Diesel power: Fashion brand and partner Bel Invest launch sales for Wynwood condos

After the pandemic short-circuited a planned March 2020 pre-sales launch, the developers of the world’s first Diesel-branded condo project, in Miami, are now moving forward.

Diesel and its partner, Bel Invest, an international development firm based in Vicenza, Italy, are launching sales for the 159-unit Wynwood Diesel Condominium at 148 Northwest 28th Street, according to an announcement. The partnership tapped One Sotheby’s International Realty as the eight-story project’s exclusive brokerage. The project would also be Bel Invest’s first development in the U.S.

Bel Invest CEO Maximilian Beltrame told The Real Deal that the lifting of the U.S. travel ban was a factor in pulling the trigger after holding off for more than a year. “Europeans are now allowed to travel to Miami,” Beltrame said. “The coronavirus [pandemic] is not over, but it is ending. And Miami has been positive. We are excited about how Wynwood is developing.”

Over the past 20 months, Bel Invest and Diesel tinkered with their original plans. For instance, the partnership increased the number of units by 16 and expanded the project’s footprint by adding more “construction volume,” Beltrame said. And the condo development’s name changed. It was previously called Diesel Wynwood 28.

“We decided to use the time to improve the project,” he said. “We did some changes to the floor plans and improved the amenities.”

Designed by Zyscovich Architects, Diesel Wynwood Condominium’s residences will range from micro-studios to three-bedroom units between 395 square feet to 4,411 square feet. Apartments will feature extra high concrete ceilings and luxury European brand finishes. The developers are also offering turnkey units with interiors and furnishings by Diesel Living and 14 penthouses with marble in the bathrooms and private rooftops with options for an added kitchen and Jacuzzi.

Amenities include electric vehicle charging stations, private bicycle storage, a rooftop pool deck, lounge, a European-inspired spa, an event space and wine cellar/library with personal lock-box storage and climate control. The building will also have a conference room with a co-working area.

In December 2019, during the last Art Basel Miami Beach before the pandemic hit, Diesel and Bel Invest held a marketing event at the 1-acre development site. At the time, the partnership had opened what appeared to be a sales gallery equipped with a virtual room that transported users inside different-sized units, the rooftop deck and other areas of the proposed project.

The guests of honor were Diesel founder Renzo Rosso and his son Andrea Rosso, the iconic Italian brand’s licensing director. They spoke to TRD about what attracted them to Wynwood to launch their first residential project.

They had planned to start pre-sales three months later, but the onset of the pandemic significantly altered their timeline, Beltrame said. “We got hit in Europe before [the U.S.],” he said. “We knew what was coming. We were very fast to suspend the process.”

Diesel is among a slate of high-end condo projects by luxury brands in the South Florida market. Bulgari is transforming the former Seagull Hotel in Miami Beach into the Bulgari Resorts and Residences, the Italian jeweler’s first hotel in the U.S. Dezer Development is planning the world’s first ever Bentley Motors-branded condo high-rise in Sunny Isles Beach. And construction is underway for a condominium branded by another luxury automaker. The 66-story Aston Martin Residences is going up next to the Epic hotel and condo tower in downtown Miami.