‘Living your best life’: Miami slated for holistic ‘Blue Zone Center’ well-being hub
Downtown Miami will soon be home to a unique well-being haven.
A Blue Zones Center will scale 10 floors at the base of the 50-story Legacy Hotel & Residences at 942 NE First Ave., according to the project’s developer, Royal Palm Companies CEO Dan Kodsi. Construction will launch Thursday on Legacy. In addition to the Blue Zones Center, the tower will include 310 residences, 219 hotel rooms, five restaurants and a seven-story rooftop atrium open to the public.
It will be the first East Coast facility for the California-based Adventist Health, the owner of Blue Zones.
The $100 million center will offer diagnostic, surgical, medical, spa, fitness and well-being programming by 2024. Blue Zones is inspired by National Geographic journalist and Blue Zones CEO Dan Buettner’s observations from reporting on the longest-living communities around the globe, including a positive outlook, healthy diet, exercise and staying connected.
“We expect that the work that we do on this to be an attraction to people around the world. There is a culture and vibe to Miami that aligns well with living your best life,” said Ben Leedle, president of Blue Zones.
The Downtown Miami community is anticipated to reap benefits, said Leedle, as the Blue Zones Center looks to partner with multiple organizations — restaurants, schools and nonprofits — to offer healthy menu options and volunteer programs.
Adventist Health and Blue Zones were among a dozen partners that Royal Palm Companies considered for its project, Kodsi said. Kodsi is looking to partner with the well-being concept again for other projects in central and southwest Florida.
“What was great about Adventist and Blue Zone is that they brought wellness and medical,” he said. “To have all encompassing in one company is better than have it broken out.”
Legacy Hotel & Residences is one component in the $4 billion, 27-acre development reshaping downtown Miami. Miami Worldcenter Associates, which includes Kodsi and Art Falcone Principal Nitin Motwani, are the master developers.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 6:25 PM.
