Condos Over Miami

A review of some of Miami’s biggest and highest-profile condominium projects.

By Debra Wood

For the past several years, the Miami-Dade building market has been defined by the seemingly countless number of high-rise luxury condominiums that have popped up throughout the county. New condo starts especially of the high-rise luxury variety have cooled considerably in the last year, however, and contractors are now working hard to secure contracts in other sectors.

Even so, some of the biggest and most expensive condominium projects the region has ever witnessed are still under construction, and heading toward their final completion.

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Here, Southeast Construction looks at some of Miami-Dade’s biggest and highest-priced—or simply unique—condominium projects, either still under construction or else recently completed. First, we look at the Chad Oppenheim-designed Ten Museum Park, whose design stands out with a unique system of concrete columns along the building’s exterior. Other standouts highlighted here include: the $158 million Axis at Brickell project in downtown Miami; the 52-story, dual-tower Everglades on the Bay, also in downtown Miami; the Related Group’s $135 million 500 Brickell project, which features two 42-story towers; the $209 million, 63-story 900 Biscayne project; and the $110 million, 46-story Ivy at Riverfront condominium.

Ten Museum Park

Sleek and elegant, Ten Museum Park overlooks the Port of Miami and Bayfront Park at the north end of downtown Miami in the city’s Arts and Entertainment District. The city plans to move the Miami Art Museum and the Museum of Science and Planetarium to nearby Bicentennial Park.

“Our site is right in the middle of the action,” says Chad Oppenheim, noted architect and principal of Oppenheim Architecture + Design of Miami and the designer of Ten Museum Park. “We are creating a new center of the city, which is exciting.”

Oppenheim describes the contemporary, 50-story residential tower as an exploration of the possibilities of architecture in a futuristic tropical playground of urban sophistication. He calls it a beacon for cruise ships and a backdrop for life in its most beautiful form. 

Construction manager Bovis Lend Lease of Miami provided about $7 million in value-engineering alternatives on the $70 million project. The project received a temporary certificate of occupancy at the end of last year.

Reinforced concrete columns run vertically up the post-tensioned concrete tower on all sides of the exterior to the glass facade. Every 10 floors, a horizontal beam joins the columns. The building sits on a concrete pile foundation. Ysrael A. Seinuk of New York structurally engineered the building.

“We started with the inside and generated the feeling of the building through a clear understanding of the internal operations of the building structure, mechanical systems, spaces and how they are organized to take advantage of the surroundings and the natural beauty of the environment,” Oppenheim says. “We try to not have anything extraneous in terms of materials or design. The design becomes fully integrated into the structural concept of the building.”

The 600,000-sq-ft tower sits on a 30,000-sq-ft site and features 200 one- and two-bedroom units with 20-ft ceilings and contemporary fixtures. Prices range from $300,000 to more than $4 million. Larger two-story units, with two on each floor, face the bay. The units are staggered, so the entrance to one unit and the second-story of another unit share a level. Smaller, single-story units, four to each floor, face the city. Floor plans maximize spatial openness and views of the bay.

“People are willing to pay more because of the view,” Oppenheim says. “The building has many economic points of departure for units and prices.”

Twelve penthouse and tower suites have private rooftop vitality pools, bringing the building’s total number of swimming pools to 18, including six on the top of the podium.

The building includes 10,000 sq ft of restaurant and café space, a 2,500-sq-ft lounge and 20,000 sq ft of office space facing the water and concealing the parking deck.

“The building is a way to absorb the culture and the natural beauty of Miami,” Oppenheim says. “The building is a result of my love affair with the city. It celebrates what is possible in terms of lifestyle and engaging with natural beauty, even in an urban location.” http://www.tenmuseumpark.com/

Axis at Brickell

Coastal Construction Group of Miami expects to wrap up construction in April at Axis, a dual 40-story residential tower project in downtown Miami. The $158 million project, designed by Arquitectonica of Miami, began in September 2005.

“It is two individual buildings moving in opposite directions,” says Bernardo Fort-Brescia, principal with Arquitectonica. A series of balconies undulate vertically and “create a sculpted building that rises vertically. Once it reaches the roof, it angles to the sky. It looks like these two forms are moving away from each other.”

The 1.5-million-sq-ft project consists of two post-tensioned concrete buildings that share a common seven-story podium parking garage, topped with an amenity deck. The buildings contain 718 residences, ranging in size from about 750 sq ft to 1,200 sq ft, and 20,000 sq ft of retail.

“It’s interesting in the sheer size of the project,” says Ken Andersen, project manager for Coastal. “Our manpower peaked at 600 on any given day. It’s a tight site. On the north and west side of the project is the Miami people mover.”

