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.
Brickell Heights’ West tower also has its own enormous party room.
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.
Market Stat Monday: Which Brickell Buildings Are The Most Popular For Buyers?
During our Market Stat Monday series, I’ve started to notice a trend that there is an increasing amount of competition between condo listings for a smaller amount of buyers in the market. This led me to become curious if there are any buildings in the that are more popular among the active buyers, and some of the results are surprising!
First, we have to acknowledge the harsh reality that we have seen only 175 closed sales in the neighborhood this year. With 1,413 active listings, that amounts to over 40 months of inventory on the market JUST in the Brickell resale market. When pulling my data, I only looked at resales, not developer inventory. If you add in the developer inventory, there will be even more months of inventory.
The sellers who were able to sell did so for a neighborhood average of $389/square foot.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that IconBrickell’s Tower 3 has been a stand-out so far this year. They have seen 13 closed sales despite losing their hotel program (which I think creates an opportunity for owners). Seven of those sales took place in April, telling me that the investors agree.
Another popular option has been The Club at Brickell Bay, who saw 12 closings with an average price per square foot of $299/square foot. I am not aware of anything out of the ordinary that would cause The Club to be such a good buy right now, aside from the fact that the layouts and location are good and the price is right.
1060 Brickell has also had a good year. There have been 11 total closed sales at a rate of $346/square foot. Our statistics page only reports 9 sales, but that is because we have separated the project into the east and west tower.
I was not surprised to see Icon Brickell’s Tower 1 on the list. Buyers nearly always ask about IconBrickell, despite fears regarding their pool construction. Also, Tower 1 is one of the densest towers in town, with 712 total apartments, so it makes sense that there should be more transactions.
Brickell on the River’s South tower made the list with 10 sales, and that sort of makes sense to me. The building is well-run and the loft-layouts are unique. I typically advise investors to purchase a 1 bedroom in the South tower, but if they are looking for a 2 bedroom, to buy in the North tower. This is because the 1 bedroom plans rent far easier in the South tower because of their loft layout, but the 2 bedroom loft layouts lose a lot of potential tenants because of the lack of privacy from the bedrooms. Since there is competition from newer buildings these days for tenants, you want your investment to appeal to as many people as possible and the 2 bedroom lofts don’t work well for roommate situations or families. The price is also right, averaging $297/square foot.
Speaking of loft layouts, Infinity at Brickell is also on the list with 8 sales at an average of $319/square foot. I remember back in the day when people would complain about the developer selling apartments at Infinity for $255/square foot. Those were the days. A lot of people are under the misconception that Infinity no longer has views because of the construction of SLS Brickell next door. While it is true that SLS blocked some views, most of the units still have at least some bay views and the 00 and 02 lines still have a lot of bay views. Infinity is still one of my favorite buildings, the staff is very friendly and professional, the layouts are nice and since the building is so well-maintained, it does not look like it is about to be 10 years old. At $319/square foot, that is a great bargain for what you get.
One building that really surprised me was BrickellHouse. It didn’t make it into the top 10, but there were 5 sales this year averaging $474/square foot! That is a lot lower than the $600/foot price the original buyers paid, but is still a great number for a building that is probably about to have a special assessment that will make you do a double take and recount those zeros. On the bright side, they did finally find a solution to their parking debacle, so at least we’re moving forward.
Here is the full top10 list of Brickell buildings by transaction count:
Icon Brickell Tower 3 – 13 sales – $412/square foot average
The Club at Brickell Bay – 12 sales – $299/square foot average
1060 Brickell – 11 sales – $346/square foot average
Icon Brickell Tower 1 – 10 sales – $517/square foot average
Brickell on the River South Tower – 10 sales – $297/square foot average
Infinity at Brickell – 8 sales – $319/square foot average
VUE at Brickell – 7 sales – $289/square foot average
Plaza at Brickell East – 6 sales – $462/square foot average
Plaza at Brickell West – 6 sales – $411/square foot average
Neo Vertika – 6 sales – $317/square foot average
Are you surprised by any of the findings?
