River District 14 Development Now Accepting Reservations
River District 14 development has officially launched and is now accepting reservations. With its 283 exquisitely designed studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and walk-up condominium homes, River District 14 gives owners a real turnkey experience.
Featuring more than 20,000 square feet of amenities, River District 14 provides residents with a resort-style pool with cabanas, two indoor pickleball courts, a relaxation area, a cutting-edge fitness facility, a fully furnished co-working floor, and much more. There will be furniture kits available for all homes, making them all move-in ready.
The Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami, and the Brightline Train Station are all nearby important transit hubs. The tower is minutes from the UHealth Towers and Hospitals, one of the most renowned and significant public health districts in the country, and is a short stroll from the excellent dining, shopping, and entertainment options at River Landing.
Owners will have the option to rent out their homes on a daily, weekly, or long-term basis. They can do so independently or through a third-party service like VRBO, Airbnb, etc. Nothing else like it is available. lone long-term rental communities are available in the neighborhood, and the lone hotel in the area has ordinary hotel rooms without kitchens for $250 or more per night and $350 or more per night at other hotels. Early 2024 is the anticipated start date, followed by a mid-2025 completion date.
Financing Obtained for 3 Tower Development Near Miami River
Truist Bank, based in North Carolina, has given the Related Group, a $164 million construction loan for the first of three skyscrapers planned for a premium 3.9-acre development site along Brickell Avenue, south of the Miami River.
The 47-story building, also known as One Brickell Tower II, is expected to rise at 77 Southeast 5th Street to a height of about 478 feet and contain 506 units. The entire mixed-use development, which includes the anticipated 75-story Baccarat Residences Miami and an 82-story hotel and residential tower, is designed by Arquitectonica. The tower’s general contractor is John Moriarty & Associates, and work is anticipated to start next month.
The most recent rendering for One Brickell Tower II shows the structure from a ground-view angle as seen from Brickell Avenue with Icon Brickell visible in the background. The sign that reads “The One” atop a planted wall signals that this is the first time we have seen branding for this stage of the project.
A double-height lobby with a covered entry and exposed concrete support columns can be found at the tower’s base. These columns rise into what could be described as an undulating wall of balconies.
The balconies are enclosed by continuous horizontal bars of glass, and the exterior walls are covered in smooth stucco that has a grayish appearance. The site, which will feature a drop-off facility along Brickell Avenue, is surrounded by extensive landscaping. The three towers will be connected by a multistory pedestal. That connecting podium will accommodate an outdoor amenity level on its roof and include parking spots.
Plumbing, excavation, and site work permits were given last year. Due to unpaid permit fees, vertical construction permits are still pending. In 2020, FAA building permits were issued.
Miami River Dream Hotel Officially Approved by Voters
Voters in Miami approved a new 100-year lease for the builders of a proposed mixed-use project on the Miami River with the Dream Hotel as its anchor in a low turnout election.
The restaurant and entertainment complex Wharf Miami is currently located on a 1.5-acre city-owned site at 114 Southwest North River Drive. MV Real Estate Holdings, led by Alex Mantecon and Guillermo Vadell, and its partner Driftwood Capital, led by Carlos Rodriguez Jr., can now move forward with their plans to transform the location.
A majority of 34,745 voters approved the referendum, allowing the Miami City Commission to forgo competitive bidding and negotiate the lease with MV and Driftwood.
Voters had approved a deal in 2016 providing Riverside Wharf a 30-year lease with the possibility of two additional 10-year lease terms. MV agreed to construct a 30,000-square-foot entertainment center in exchange for paying the city a minimum of $195,000 in rent each year and spending at least $7 million to rehabilitate public space, including a new riverwalk in front of the construction.
Under the Dream brand, the joint venture plans to construct a $185 million mixed-use development anchored by a 165-key hotel. The 200,000 square-foot Riverside Wharf project, designed by John Cardello of Cube3 architects, would also have 16,000 square feet of eateries, a 12,000 square-foot event hall, a 30,000 square-foot nightclub, a rooftop day club, and 600 feet of river frontage. The new building would house Wharf Miami as a tenant.
MV and Driftwood agreed to pay 50 percent more rent than the city was expected to receive in a previous development proposal that was approved by Miami voters in 2016 in exchange for the new lease and development rights. They also agreed to raise the minimum amount of private investment from $7 million to $30 million.
According to campaign finance disclosures, the developers invested $311,000 in advertising, phone banks, and other voter turnout initiatives. The Riverside Wharf political action committee inundated voters’ mailboxes with pamphlets touting the project in the weeks running up to Tuesday’s primary election.
According to the mailers, Riverside Wharf will generate 600 new jobs and is a “state-of-the-art sea level rise program for future generations.” Before election day, there was not much opposition to the idea.
Because MV and Driftwood drastically altered the scope and size of the development that voters initially approved six years ago, the project—which never got off the ground—needed another referendum.