Whenever the crane came within 15 ft of the people mover, a spotter was placed to ensure a safe site. The towers rose simultaneously and topped out in June.

Block, stucco and storefront windows and sliding glass doors clad the exterior of the towers, and glass and a decorative aluminum grill adorn the exterior of the parking deck. The glass and window system was imported from Colombia. Interior finishes feature stone from Greece and Italy and kitchen cabinets from Germany. http://www.axisatbrickell.com/

Everglades on the Bay

Another dual-tower project is Everglades on the Bay, which rises to 52 stories to overlook Biscayne Bay and Bayfront Park, offering perpetual, unobstructed views.

“It’s a contemporary building, but it has classical lines to it,” says Julio Diaz, a partner with Fullerton Diaz Architects of Coral Gables, Fla.

W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. of Biloxi, Miss., began building the $230 million, 1.9-million-sq-ft, post-tensioned concrete structure in August 2005, after the owner completed an auger-cast pile foundation. Bad weather pushed completion back from April of this year to June.

The complex will contain 849 residential units, including three three-level penthouse units, 82 flats with 10-ft ceilings and 82 lofts with 18-ft ceilings. The flats and lofts surround the eight-level parking garage, hiding it from public view. The different types of units will appeal to different people, Diaz says. The building also contains 65,000 sq ft of retail space and an amenity deck. Stucco and glass clad the tower exterior, with stone, glass and stucco covering the base.

Yates self-performed electrical and masonry due to difficulty finding local subcontractors capable of taking on a project of this size. The company used a hydraulic jump-forming system to pour the sheer walls.

“There was a long learning curve, but we moved right along once we got running,” says Lindsay Shapiro, project manager with Yates. http://www.evergladesonthebay.com/

500 Brickell

Bringing luxury residential to Miami’s financial district, 500 Brickell blends contemporary design with upscale amenities. Arquitectonica of Miami designed the $135 million project for Miami-based Related Group of Florida.

An architectural rooftop bridge links the two 42-story towers, which contain 633 one- and two-bedroom units, many with views of the Miami River and downtown. A nine-level, 857-car parking deck and 20,500 sq ft of retail connect the towers at the base.

“The huge archway announces the crossing of the bridge from downtown into Brickell Avenue,” says Bernardo Fort-Brescia, principal with Arquitectonica.

A circular pool on the amenity deck, atop the podium, mirrors a circular accent on the rooftop bridge. A 1,000-ft-long, open-mesh wall with circles in a rainbow of hues creates an attractive mural that hides the parking deck. A second, infinity-edge pool tops one of the towers.  http://www.500brickellcondo.com/

900 Biscayne Bay

Pavarini Construction Co. of Miami Lakes, Fla., expects to finish the $209 million 900 Biscayne Bay several months early. The contract calls for a May delivery to owner Terra Group of Miami, but project manager Tom Telesco says that in December he was already working on securing a temporary certificate of occupancy.

“The stars have aligned on this job,” Telesco says, attributing the speed to close coordination between the Terra, architect RVL of Miami and Pavarini.
 
The 63-story tower features 507 residential condominiums, flats and townhouse units, condominium offices on floors two through 13 and retail on the ground floor. The 1.8-million-sq-ft project includes a 14-story parking structure, topped with a split-level pool and amenity deck.

Concrete block and stucco cover the post-tensioned concrete structure. An ornamental, aluminum grill clads the garage. The residential units feature glass-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors that exit onto balconies with glass railings and aluminum caps. http://www.900biscaynebay.com

The Ivy at Riverfront

As the $110 million, 46-story Ivy at Riverfront nears completion, developers Key International of Miami recently broke ground on an adjacent 53-story condominium tower called Mint. RVL of Miami designed both structures, which are located in a gated community near the Miami River.

Key International handled the foundation work and in January 2006 brought Moss & Associates of Fort Lauderdale in to finish the 1.1-million-sq-ft job by May 2008. The post-tensioned concrete building contains 512 units, most rising above a 10-level pedestal with space for 600 cars and first-floor retail. Starting on level three, two-story townhouses surround the parking deck and hide it from view. Block, stucco and sliding glass doors clad the exterior. Balconies wrap around the structure.

“It’s been a pretty straightforward project,” says Bob West, vice president of Moss. “Over the past couple of years with the condo boom, it’s been difficult to find qualified subs.” Moss brought in subcontractors it had worked with on previous jobs.

“Because of strong relationships with subcontractors, we were able to weather that storm with respect to the limited number of trades out there,” West adds.