Brickell City Centre Receives Final Certificate Of Occupancy
Today is May 12, 2017. This is the day that Swire’s Brickell City Centre mega-project, the one that changes the Brickell neighborhood forever, is effectively complete.
The final certificate of occupancy for the whole project was received today. This means that all floors of both office towers, all floors of Reach, Rise, the East Hotel AND the full retail portion are ready to go. Now, before everyone gets all up in arms about the stores in the retail portion not being 100% open yet, be patient. The stores are not able to even begin their build-out until the certificate of occupancy is delivered, but everything is now complete on Swire’s part.
This project has been a tremendous success not just for Swire, but for the Brickell neighborhood and the people behind the 6,000+ jobs that the project created as well. Swire took a 9 acre assemblage of land that was once vacant lots and a tennis center and turned it into a catalyst that not only changed the neighborhood, it changed the market as well.
Brickell City Centre features over 5.4 million square feet overall, with 500,000+ square feet of retail, 130,000 square feet of class A office space, a 5 star hotel and 780 luxury condominium units in two towers. Reach tower opened in April of 2016, and Rise tower in the fall. The condos have been consistently selling at a rate of $650/square foot. There have been 4 resales so far at an average rate of $667/square foot.
One of the things that I find especially endearing from Brickell City Centre is their eagerness to contribute to the community. Not only did they donate $600,000 to the Underline, the 10 mile linear park underneath the MetroRail line, but they are also eager to host events for the area. Each week, there is a Saturday afternoon farmer’s market under the MetroMover line, regular events are held for their retailers and they have also been open & excited to host events for the public to get better acquainted with the new space.
We offer Swire 5.4 million congratulations for 5.4 million square feet of success! Thank you very much for this contribution to our community!
Countdown To Closings: Brickell Heights Prepares To Open
Image via Carlos Rosso
The countdown to TCO is on! Related Group is expecting their temporary certificate of occupancy for Brickell Heights next week, and plans to begin closings June 1.
We received an e-blast from the membership office of Equinox with the following update:
Our club will be opening SOMETIME between the 1st and 15th of June. The gym itself is complete, and once the building has finished their lobby, the inspection will be completed and we will be allowed to move in and open immediately. I encourage you to take a walk by and check it out yourself. The building lobby is being finished, and you can see the two Equinox signs in the street entrance directly across from Rosa Mexicano.
I reached out to our friend and Brickell Heights developer representative, Yenny Hanley, to see if we could get a more solid date. She informed me that if the TCO does come through on time next week, closings will begin June 1. They will start with floors 10-20 and then move on to floors 21 and up during the end of June/start of July. We will be on the lookout for the first rentals and resales and report back when they are made active. Meanwhile, check out the preview clip of the rooftop pool that Yenny sent us. Exciting!!
Brickell Flatiron Construction Reaches 6th Floor; Penthouse Design Revealed
After it’s epic foundation pour in January, the vertical construction of Brickell Flatiron has reached the sixth floor just as the developer releases the floor plan of its’ four-bedroom penthouse.
The layout can be seen in the floor plan below, which was shared with us by Chris Suarez, our contact for Brickell Flatiron. It has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 2,592 interior square feet and unobstructed cityscape and sunset views from the 509 square foot terrace. Each of the bedrooms has a dedicated bathroom and the master suite is situated on the opposite side of the residence behind a support beam, for additional privacy. Being someone who is a very light sleeper, I can fully get on board with that.
I also like that there is a den/studio just off of the secondary bedrooms, which would serve as a great place for a kids’ play room, a movie room, or an office. All of the bedrooms and the living room are situated in a way that they each have balcony access and a big, open view of the sunsets.
