Despite 2016 completion date, SLS Brickell nearly sold out

The SLS Brickell condo and hotel is years away from opening, but that hasn’t put off buyers. Except for a handful of penthouses, the 450-unit project, a $300 million venture between the Related Group and the Los Angeles hotelier sbe, is almost entirely sold out.

“I wish we had another 100 units to sell,” Related founder and chairman Jorge Pérez told the Miami Herald.

Units sold for upwards of $500 a square foot, an expression of the force of Miami’s recovery from the 2007 real estate collapse. The nearby MyBrickell, another Related tower, was the first post-bust tower to sell out, but at much small margins —  sales averaged $200 per square foot.

Construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2013, and Pérez said the project — designed by architecture firm Arquitectonica and Philippe Starck — will take about two years to complete.

SLS Brickell represents the first time the hotel company is attached to residences. There are SLS-brand hotels in Beverly Hills and South Beach, with new locations opening next year in Las Vegas and New York. [Miami Herald] — Emily Schmall