After months of delay, I’m happy to announce that the SLS Lux rooftop deck is FINALLY open. Located on the 57th floor and in the heart of Brickell, the rooftop deck offers sweeping, 180-degree views from east to west. It features a rooftop pool, hot tub, and BBQ area, and will be open from sunrise to sunset.
However, before you race over to SLS Lux with your towel and swimwear in hand, keep in mind that the rooftop deck is a residents-only area of the building. Along with the 45th-floor Sky Lounge, only residents of SLS Lux may use these amenities; hotel guests are not permitted on these amenity levels.
The video below showcases the rooftop pool deck at SLS Lux by drone but was shot months ago, before the tiling was completed and pool deck furniture delivered.
Echo Brickell Penthouse Re-listed for $42M
After being taken off the market for three months, the Echo Brickell penthouse is back…once again listed for a cool $42 million. The sprawling, two-story penthouse encompasses the entire 56th and 57th floors of Echo Brickell. It was custom-designed by world-famous architect Carlos Ott and features over 9,000 interior square feet, 4 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, a den, service suite, and an indoor lap pool and spa overlooking Biscayne Bay.
The $42M asking price equates to $4,456 per square foot. A sales price anywhere close to that amount would completely shatter the current record sales price per square foot of $1,536 for Mainland Miami (In 2007, Pharrell Williams purchased the 9,080 square foot penthouse at Bristol Tower for $13.95M; Pharrell Williams later sold the Bristol Tower penthouse for $9.25M). Of course, records were made to be broken and Echo Brickell has the makings to get the job done. Earlier this month, a non-penthouse residence at Echo Brickell sold completely finished and designer furnished for $2.31M ($1,282 per square foot).
Below is a video of the Carlos Ott penthouse at Echo Brickell:
Miami Commissioners Vote to Regulate Shared Bikes (and Whatever Happened to the Scooters?)
It was just over one year ago in June of 2017 that Lime (the California startup formerly known as LimeBike) rolled out its dockless bike-sharing services in Key Biscayne as the company’s first U.S. city launch.It wasn’t long before the program expanded to cities all over the country and further across Miami, including suburban neighborhoods as far as Kendall and Miami Lakes.Competitors like Ofo and Spin surfaced soon after as the concept gained popularity. The idea was simple – download an app, find a nearby bike using location services, input your payment info, and pay as you go.Whereas Citibikes requires riders to return their bicycle to a docking station upon finishing their ride, Lime and Oto allow riders to leave them anywhere.
The convenience offered by the dockless programs is a huge hit with riders, but with that convenience also comes the dangers of abandoned bikes all over the city.Stray bicycles have been seen blocking access to public ways, along busy sidewalks, in the front yards of private homes, and in some rare cases, dumped in the ocean or hanging from trees.With Miami traffic being amongst the worse in the country, the demand for the program is clear, but lawmakers in many cities have struggled to regulate it.The difficulty lies in protecting public safety without stripping away the programs’ key feature.
Last Tuesday, July 10th, Miami city commissioners voted in favor of 3 different resolutions aimed at regulating the bike-sharing programs.The resolutions include $100 fines for unattended bikes left in county rights of way, with removal by the Department of Transportation and Public Works.The county was also asked to prepare studies that will help determine the needs of future regulation, and whether or not to create designated parking areas for the dockless bikes.
As for the dockless electric scooters, which appeared to have taken over Brickell almost overnight and then were suddenly gone only weeks later – the two providers (Bird and Lime) temporarily pulled out after receiving cease and desist letters from the city, citing violations of Florida statute.A spokesperson for Lime shared that over 10,000 residents and visitors of Miami made nearly 30,000 scooter trips between April and June.Lime general manager for Miami, Jed Fluxman, said in a statement, “With such strong ridership, we are committed to serving the community for the long-term and will temporarily pause operations in order to work with the City of Miami on fair, sensible regulations that cement Lime’s place in the Miami community for years to come.”While the timing is uncertain, it appears this won’t be the last of seeing Brickell bankers and professionals donning suit and ties aboard electric scooters, nor is there any end to dockless bike programs in sight.
UNA Residences: A Short Film w/ Architects Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and Developer Vladislav Doronin
Get your popcorn ready! The developer of UNA Residences, OKO Group, has released a short film starring architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill along with Chairman and CEO of OKO Group, Vladislav Doronin. The duo architects share their inspiration for the building’s design while Doronin describes the amenities and lifestyle that future residents of UNA will get to enjoy, from its bayfront pool and marina to its world-class spa…and everything in between.
Brickell Flatiron is really getting up there these days! As of today, construction of the 64-story, ultra-luxury tower has reached the 42nd floor. To put that height into perspective, the height of Brickell Flatiron has now eclipsed that of nearby 1100 Millecento. The video below was taken last month and construction of Brickell Flatiron has been moving at a pace of one floor per week.
