone looking to buy a condo in the 00 line should take note of the shower. You’ll definitely need to open up the space somehow. The showers in the other lines didn’t seem to have this problem.
The view to the south of Brickell at dusk was pretty killer. However, there is an office building currently under construction that will block much of this view. If you look closely, you can see the construction cranes in the foreground of the picture above.
A view to the northeast. The view of the Bank of America building directly to the north was also a nice sight, although you can’t see it in this picture. Personally, I much prefer the northern view at 500 Brickell over the southern view.
Here’s a shot of the east view. I thought Icon Brickell would block most of the views to the east at 500 Brickell but, as you can see, you still get nice views of Biscayne Bay and Brickell Key. Obviously, you do see Icon Brickell to the side but the visual distraction isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
By the way, a few of you mentioned that the illuminating halo in the middle of the two towers might shed unwanted light into the condos residing on the interior of the condo development at 500 Brickell. I made sure to take a look at one of those condos to see if that was true. The halo didn’t shine a bit into the unit that I was in that night. There might be a few units where this might be a problem but I’m sure it’s nothing that some blackout shades can’t resolve.
Miami Condo Construction Update
Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, I decided to walk around Brickell, Downtown Miami and Park West to provide those who reside outside of Miami a construction update for various condo developments. Below, you’ll find various pictures that I took during my walk:
500 Brickell looks to be about 2-3 months away from being finished.
Epic Miami looks to be almost topped off.
Icon Brickell appears to have topped off one of its towers and close to topping off the other two.
Met 2 will be comprised of two towers. One will be a 47-story high-rise comprised of Class A office space. The second will be a 42-story signature hotel called Marquis, a JW Marriott Collection Hotel.
Asia is located in Brickell Key. Probably another 2-3 months until this luxury high-rise is ready to begin closings.
Met 1 is the white tower located in the center with the Wachovia building hovering directly behind it. Met 1 is complete but I’ve yet to hear for when the first closing is scheduled. Has anyone heard anything?
Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis. Marina Blue is just about done and should begin closings very soon. Gotta love the architecture and glass on Marina Blue! 900 Biscayne Bay will probably begin closings sometime within the next 2-3 months. Although closings at Ten Museum Park began in the Summer of 2007, the amenities and spa are far from being 100 percent complete. Hopefully by July we can file it away as being completely finished. Marquis still has quite a ways to go before being topped off.
Click on the following link to view a slideshow of other pictures that I took during my short walk in Miami:
Sunday Afternoon Bicycle Ride Through Brickell and Downtown Miami
Last week, I purchased a new road bike. My hope was to not only get a good cardio workout while cycling but also to get some great pictures of Miami and South Beach condos while doing so. My goal today was to get some shots of the condo developments in Brickell and Downtown that were either recently completed or will be completed within the next year. Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy day as you will see below.
Closings at Plaza on Brickell will likely begin in January. This development will add 1,000 new units to the Brickell condo market.
Closings at 1060 Brickell should occur around the same time. 1060 Brickell will add 582 condo units.
Closings at Axis will likely begin around the middle of 2008. Axis will add 718 units.
Closings for 500 Brickell are scheduled for the beginning of 2008. This development will add 633 units.
Infinity at Brickell will likely be completed towards the middle of 2008. Infinity will bring 459 condo units to the market.
I forgot to get a shot of Brickell on the River South. That development will add 322 units. I also didn’t get one today for Latitude on the River but I’ve displayed pictures of that building in the past. Closings at Latitude started about two months ago. It has 455 condo units.
Asia is located on Brickell Key. It is the only development under construction there. It will add 123 condo units when it is completed in the first half of 2008.
Closings at 50 Biscayne began about a week and a half ago. I walked in the lobby last week and it is gorgeous. I didn’t have my camcorder with me at the time, however. I will try to get a video and picture tour of the building within the next week. 50 Biscayne has 529 condo units.
Closings at Loft Downtown 2 are scheduled to begin this month. In fact, they may have already begun. It will add 496 units.
Everglades on the Bay (now known as Vizcayne) likely won’t be completed until the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009. It will add 866 condo units to the Miami real estate market.
I’ve been told that closings at Marina Blue are scheduled to begin November 1, 2007. I don’t see that happening so soon but maybe I’m wrong. My guess would be sometime in December or January. Marina Blue will add 516 units.
900 Biscayne Bay will likely be completed in the first half of 2008. It will add 516 units as well.
Closings for units at Ten Museum Park began about three months ago. Closings are still underway. It has 200 units. Marquis probably won’t be completed until the end of 2008 to beginning of 2009. It will bring 306 units to the Miami condo market.
Above is a shot of Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis.
In conclusion, there might be a tiny bit of an inventory problem in Miami (that was me being sarcastic). I also didn’t include Icon Brickell and Epic Miami which will be completed in 2009. Icon Brickell will add 1,816 units while Epic will add 966 units. The condo developments in the Arts District will also add a little over 2,000 new units to the market within the next six months.
