The long-awaited Apple Store at Brickell City Centre is slated to open on March 25. There will be a grand opening beginning at 10am, according to Apple.
This will be the first Apple Store in the Downtown Miami area and is very much welcomed. It will employ over 100 people speaking a total of 9 different languages, according to TechCrunch. Over half of the employees will speak Spanish, something we know is required for the Miami market.
On the outside, there will be 13-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking into the indoor/outdoor mall. Inside, there will be a large forum with a video wall and display windows with regular new designs. There will also be a boardroom for business customers to speak with Apple employees and try out new devices.
We will see you there next Saturday!
Miami Condo Investments Is Going To The Movies! Cinemex At Brickell City Centre Update
Last month, we received information that the Cinemex movie theater in Brickell City Centre was set to open on February 17. This news was welcomed with much excitement by the people who have been waiting patiently to see a movie in Brickell. The people with Swire were less impressed. It seemed there were some delays behind the scenes that we were unaware of, and the opening day was pushed back to March 17.
As that date draws nearer, the permits still haven’t been closed out and opening day is rescheduled for March 24. This process of final permits always leaves us with very fluid dates. The date that they are closed out depends upon the schedules of the inspectors, contractors, the amount of paperwork on the desk of the inspectors and a host of other moving parts that could create a delay. Even so, we took a peek inside this week and saw that things are indeed very close to completion.
We are just as anxious as everyone else to see the theater open! This is something we have wanted to have in the neighborhood for 10 years now, and at last it is SO CLOSE! We have even signed on to have a 30 second commercial that will air before each movie on each of the 10 screens at the theater, starting on opening night. We are so eager to see the theater open, we can’t wait to show it to you! What do you think?
UPDATED: Brickell City Centre’s Cinemex Movie Theater Set To Open
Photo from The Next Miami
Get your popcorn, moviegoers!!! Brickell will officially have a movie theater very soon!
Brickell City Centre’s Cinemex theater is set to open its doors on Friday night, February 17, according to sources involved with the Mexican theater chain. The theater is located on the third floor of the shopping center, above Saks Fifth Avenue. Just outside the door is Pubbelly Sushi and Tacology, conveniently located for a dinner & movie date night. A full menu will also be served inside for those who prefer to dine during the film.
The Next Miami reported a few weeks back that the theater was hiring their staff and hosting new workers onsite. There are 517 total seats in 10 viewing rooms over the 47,000 square foot location.
***UPDATE February 8*** After varying claims from other offices within the development, we contacted Swire directly to have confirmation from all sides on the opening date. While the contact within CMX does claim February 17 as the opening date, Swire is saying mid March (considering all of the final permits are closed in a timely manner).
***UPDATE March 1*** Our contact with the theater has updated the opening date to be March 15. Here is a preview of the lobby.
Inside Rise at Brickell City Centre
Last summer, we were able to take a photo tour through Reach Tower at Brickell City Centre shortly after it opened. Reach is now 95% sold out and its sister tower, Rise at Brickell City Centre has opened as well.
Rise is located at 88 SW 7th Street, above Saks Fifth Avenue. It has 43 floors and 390 total units ranging from 1 bedrooms up to 3 bedrooms, Tower Suites with 4 bedrooms and 3-5 bedroom Penthouses. They are currently 60% sold and move-ins are underway. The prices for each tower start in the mid $600,000’s and go up to $2,750,000 for the 4 bedroom Tower Suite at Rise.
Stay tuned for Friday, when we will tour the available Tower Suites and Penthouses on both projects with details on each.
Here are the photos of our tour of the Rise model apartments. You can find the associated floor plans here. If you are interested in a personal tour, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re always available to set it up for you.
The street-level lobby:
The 6th Floor Resident’s Lobby:
A full-service Hammam and Salon:
The model units are all on the 31st floor:
Diana and Francisco are making deals while touring. Multitasking like champs!
Surprisingly, the west view apartments also have a water view:
The kitchen is finished with the Latte color palette. Also available, kitchens in Espresso palette.
These are the standard finishes for all master bathrooms:
Master bedroom closets are delivered finished out:
Northeast views from the 31st floor:
Direct east views:
The rooftop of the office towers are finished with grass, making an additional community area:
Reach Tower as seen from Rise:
Our sunset happy hour awaits! Check out that view!
Doing deals while sampling the amazing food at Sugar. I recommend the boneless Korean chicken wings, but everything we sampled was amazing.
Looking south into Brickell as the sun sets.
Preconstruction Investor Sells Reach Tower Suite At $350k Loss
A buyer has scooped up an amazing deal on one of the last Tower Suites at Brickell City Centre’s Reach Tower. The original buyer had paid $2,175,000 back in August of 2016, then listed the property on the MLS as a resale shortly thereafter.
The buyer was able to snag the opportunity for $1,950,000, represented by our very own Lucas Lechuga with a quick and seamless closing. After the developer fee on the purchase, the price negotiation and commission on the resale, the seller walked away from over $350,000 in the transaction!
