Casa Tua condo tower, Smart Luxe condo-hotel and Wynwood mixed-use project score approvals

Fortune International Group, Habitat Group and Bazbaz Development scored key approvals for three separate projects in Miami’s Brickell and Wynwood neighborhoods.

Last week, the Miami Urban Development Review Board gave its seal of approval for a 70-story Casa Tua-branded tower at 1210 Brickell Avenue; a 23-story condo-hotel called Smart Brickell Luxe at 885 Southwest Third Avenue; and a development with apartments, hotel rooms, office and retail at 2110, 2118 and 2134 North Miami Avenue.

Ora by Casa Tua

For Casa Tua’s first branded residential development, Fortune International is proposing a 460-unit building designed by Arquitectonica. While the developer didn’t seek any waivers, the board signed off on the overall design of Ora by Casa Tua by a 6-0 vote. The proposed condominium will allow short-term rentals for all its units, which will range from 600-square-foot studios to 2,400-square-foot four-bedroom condos. Prices are between $800,000 to $2.5 million, according to Fortune CEO Edgardo Defortuna. 

Ora will also feature two new Casa Tua restaurant concepts and a 24-hour market, as well as typical condominium amenities.

Smart Luxe Brickell

The board granted a slate of waivers for Miami-based Habitat’s third and final phase of Smart Brickell. Habitat, led by CEO Santiago Vanegas, is proposing a tower with a sleeker design than the first and second phase buildings currently under construction. Palmetto Bay-based Ginard Studio is the architect. 

Smart Luxe Brickell will have 74 hotel rooms, 53 condos and condo-hotel units, 5,945 square feet of commercial space and 75 parking spaces. The review board granted Habitat six waivers, including a 30 percent reduction in parking and allowing vehicle access along the proposed building’s facade on Southwest Third Avenue.

Wynwood mixed-use project

Bazbaz, a New York-based developer led by President Sonny Bazbaz, is proposing a 12-story complex with 339 apartments, 25,653 square feet of retail and a 407-space parking garage. In November, a Bazbaz affiliate paid $12 million for the 1.5-acre development site.

While under contract, Bazbaz had previously proposed two interconnected buildings with 229 apartments, 79 extended stay hotel rooms, 45,000 square feet of office, 18,000 square feet of retail and 293 parking spaces. Designed by Arquitectonica, the complex will also feature a paseo, an aesthetically common feature in some recent new projects in Wynwood. 

The review board approved three waivers, including a 30 percent reduction in parking spaces and a 10 percent reduction for a loading berth.