Menesse JV proposes 39-story Brickell rental tower

Mariano Borges’ Menesse Condos and Alejandro Díaz’s Investee are partnering with Miami-based Lucid Investment Group on project

Renderings of Menesse International's 39-story tower at 143 Southwest Ninth Street (Behar Font & Partners)
Renderings of Menesse International's 39-story tower at 143 Southwest Ninth Street (Behar Font & Partners)

Menesse International is upping the ante on its Brickell bet.

The development group filed a proposal for a 39-story tower with 400 apartments at 143 Southwest Ninth Street. It’s a larger project than it had planned five months ago.

Menesse International is a joint venture that combines a pair of Mexico-based developers that have largely focused on the Latin American market, Menesse Condos and Investee, with their local partner, Lucid Investment Group in Miami.

The trio made their purchase in the U.S. in July when they paid $23.5 million for the 0.7-acre development site that’s near the Metromover tracks. At the time, Lucid Investment’s Andrew Rasken told The Real Deal the vision was for a 24-story, 350-unit building with 180 parking spaces, though this was preliminary.

Menesse International’s application to Miami-Dade County shows a Behar Font & Partners-designed tower atop a podium with 415 parking parking spots and nearly 19,000 square feet of open space, according to the filing submitted last week. The developers are seeking a pre-application meeting, which is generally to gain county staff’s feedback on proposals before official plans are filed.

Founded and led by Mariano Borges, Menesse Condos’ previous projects include luxury apartment buildings in the resort town of Playa del Carmen and in Tulum, both along the Caribbean coast, the firm’s website shows. Investee, founded and led by Alejandro Díaz, has projects in Mexico City and Riviera Maya, according to the Menesse International website.

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Lucid Investment, which also is a brokerage and general contractor, has previously built student housing. Rasken didn’t return a request for comment.

The trio’s Brickell bet comes amid a flurry of development proposals for the neighborhood. Although an office mecca that’s considered Miami’s financial district, Brickell also has morphed into a residential hub with condominium and apartment proposals abounding.

Yamal Yidios’ Ytech plans The Residences at 1428 Brickell, a 70-story tower with 189 condos and 80,000 square feet of amenities, partially powered by solar energy.

In November, Chicago-based Focus paid $28 million for a closed hotel at 128 Southwest Seventh Street, with plans for a 300-unit apartment building.

While Menesse increased its project size, others are downsizing. The Pérez family’s Related Group and Nelson Stabile’s Integra Investments scrapped plans for a pair of St. Regis Residences Miami 46-story towers with 330 condos combined, in favor of one 46-story building with 150 condos at higher prices. The plan was tweaked partly to meet buyers’ demand for bigger units and not because of rising construction costs, Jon Paul Pérez previously told The Real Deal.

Brickell also is poised to get two supertalls. Swire Properties and Stephen Ross’ Related Companies want to build the roughly 1,000-foot One Brickell City Centre office tower, and Michael Stern’s JDS Development plans the 888 condo tower at 888 Brickell Avenue to reach 1,049 feet, or the maximum allowed in Miami.