Swire taps Fortune to sell Mandarin Residences on Brickell Key

Swire Properties tapped Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune Development Sales to market the condo component of its planned two-tower Mandarin Oriental Residences on Miami’s Brickell Key, The Real Deal has learned. 

Sales of the Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami are expected to launch early next year, Swire Properties President Henry Bott said. Swire is building out a preview lounge in the current hotel lobby. 

The development will be built on the site of the existing Mandarin Oriental hotel at 500 Brickell Key Avenue and the adjacent property. Plans call for an 800-plus-foot building with 220 condo units, and a 400-foot hotel with 121 rooms, 66 condos and 28 hotel residences. 

The existing 326-key hotel would remain open until at least the end of 2024. Swire has long planned to redevelop the hotel site, which includes the last undeveloped waterfront plot on Brickell Key. The site, on the southernmost point of the island, totals more than 5 acres. 

Unit pricing is expected to start at $3.5 million, and the project could set price records on Brickell Key, Bott said. He expects the project will reach a “multibillion-dollar” sellout and called it “the biggest project Swire has ever undertaken in terms of value in Miami.” 

The luxury condos in the taller tower will range from two to four bedrooms and up to 4,700 square feet in size. Two duplex penthouses will span more than 7,000 square feet each. 

Dozens of branded residential buildings are in the pipeline across South Florida. Experts say that partnering with luxury brands, including hospitality operators, creates additional value for developers and their buyers. 

Fortune parent Fortune International Real Estate became a Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate last year, which was a selling point for Swire as it looks to attract international buyers. The brokerage was selected after “an extensive” request for proposals process, Bott said. 

The project, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox with interiors by designers Tristan Auer and Laura Gonzalez, will have a podium with more than 100,000 square feet of amenities including multi-tiered infinity swimming pools, cabanas, workspaces, dining rooms with chef kitchens, restaurants, a spa and health and wellness facilities, according to a press release. 

“It was very natural for us to team up with Swire. We’re the perfect fit for this type of project. We understand the buyer, brand, the Brickell market,” said Defortuna, president and CEO of Fortune. 

Defortuna expects buyers from the Northeast and California, Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, and other countries. He said that buyers are “more analytical” today. 

“How fast will the absorption be? Hopefully great,” he said. “We understand these are not very quick decisions or fast.” 

Defortuna’s relationship with Swire dates back to the development of Jade at Brickell Bay. Swire was a capital partner in the luxury condo building, which was completed in 2004, Defortuna said. Swire also sold the remaining unsold inventory at Brickell City Centre’s Reach and Rise condo towers to a joint venture between Fortune and developer Shahab Karmely’s KAR Properties in 2021. One unit remains unsold, Defortuna said. 

The U.S. arm of Hong Kong-based Swire has been developing in Miami for more than 40 years, and built a number of the condo buildings on Brickell Key, a 44-acre man-made island that was previously called Claughton Island. 

It connects to the mainland via Brickell Plaza, which fronts the mixed-use Brickell City Centre. Swire completed Brickell City Centre, an over $1 billion development with retail, office and condos in 2016. It is co-developing One Brickell City Centre, an office skyscraper, with billionaire Steve Ross’ Related Companies.