It is always a pet peeve of mine when developers don’t fully think through the usability of the space they sell. There are so many condos in the neighborhood that are situated in a way that the best view in the unit is from the office, or even worse, from the window over a bathtub. Such a waste, but that doesn’t happen here. The space appears to be designed with the future resident in mind, without throwing in wasted space. I’m a fan!
The finishes in the apartment will include furniture-ready interiors with Italian porcelain tile flooring, custom designed Snaidero kitchen cabinetry with stainless steel backsplashes, Cedarstone countertops, and Zucchetti faucets. The appliances will be fully-integrated professional grade appliances from Miele. There will be front-loading Bosch washer and dryers and custom solid wood doors made in Italy with soft-close hinges. The bathrooms are custom designed with Milldue cabinetry, Italian marble flooring and chrome-finished Zucchetti faucets. I really like the back-lit wall mirrors in the master bath as well… those are typically upgrades.
Vertical construction of the 552 unit project started in January of this year. As of today, they have reached the 6th floor. The general contractor, Moss & Associates expects to reach the 17th floor by the end of the year and then complete one floor per week until the final top-off is achieved in late 2018.
Have a look here at the penthouse plan and let us know what you think. Prices start at $1.64 million. Non-penthouse residences start at $475,000.
Brickell Flatiron Penthouse by Sarah Elles Boggs on Scribd
Construction Photos from Moss & Associates:
Additional Interior Renderings from CMC Group:
Fun Fact Friday: Every Building Swire Builds Is Blessed By Monks… Twice
We find ourselves praising Swire Properties regularly. They move trees from their development sites to local parks rather than cutting them down, they donate money to The Underline (Miami’s answer to New York’s High Line), they spend $31 million on a climate ribbon that cools their shopping center, protects shoppers from the elements and looks really nice from every angle. Now, we also learn that each and every building that Swire Properties builds is blessed by monks at least twice.
The Hong Kong based developer has a tradition of flying monks to their build site at groundbreaking for a blessing ceremony. The ceremony is repeated once the project is complete. In 2005, Carbonell was even able to be blessed by the Dalai Lama himself! Brickell City Centre was blessed multiple times. First, there was a blessing ceremony at groundbreaking, then the East Hotel was blessed upon completion. Reach and Rise received their own completion ceremonies with the East Hotel receiving an additional blessing at this time. When the mall opened, the entire project was blessed again. Talk about counting our blessings! Here are the other buildings in the area that were built by Swire Properties:
Brickell Key One (1982)
Brickell Key Two (1991)
One Tequesta Point (1995)
Courvoisier Courts (1997)
Two Tequesta Point (1998)
Three Tequesta Point (2001)
Courts at Brickell Key (2003)
Jade Residences at Brickell Bay (2004)
Carbonell (2005)
Now that’s what we call #Blessed!!
Girlboss: Miami Buildings Developed By Female Developers
In honor of #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday), let’s take a look at the buildings in our area that were brought to us by women. Many people know the story of how Miami was founded by two women (Julia Tuttle and Mary Brickell), and everyone knows about the magic that Zaha Hadid is bringing to Downtown Miami with One Thousand Museum, which she designed but did not develop. What about the women who are behind the reins? Real estate development is an especially male-dominated field, so bravo to these trailblazers! Girlboss!
Lissette Calderon
Ms Calderon was born into a real estate family. Her father was a developer of small projects while she was growing up and piqued her interest after his passing when she was a teenager. While in college at the Wharton School of Business, she took a few real estate classes for fun, but didn’t plan on entering the field until later. When she ultimately returned to Miami, she landed a job under the Condo King himself, Jorge Perez.
After two years of learning the development ropes, she branched off on her own in 1999 and formed NEO. Her first building was Neo Lofts, which we don’t have featured on our website because it is west of our core service area, but is a great start to a great career. It was completed in 2004 and has 20 stories with 200 units. It is still a popular choice for those who enjoy high-rise living but don’t necessarily want to be in the densest part of the city.