The apartment has 2,740 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 4.5 baths and encompasses the entire east side of the building, offering gorgeous views of the neighborhood and Biscayne Bay. You can find the floor plan here. No word on the reason the investor was willing to take such a drastic loss, but congratulations to the buyer! Here’s a tour of the layout:
Do you think any of the pre-construction investors will be able to turn a profit on their resales now that the buildings are all opening?
Brickell City Centre Opens With Surprise Pitbull Concert
AT LAST! After four years of anticipation, Brickell City Centre has opened its doors! To celebrate, Swire and Saks Fifth Avenue hosted a pre-opening party with a “surprise concert from an award-winning recording artist.” It was Miami’s own Mr. 305, Pittbull! Inside Saks, there were tours, light bites and cocktails with performance artists around every corner. On Thursday morning, there will be a ribbon cutting and formal opening with the mayor and Steve Owens in attendance.
While the majority of the stores are not yet open, Swire is pushing for new openings each week until the end of the year. Of course, a lot of the timeline is dependent upon the city’s permitting and inspection timeline. In the meantime, special events are being hosted in order to sample what our new shopping venue has to offer. Here is the lineup for the opening weekend:
Brickell City Centre Expands its Weekly Farmer’s Market
Brickell City Centre has expanded its weekly farmer’s market in conjunction with the Green Market Co-Op. They are the organizers behind the popular Pinecrest Market, who may regard as the best farmer’s market in town.
The new and improved Brickell Market will include over 40 vendors including fresh, locally-grown produce, baked goods, artisan foods, plants, flowers, home and garden goods, health and beauty items, pet food, lunch spots and even a DJ. No event in Miami is complete without a DJ.
One of my personal favorite vendors is the Tree Hugging Hippie Soap guy. He makes his soaps himself in the Little River area and then sells them himself as well. There’s nothing like buying from someone who is really passionate about their craft and this guy is all about healthy soaps. They smell really nice and make your skin feel really nice too. I’m not a full blown tree hugging hippie, but I hope to see him there this week. He didn’t ask me to say that, I really need more soap.
Each Saturday fro 10am-4pm, the farmer’s market will be set up underneath the People Mover along 8th Street. Even the original Brickell City Centre farmer’s market was a hit, so this is really exciting! See you there!
Over 30% of Brickell City Centre’s Reach Tower Units Are Already Offered as Rentals
Brickell City Centre’s Reach Tower has been open now for a little over 3 months and over 30% of the apartments are already offered as rentals! According to public records, Swire has been able to close 277 of the contracts on the units already, probably closer to 300 if you count the two-week delay that is common with tax roll searches. Of those closed apartments, 125 have already come back to the market as rental apartments.
What I find to be even more alarming is the fact that of the 125 rental opportunities, only 15 landlords have found a tenant. Fifteen. In 3 months. If we keep up at that pace, landlords will be holding their apartments for 2 years or more. That’s a big pill to swallow if you bought a condo with the expectation of having it produce an income for you.
But what does this mean for Brickell?
Here’s the bottom line. The condos are beautiful. The neighborhood is hot. The condos will rent and tenants will be found… but at what price?
The Downtown Development Authority estimates that 70 new families move to Brickell each month in their 2014 Demographics Report. That doesn’t include people who relocate between buildings in the neighborhood, and there is plenty of that going on. The demand is there and nobody is denying the fact that Brickell City Centre is one of the most anticipated projects of them all. That leaves us at price.
Before the building opened, agents were boasting to our team members that they were representing landlords and planned to offer their 1 bedroom units for $3,500 and 2 bedroom units for $4,500. You see, our team members know their way around the Brickell rental market. Their response was, “You guys have fun with that.”
Fast forward to today. The 15 units that rented were all leased for $2,500-$2,750 for one bedrooms and $3,300-$4,000 for two bedrooms. The one bedrooms offered currently are between $2,500-$3,300 and the two bedrooms offered are between $3,700-$5,700, so some folks are starting to get the memo.
Hopefully the others will realize the true market value, before the Bond on Brickell, SLS Brickell and Rise at Brickell City Centre open, further flooding the market. With this being said, please don’t think it is fire sale time in Brickell. The neighborhood is still very hot, it is just readjusting with the new inventory.
We’ll check back in a few months to see how things are going after the Bond on Brickell and SLS Brickell open.
Inside Brickell City Centre’s First Completed Condo Tower, Reach
Brickell City Centre Reach was recently completed and opened to residents, and today Miami Condo Investments got a lookie-loo inside. The building, the first of two condo towers in Phase I of Brickell City Centre, is done up to the nines, with everything super-perfect and tchochkies on every surface. Meanwhile, almost all units have sold in Reach, while there is much more availability in the not-yet-completed Rise, and prices for both are averaging about $650 per square foot. Check out the photo tour below.
Reach is to the right.
Reach has a the discreet entrance on the building’s north side.
Lobby.
Library on 6th floor.
Second lobby on 6th floor.
Lounge on 6th floor.
Hammam.
Kid’s indoor playroom.
Aerobics room.
Fitness center.
Kid’s outdoor playground.
The mall is still under construction.
Pools.
Model unit.
The kind of bric-a-brac they put everywhere. Apparently this is a very large Chinese calligraphy brush.
