Aria on the Bay Construction Tour

June 1, 2017

Today we were invited to take a construction tour of Aria on the Bay in the Omni District of Edgewater. I had been curious to see how the building would turn out ever since the day I first saw the renderings, and I was very impressed!

In touring with the developers, Martin and Carlos Melo, their passion and pride in their craft was evident. They seemed to genuinely enjoy giving the tour and were excited to go through the project with us, often pausing to tell the stories behind previous buildings they have built. Aria on the Bay is the first luxury condominium they have built in Miami, but they have built almost 20 buildings in total, typically rental developments that they hold and run. They explained that they build for what the market calls for, whether it be an affordable yet well-appointed apartment building attached to a metromover stop, or a glitzy waterfront development with private elevators, which is what we saw today. Here’s a preview of the residences, which will begin closings early in 2018:

The East view from the 51st floor

The East view from the 51st floor

The Northeast view from the 51st floor

The North view from the 51st floor

The South view from the 51st floor

The views checked out beautifully, and I was also impressed to see that even the residences on the West side of the building (facing Biscayne Boulevard, rather than the Biscayne Bay) also had partial bay views. Bravo!

The interiors of the units were still very much under construction, but some already had the kitchens and bathrooms installed enough to where we could see the quality of the finishes.

This is the vanity in one of the master bathrooms. You can see the cabinets are a textured wooden design from Italkraft and the vanity top is quartz. In the background, you can see the standalone tub. It was still covered to protect the fixture, so I didn’t take a direct photo of it. In the photo below, you can see the rendering of a similar master bathroom.

Here is the soaking tub in one of the guest bedrooms. It hasn’t been shined up yet, but you can see that it is nicer than the soaking tubs in the master bedrooms of some of the competing developments.

This is another guest bath in the same apartment.

Sadly, none of my kitchen photos came out very well, but the finishes are similar to the bathrooms with the same textured wooden paneling from Italkraft on the cabinets and the appliances. Here is the sample kitchen, which has been built out in the sales center.

The amenity deck was also very much still under construction, but I had to make note of how similar the pool deck came out when you compare it to the rendering. They elevated the jacuzzi so that when people sit in it, they can see over the glass and into the bay.

Another aspect of Aria that I was impressed with was their range of floor plans. Buyers have the option to pay a little more and live in the more exclusive East side of the building, that has private elevators and direct bay views. They also have the option to pay a little less and live on the West side of the building with semi-private elevators and partial bay views. Apartments with private elevators have two private elevator bays as well as a shared service elevator. Those with semi-private elevators have four elevator bays for eight apartments on each floor, so residents should feel comfortable that there are plenty of bays to eliminate wait times.

The project is currently 80% sold out and has a nice selection of availability in both sections of the building. For apartments with semi-private elevators, units are available from $433,000 – $597,000 and for apartments with private elevators and direct bay views, prices range from $794,000 – $1,769,900. Penthouses are priced upon request. Buyers of the penthouses will be able to say that the Miami Marlins’ outfielder, Giancarlo Stanton, who just signed the richest contract in MLB history ($325 million over 13 years) is their next door neighbor.