Triple Tower Development Proposed by Hyatt and Gencom on the Miami River
Hyatt and Gencom have recently formed a partnership with the goal to redevelop downtown Miami’s Hyatt Regency into a 3 tower development site located directly on the Miami River. This development is expected to enhance access in and out of the city, and revitalize a major section of Miami’s riverfront.
The proposal calls for a privately funded makeover that includes a reinvented Hyatt Regency hotel with over 1,500 residential apartments, meeting space, and open-air public space along the Miami River.
Three skyscrapers are planned for the site. 682 multifamily apartments, a 615-room Hyatt Regency with over 100,000 square feet of conference space, and 264 serviced apartments will be housed in Towers 1 and 2, which will rise 61 stories.
Tower three, which is expected to have 860 residential units, will be one of South Florida’s highest structures dubbing it a supertall tower. According to a spokesperson of the joint venture, the supertall tower would be 1,049 feet tall, which is the highest height allowed by Miami’s zoning standards.
The towers will be above a podium structure with 190,000 square feet of Class A conference space, which is a 50 percent increase over the James L. Knight Center’s current capacity.
Tower Proposal
1,806 apartments
20,000 sq. ft. of co-working space
615 rooms under the Hyatt Regency hotel brand
190,000 sq. ft. of meeting space
12,000 sq. ft. of food and beverage/retail space
Restaurant and lounge located in a skybridge linking the two shorter towers just 700 ft high
50,000+ sq. ft. of public space
1,100 parking spaces
Rebuilt riverwalk spanning 480 feet
Covered pedestrian bridge connection to Metromover’s Knight Center Station
Arquitectonica is listed as the architect. Construction on the Hyatt Regency Miami property is planned to begin in 2025 if voters approve the project in November 2022.
Miami Riverfront Market Update
As promised, we’re back with another market update of one of the submarkets in Miami’s Greater Downtown area! Today, we’re going to check in at the Miami Riverfront. This is a gated enclave of 3 condo towers, Mint at Riverfront, Ivy at Riverfront and Wind by Neo. Some people also consider Neo Vertika and Latitude on the River as a part of the Riverfront since they are technically on the river, but since they are outside of the gated enclave, I’m considering them a part of West Brickell for today. The gated enclave currently has 1,517 condo units. Mint has 530 units, Ivy has 498 and Wind has 489.
Let’s start with the scary part of the update and get that out of the way. This year has brought 18 closed sales between the three buildings. While some may think that is ok for the first quarter, there are also 189 active sales listings. That is a whopping 31 month supply!
Now that we have that cat out of the bag, let’s talk about some more positive aspects of my findings. The average list price of those 189 available units was $380/square foot. The average sold price of the 18 that did find buyers was $323/square foot. Also, there are 15 units that have found buyers but are awaiting closing. The average asking price of the pending sales was $365/square foot, and we’ll learn the sold price as soon as the closings are logged.
The highest price listing in the area was Ivy’s Penthouse 5, listed for $1.8 million. While I love to look at photos of this 3 bedroom triplex with an amazing rooftop terrace, we can’t really consider it in our statistics since it is such an outlier. Aside from the penthouse, the most expensive offering in the area was Ivy at Riverfront #4009. This one is a furnished 3 bedroom that is offered for $785,000, or $472/square foot. The seller is offering seller financing and the furniture is beautiful but I imagine we’ll see this one on the market for awhile still.
The lowest priced listing is also at the Ivy. Unit 1812 is am 816 square foot 1 bedroom corner unit. It is priced at $240,000, or $295/square foot. Looking at the history of the listing, it seems the seller is playing pricing see-saw. The price has been going up and down and the listing has been on and off the market several times in the last year. I feel like that if the seller can be reasonable, this one will not stay on the market for too long (I’m not sure what’s going on with that little pricing dance they’re doing though).
For buyers looking for two bedroom plans, the lowest prices are found at Wind. Unit 2114 is listed for $305,000 ($326/square foot), but despite being officially a two bedroom, I really consider this a one bedroom plus den. The second bedroom is very small and many times is open to the living area. For a full-on two bedroom with two enclosed bedrooms, the prices start at $325,000 for Wind #2606.
Is there better news in the rental market?
Yes! Despite the press that Miami has recently received, I’m finding that the rental market is still relatively healthy. Case in point: There are currently 84 rental listings in the Miami Riverfront and the last 3 months have brought us 71 closed rentals. That gives us a very healthy rental market.
Also, I have noticed that while the prices have fallen in the area, the landlords have less need to negotiate below their asking price in order to secure a tenant. The average asking price of the 71 rented condos last quarter was $2.36/square foot. They closed at an average of $2.30/square foot. That’s not a lot of wiggle room for an opportunistic tenant who wants to take advantage of a desperate landlord. The rentals are moving and they’re moving close to the listing price.