The developer still has a number of great options still remaining, so if you’re interested in purchasing a condo at Brickell Flatiron, you shouldn’t feel like you’ve missed the boat. Brickell Flatiron is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019, which I believe will be a brilliant time to deliver a development of this magnitude. I’m predicting that the next upswing for the Miami luxury condo market will begin in October of next year. Brickell Flatiron’s construction crane is the last crane remaining from Brickell’s recent construction cycle.
I took the photo below of Brickell Flatiron on May 22nd from the rooftop of 1100 Millecento.
Icon Brickell Pool Delays Continue (Now they’re saying August)
When will the Icon Brickell pool reopen? At this point, your guess is as good as mine.
Well, December 15th came and went, and the pool remained a construction zone.
In early February 2018, the Icon Brickell Master Association Board of Directors sent a new notice to residents to update them about the large delay to reopen the pool, blaming the delay on “the hurricane and unforeseen construction items”. They also provided a new anticipated opening date of April 1, 2018, barring any significant delays due to weather.
Well, here we are in June. Once again, the reopening date came and went and still no finished pool deck. Earlier today, an agent on the Miami Condo Investments showed a few units at Icon Brickell and was able to snap a few shots of the pool deck along with a short video clip. By the looks of it, there’s quite a ways to go until one can expect the Icon Brickell pool to reopen.
I had been hearing rumblings that the anticipated reopening date had been pushed back to July or August; however, an owner at Icon Brickell notified me today that he has received word from management that the pool isn’t anticipated to reopen until August. I guess we shall see!
If you ask me, they’re planting them Christmas trees around the pool in anticipation of a December 2018 reopening…LOL!
Related Group Pays Off $166M Construction Loan for SLS Lux Brickell Hotel & Residences
Related Group has plenty to celebrate about these days. The development powerhouse announced earlier today that it has paid off its $166.1 million construction loan for SLS Lux Brickell Hotel & Residences, more than a week ahead of its official grand opening, which is slated for June 14th. The loan was issued in September 2016 by TPG Real Estate Finance Trust, the commercial real estate debt platform of TPG Real Estate. In two months since closings began at SLS Lux, Related Group has closed over 400 of the development’s 450 condo residences.
“Paying off the loan is a major milestone for us,” said Ben Gerber, Vice President of Finance for The Related Group. “It speaks to the quality of the product and to the strength of the Miami market.”
“We are thrilled about the completion of our second project with sbe in Brickell,” added Carlos Rosso, President of The Related Group’s Condominium Development Division. “The opening of SLS LUX fulfills our long-time vision of a pedestrian-friendly South Miami Avenue, and buyers are excited to move in and begin living the lifestyle.”
The construction loan for SLS Lux Brickell Hotel & Residences marks the fourth such loan successfully paid off by Related Group over the past 18 months. SLS Lux also marks the fourth project developed by Related Group to open in Brickell along South Miami Avenue (the other three being 1100 Millecento, sister property SLS Brickell Hotel & Residences, and two-tower development Brickell Heights, which is comprised of Brickell Heights East and Brickell Heights West).
Drone Footage of the SLS Lux Rooftop Pool (Video)
While Related puts the finishing touches on the uber-amenities at SLS Lux, I wanted to share with everyone a new aerial drone video showcasing its 57th floor rooftop pool deck and 9th floor garden level amenities deck. Although Related received its temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) for the upper floors last month, the sky lounge and rooftop pool deck have yet to officially open in order to allow the developer adequate time to properly furnish those spaces. In the video below, you will notice that the rooftop pool has been filled with water and has five poolside umbrellas around it but is missing lounge chairs. On the 9th floor amenities level, it’s good to see that the multi-purpose court is nearly finished.
For those curious about how the inside of this beautiful development looks, be sure to check out my photo tour of SLS Lux, which is filled with hi-res photos of the SLS Lux Brickell Hotel, on-site restaurant and bar, and building amenities. And if you’re curious to see the finishes of an actual condo residence at SLS Lux, be sure to check out my photo tour of unit 2009, which I listed for sale on April 26th and got under contract in just six days!
New Renderings Unveiled for Una Residences
Spa
Earlier this week, the Miami Condo Investments Team was invited to the Una Residences sales center to receive a special presentation for Brickell’s only waterfront preconstruction development. Not only did we have an opportunity to see first-hand the kitchen and bathroom finishes, we also had an opportunity to view the newly released renderings and see for ourselves some of the views that the development will offer.
Pre-sales for Una Residences launched a few months ago and the development has been very well received. The 47-story tower was designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG) and is being developed by OKO Group. Completion of Una Residences is slated for summer 2021.
