A Tale of Two Projects

Marina Blue, Midtown Miami Projects Progressing to Completion

By Debra Wood

While South Florida's luxury multifamily market continues to cool - contractors have called it "dead" or "dying" - notable projects continue to move forward toward their final completion.

A pair of downtown Miami condominium projects - the $107 million Marina Blue, a 59-story tower at the crossroads of Miami's culture and entertainment district, and the $1.2 billion Midtown Miami, a 55-acre mixed-use development - combine a variety of styles, features and locations and exemplify the ambitious nature of this latest luxury condo boom.

Marina Blue

Marina Blue's location across from the American Airlines Arena and next to a mass transit station has enhanced the building's attractiveness to buyers, says Kurt Kenyon, vice president of general contractor Soares Da Costa CS of Miami Beach. He says the condominium tower, developed by Hyperion of Miami, has sold out, with some units on their third owners.

"The project was a huge success," Keynon says.

Architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia, a principal with Arquitectonica of Miami, adds that the success is "partly that it has exploited its geographic attributes to the maximum possible and the building looks modern and fresh and clean."

The architect utilized nautical imagery within the project's design.

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"[The south tower] rises towards the bay like a main sail in movement, and it commands views of the south bay and the downtown Miami skyline," Fort-Brescia says. "The north tower bows out like a blue spinnaker and reaches the ground to form a monumental colonnade that announces the entrance and its piazza. It commands views of the north bay, the Carnival Performing Arts Center and Museum Park."

The towers rise from a glass podium containing loft units and retail shops. It acts as the pedestal to the sculptural towers above.

Soares began construction of the 59-story, 1,365,000-sq-ft condo in November 2004. The building contains 40,000 sq. ft. of retail space; a 12-level parking deck; and a recreation deck on the 14th floor that features an infinity-edge and lap pools, spa, cold plunge, sand volleyball court and sky bar. The upper levels feature 490 residential units, including 18 two-story lofts immediately below eight penthouses.

More than 500 30-in. diameter auger-cast piles, up to 112-ft deep, support the post-tensioned building. Soares used a flying-table construction system.

"[Post-tensioning] allowed us to go up with the concrete structure very quickly," Kenyon says. "We were turning a deck every 3.5 days."

Soares topped off Marina Blue in August and expects to complete it in May. A window wall system clads the exterior, with the south tower a light green and the north tower a light blue.

"The green and blue colors in glass feel like the ocean," Fort-Brescia says. "It picks up the tonality of what you feel from the bay and the ocean."

Midtown Miami

Construction also continues at arguably the most ambitious of Miami's latest multifamily developments: Midtown Miami, a $1.2 billion construction, $3 billion development by the Midtown Group of New York. It is slated to contain about 3,000 condominium units and a retail shopping center.

Rising on the site of the former 55-acre Buena Vista Yard of the Florida East Coast Railroad, Midtown Miami sits just north of the Performing Arts District.

The development is scheduled to include seven residential/mixed-use buildings, as well as The Shops of Midtown, a retail center with multiple components. Midtown Two, Midtown Four, Midblock East and The Shops of Midtown are under construction. In addition, the Midtown Miami Community Development Agency is in the final stages of completing more than $100 million in public infrastructure improvements, including roads and parking.

"What makes this site attractive is its proximity to downtown," says Michael Fuori, operations director for Bovis Lend Lease of Atlanta, builder for Midtown Midblock East, adding that big-box retailers had already opened at Midtown. "There's an opportunity for folks to live and walk across the street or downstairs to a restaurant. All of those are attractive features of a mixed-use project."

Bovis began construction in June 2005 on the $60 million Midblock East, a 12-story, industrial loft-style building with retail on the first floor, parking on levels two through four and 162 residential units on floors six through 11. On one side, the building contains two-story townhouse units.

Forum Architects of Cleveland designed the structure. EB Development of Miami owns the property.

The post-tensioned, 548,031-sq-ft structure sits on an auger-cast pile foundation. Brick and cast-stone cavity wall, with two layers of masonry separated by air space, will clad the exterior of floors one through five, with stucco covering the building above that.

"Cavity wall creates flashing and weeping issues that become more critical in a hurricane environment," Fuori says. "There is extra consideration to making sure details are properly worked out, and [it is] properly installed."

A five-story rotunda, with glass windows and sun shading, sits on the northeast corner of Midblock East. The building has some columns poured at an angle, rather than plumb.

Midblock East topped off in June and was 65 percent complete in January. Fuori expects the company will complete the project in June.

"It's been a difficult project in that we're working in a superheated market," he says. "Getting the right subcontractors and getting them to provide the appropriate manpower has been a major issue."

Construction manager at risk Centex Construction of Plantation broke ground on the $97 million, 800,000-sq-ft Midtown Miami Two in January 2005, says James Wray, project manager for Centex. The project was 90 percent complete in January.

Midtown Two consists of three cast-in-place, post-tensioned structures with a combined 348 units. A 30-story tower includes a six-level parking deck and two penthouse units. The 12-story midrise building contains the pool, amenity deck and a tenant lounge, and the eight-story building to the south holds live-work units, with first-story retail in which the shop owner will live above the store.

The buildings connect on the first floor and sit on an auger-cast pile foundation. The owner added two stories to the highest tower, after construction commenced, resulting in structural reinforcing but no extension of the completion date. A stucco-clad system and structural glazing grace the exterior.

Centex also is working on the $120 million Midtown Four, which consists of a 33-story building and a low-rise structure that contains 398 units selling from $200,000 to $2 million and a six-level parking garage topped with a pool deck. The 950,000-sq-ft, post-tensioned concrete structure sits on auger-cast piles. Centex project manager David Rand reports crews had reached the 24th floor in mid-January and the project was scheduled for completion in March 2008.

Bruce Cutright, director of infrastructure and planning for the Midtown Group, says the Tower Group of Davie, Fla., has completed the north block of The Shops at Midtown Miami, a 645,000-sq-ft retail center. The developer is Developers Diversified Realty of Beechwood, Ohio.

Forum Architects designed the center, and Cutright says DLP Construction Co. of Alpharetta, Ga., should complete the Midblock Plaza portion of The Shops at Midtown in mid-February.

The Midtown Group announced plans in 2005 for Midtown Three, a 29-story residential tower with 270 units and two levels of retail and restaurants. Cutright says the company was still negotiating costs and had not selected a contractor yet and had no start date scheduled. He says it could break ground within the first quarter of this year.

Design is 70 percent complete on Midtown Six, a residential condominium with 398 units, Cutright says. Another residential tower, Midtown Five, has not been started. Cutright reports Midtown Group is watching the market before deciding what to do with Midtown One and is considering more residential or using the site for a 150-room hotel.

Useful Sources:

Marina Blue
www.marinablue.com

Midtown Miami
www.midtownmiami.com