The highest price rental was that same Ivy penthouse with the amazing terrace. They have secured a tenant for $9,000/month after listing the property for $10,000/month. Outside of penthouses and townhouses (which I also consider outliers), studios are starting at $1,650/month at Wind, one bedrooms are starting at $1,750 at Ivy and you could get a three bedroom for as much as $4,300/month at Mint. Two bedrooms start at $2,400-$2,500 in all three buildings currently. To be fair, the $1,650 studio I mentioned is listed as a one bedroom, but has no separation between the bedroom and the common area so lives more like a studio.
Overall, I am pleasantly surprised to see how the market is holding up in the Riverfront area, just as I was pleasantly surprised by how well IconBrickell is doing during their massive renovation. How do you think the trend will continue? Are there any additional metrics that you would like to see?
About Last Night: One River Point Debuts Lavish Sales Center
KAR Properties has unveiled their lavish sales center for One River Point in the Miami Riverfront with an opulent Midsummer Night’s Dream themed soiree. The sales center has been in the works for some time, the sales of the project launched in October of 2015 and the reservations were converted to contracts in January of this year.
The developer reportedly spent $3.5 million on the buildout of the 4,500 square foot gallery located at 92 SW 3rd Street. It includes displays from One River Point’s European luxury brand partners, B&B Italia, Gaggenau, Arclinea and Flos, as well as a full display of the material palettes, technological features, and an integrative site plan within the riverfront park. Additionally, guests have a chance to further experience the works and background histories of One River Point’s design team of Rafael Viñoly, Adrian Zecha, Rémi Tessier, and Sasaki Associates.
The grand opening featured performances by the Miami City Ballet, a string quartet and a preview of the residences, which are priced at an average of $1,259/square foot according to the Downtown Development Authority.
Residences at One River Point will range from 1,000 to 12,000 square feet, including sky lofts and sky villas, set within One River Point’s piece de résistance, a three story floating sky bridge that connects the two towers on the top floors where the Sky Club will be located. A riverfront waterfall will greed visitors in the motorcourt.
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Mint at Riverfront Is Getting A New Lobby
Nine years after being built, Mint at Riverfront is getting a lobby face-lift. The project began on January 30, and includes new terrazzo flooring and accents. The work should be complete by the end of March.
After a rocky start in 2008 when Corus Bank (the bank that financed Mint’s construction) went out of business, Starwood Capital stepped in and completed the building. When they re-released the sales of the residences just in time for the market rebound in 2010, the building was a big success.
Since then, the building has remained a success. It is a popular choice for tenants and buyers alike, and has been very well kept. I imagine that the refreshed lobby will only enhance the value of the apartments there, once completed.
Units are trading in the high $300’s per square foot right now, and rental prices start at $1,950 for one bedrooms, $2,350 for two bedrooms, $3,600 for three bedrooms. There is also one three bedroom duplex penthouse on the market for $5,200/month.
Aston Martin Residences Begins Sales – Here Are The Plans, Details, Renderings And Prices
Almost two months after announcing his project, German Coto has opened sales at the ambitious and beautiful Aston Martin Residences in Downtown Miami. They have released the floor plans, pricing, floor layouts, amenities and a couple of new renderings.
Prices are slated to start at $500,000 and go up to $35 million for the penthouse. What do you think of the plans?
County Considering Network of ‘Water Buses’ Around Biscayne Bay
Photo via Flickr/Phillip Pessar.
In their wacky-tobackie dysfunctional ways, South Florida’s politicians are getting serious about looking for answers to our worsening traffic issues in Miami. The latest ideas being floated (floated!) are aquatic, per yesterday’s county commission meeting, when commissioners got a preview of their probe into possible water transportation solutions. As Miami Today reports, it’s an idea that people have yacked about for years, but finally the county is getting serious, with various types of water taxis, and even ‘water buses’ being considered. They are pouring over old water transport studies for ideas, and looking for possible locations for docks and connectivity to other transit, as well as ideal sized vessels, and whether the solution would be a city or county-run service.
Two Big New Miami River Projects Gearing Up to Launch Sales
Chetrit Group’s Miami Riverwalk.
The Chetrit Group and Coto family are preparing to launch residential sales for their respective projects not too far from each other on the Miami River. Real Deal heard from Chetrit’s attorney Melissa Tapanes Llahues that the ginormous megaproject, tentatively known as Miami River or Miami Riverwalk, will launch condo sales “in a couple of months.” Fortune International Group will be the brokerage. Tapanes Llahues also said a “very cool” hotel brand will soon be announced for the four-towered colossus.
Meanwhile, over on the $100 million acre, the three-level former Epic East sales center is not being demolished as everyone thought, just gutted and converted to a new sales center. The Coto family is spending a whopping $820,804 on the redo, creating what looks to be one hell of a showcase for the new tower from pictures over at The Next Miami. The future building doesn’t have an official name yet, but everyone has been informally calling it ‘Lighthouse Tower.’ Update: The tower being developed by the Coto Family has officially been named Aston Martin Residences. It will include 391 ultra-luxury condo residences.
