Dezer wins height approval for Sunny Isles’ tallest condo tower

Dezer says he is “years away” from knocking down hotel but will eventually build luxury condos

Gil Dezer and Days Hotel by Wyndham Thunderbird Beach Resort
Gil Dezer and Days Hotel by Wyndham Thunderbird Beach Resort

The Federal Aviation Administration approved the height for what would be the tallest tower in Sunny Isles Beach.

Dezer Development could build up to 743 feet above ground, or 749 feet above sea level, on the property at 18401 Collins Avenue.

Dezer owns the Days Hotel by Wyndham Thunderbird Beach Resort on the site. Property records show Dezer Hotel Management Ltd. paid $6.78 million for the hotel in 1996. The five-story, 180-room building was built in 1955 on a 3.56-acre site.

Dezer Development CEO Gil Dezer said that he is “years away from demolishing the hotel” but that it would eventually be developed into a luxury condo tower.

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At the height approved by the FAA, the skyscraper that Dezer eventually builds could be the fourth tallest in the Miami area and in the state of Florida.

A few blocks north, Dezer and the Related Group recently received their temporary certificate of occupancy for the Residences by Armani/Casa at 18975 Collins Avenue. About 30 units remain for sale at the 308-unit tower. It’s 649 feet tall.

Dezer declined to say when he plans to launch his next condo project, but said he will wait until Armani/Casa is fully sold.

The Sunny Isles-based real estate firm is also working on plans for the Intracoastal Mall in North Miami Beach, where Dezer could build roughly 2,000 residential units, 2.5 million square feet of commercial space and buildings up to 40 stories tall on the east side of the property at 3501 Sunny Isles Boulevard, along the Intracoastal Waterway.