Developer bets wealthy buyers will want to live in 70-story Brickell tower off the water
Another luxury condominium, where homes will start at $2 million, is planned for Miami’s Brickell financial district.
The developer is betting the well-heeled will pay millions to live in a high-rise with sustainable features in one of the city’s most desirable areas — even though the property isn’t on the water.
The 70-story tower called The Residences at 1428 Brickell will rise at the site of a 10-story office building that faces Brickell Avenue, the Four Seasons Hotel Miami and a Santander Bank branch.
Developer Ytech CEO Yamal Yidios has owned the building since 2017 and has leased the space. Inspired by corporate relocations and the region’s population growth, Yidios now wants to build the condo building with 189 residences.
He said it would be the first residential building in Miami built with photovoltaic glass windows, essentially solar windows that convert light into electricity.
The price range to live in the environmentally friendly building goes from a $2 million 1,800-square-foot, two-bedroom residence with a den to a $40 million penthouse.
Ytech will have plenty of competition from other luxury residential buildings planned in Brickell, including Baccarat Residences Brickell and a St. Regis Residences.
“The evolution of Brickell as the ‘Wall Street of the South’ has put an international spotlight on the neighborhood which has, in turn, created a demand for additional condominium inventory to meet the demand from the influx of companies and buyers,” Yidios said, noting the property won’t be linked to a hotel brand.
The developer’s in the final stages of zoning approvals and design developments. Construction is expected to start by September 2023 and be finished in three years. Yidios declined to reveal a construction budget.
The glass could help condo owners save between $30 and $40 a month on their electricity bills, said David Kelly, a business professor at the University of Miami who studies the intersection of sustainability and the economy.
However, the project could lead other developers to incorporate the glass, which only has been mass-produced in the past couple of years, in residential buildings.
Environmentally conscious buyers also may be drawn to the building ironically for its away-from-the-water location, said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the New York-based Miller Samuel real estate consultancy.
Being away from the water in the Brickell business district isn’t detrimental, he said, because many buyers there want to live near where they work.
But the real estate consultant said the starting price at 1428 Brickell is a risk.
“That’s the bet being made here. They believe the market is moving in that direction,” Miller said. “Whether it’s supportable at the time the building comes online is another story.”
Although the developer may face a challenge finding enough tenants to buy the multimillion-dollar condos, the financial district will benefit from additional density, said Juan Mullerat, principal of Plusurbia Design in MIami. More residents mean more customers for the local businesses and, theoretically, fewer cars on the road in the neighborhood.
The only thing that’s missing in Brickell and Miami’s urban core is more affordable and workforce housing to help support the growing communities, Mullerat said. One such workforce development is in the pipeline near the Brickell Avenue Bridge.
“We have seen an increase delivery of luxury housing over the past 20 to 30 years. We have a deficit of affordable and workforce housing. Is this project solving the issue? No. But it’s catering to another market,” he said. “Is there need for this housing? I’ll leave that to the developer and the market.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