Following the success of Neo Lofts, she expanded into Brickell to bring us Neo Vertika in 2006. This was an interesting addition to the neighborhood as it is the only choice for residents who enjoy living in New York style lofts. I consider New York style lofts to be those with exposed ductwork and concrete floors/ceilings. Neo Vertika has 36 floors and 443 lofts that are studios up to three bedrooms. The prices today range from $225,000 for a studio-sized one bedroom up to $375,000 for a 2 bedroom penthouse. The average sales price of closed sales this year is $317/square foot. For rentals, you could find a studio-sized one bedroom for just under $1,700/month, a duplex one bedroom for $1,850, and two bedrooms starting at $2,250/month. Another draw to this development is the popular restaurant/lounge in the waterfront retail space, American Social.
Next, Ms Calderon moved to the north side of the river and brought us Wind by Neo in 2008. Due to the unfortunate timing of the building’s opening in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis, there were financial hardships and many foreclosures associated with Wind, but it has rebounded nicely and remains a popular building today. Wind has 41 stories and 481 Miami-style lofts with a dramatic all-white-everything lobby. There are currently 57 units for sale in the building with one bedrooms starting at $245,000 and two bedrooms starting at $305,000. The average sale price per square foot is $317/square foot for sales that occurred in the first quarter of 2017. Rental prices start at $1,650 for a studio-sized one bedroom, $1,800 for a full sized one bedroom, and $2,300month for a two bedroom.
For her fourth project, Lissette had intended to build a 52 story tower with 507 units on the lot directly in between Wind and the river. The tower was named Cima, but with the market conditions the way they were, she moved on from the project. The lot was later sold to KAR Properties and will soon be developed into the ultra-luxury One River Point, which held the grand opening of their lavish sales center last month.
Lissette was also known for being a working mom. After preschool, he children would usually be found in her office, so that she could interact with them while she was working and also to teach them work ethic. A woman after my own heart! Today, she has taken her talents back to the Related Group, where she has been named the first ever female President at the company.
Evangeline Gouletas
A former First Lady of New York State, Evangeline Gouletas is just as much grand dame as she is girl boss. Hailing from Athens, Greece, she studied mathematics at Johns Hopkins and vector analysis at the Illinois Institute of Technology. While most of her development success has been in Chicago, she has made a lasting mark in Brickell as well.
In 2004, Evangeline brought us Skyline on Brickell, a 35 story waterfront tower with 360 condo units. The one bedrooms today start at $309,900, two bedrooms start at $500,000 and three bedrooms are just under $1 million. The closed sales have averaged $395/square foot over the last 4 months. For the renters out there, one bedroom units are starting at $1,900/month, two bedrooms at $2,650/month and there is one three bedroom available for $4,100/month.
While she did not follow through with developing it, I still consider her the mother of NINE at Mary Brickell Village, which was completed in 2015. She was the visionary who had the idea to purchase the air rights of Mary Brickell Village and build a tower over the shopping center. Initially, the project was to be named “Skyline at Mary Brickell Village”, but the construction lenders were having a hard time differentiating the two Skyline buildings, so she renamed it “Sky Palace at Mary Brickell Village.” Sky Palace was initially going to be a condo development and she did all of the presales before the 2008 market change. She then planned to turn the building into a rental community, but ultimately sold the air rights to the developers, who constructed the building and renamed it Nine at Mary Brickell Village due to the address being 999 SW 1st Avenue.
Today, Evangeline is in the acquisition phase of several new projects, working on the board of several nonprofits and traveling. She also participates in horseback riding, dressage, loves to go skiing and dance the tango. I have always admired her ability to combine glamorous Elizabeth Taylor-esque drama with real estate development grit.
When asked about what it is like to be a female developer in a male-dominated market, Evangeline said, “Gender does not matter in the Condominium Industry. In fact, it helps to be a female.” She continued to add that, “Men of Quality do not feel intimidated by women of equality.”
That is a wonderful outlook! We are very proud of both Lissette and Evangeline! Thank you for your contribution to our skyline!
