Miami’s Design District, best known as a hub for luxury shopping, has a residential boom coming.
What started as the brainchild of Craig Robins is now a retail neighborhood with tenants like Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Hermès and Gucci. Given the quality of the shopping, “You can imagine the caliber of the people walking the sidewalks in the Design District,” said Craig Studnicky, CEO of ISG World.
An analysis by The Real Deal found nearly 1,000 residential units now planned for the Design District. Studnicky is leading sales for the Kempinski Residences Miami Design District, DaGrosa Capital Development Partners’ 132-unit condominium.
“People are going to start to get very selective about where they want to live,” said Joe DaGrosa, the firm’s founder and chairman. “If you look at a lot of the high end retail market –– in New York on Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive on the West Coast –– people want to live near those high end retail locations.”
As Miami’s downtown, particularly Brickell, has filled in with condo projects, developers and buyers alike have started to explore other neighborhoods. Buyers like the Design District as a less dense alternative that still offers proximity to key downtown destinations, Studnicky said.
The district’s pipeline of residential projects has grown rapidly in recent years, but any low-hanging fruit is long gone.
Experts said developers are looking to join the party. But the Design District is a small neighborhood, zoned mostly for retail.
People are looking, Studnicky said, “but they can’t find anything.”
Here’s a breakdown of the residential developments planned in the Design District:
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Miami Design Residences | 30 Northeast 39th Street | Dacra, Fort Partners, Raycliff Capital and Constellation Hotels Holding
Craig Robin’s Dacra, Nadim Ashi’s Fort Partners, Raycliff Capital and Qatari firm Constellation Hotels Holding have teamed up to build the 26-story, 143-unit Miami Design Residences. After securing approval for the design in January, they announced a partnership with the French hospitality brand Fouquet’s to operate a 12-story, 85-key boutique hotel also planned for the project.
The partners bought the 2-acre site for $143.6 million in 2022. They tapped Pritzker Prize-winning architect Sir David Chipperfield, Cube 3 and Parisian interiors studio RDAI to design the tower. Units will span between 900 and 3,000 square feet, according to the project’s website.
Prices range from $1.7 million to $9.8 million. Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is leading sales for the project.
Cassi | 91-93 Northeast 36th Street | Miami Design District Associates, Hunter Pasteur and The Forbes Company
Construction is underway for Cassi, a 20-story, 107-unit rental project slated for 91-93 Northeast 36th Street. The project is a partnership between Hunter Pasteur, the Forbes Company, and Robins’ Miami Design District Associates. The developers secured a $125 million construction loan in June, and the project is set to finish in 2027. Apartments will span an average of 1,500 square feet, and the building will have 23,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
Kempinski Residences Miami Design District | 3801 and 3883 Biscayne Boulevard | DaGrosa Capital Development Partners
DaGrosa Capital Development Partners, led by Joe DaGrosa, is planning Kempinski Residences Miami Design District, marking the first U.S. project for the German luxury hospitality firm. Planned for the 1.5-acre site at 3801 and 3883 Biscayne Boulevard, the project will have two 20-story buildings with 66 units each. The developer tapped Arquitectonica and interiors firm Rockwell Group for design.
Floor plans include two-, three- and four-bedroom options that will span between 2,100 and 3,100 square feet, in addition to six townhomes and 17 guest suites.
Prices start at $3.7 million, with Craig Studnicky’s ISG World leading sales for the project. Construction is expected to finish in 2029.
Jean-Georges Miami Tropic Residences | 3501 Northeast First Avenue | Terra and Lion Development Group
David Martin’s Terra and Michael Simkins’ Lion Development Group have partnered on the planned Jean-Georges Miami Tropic Residences, the Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first residential project. The 49-story, 338-unit tower is slated for 3501 Northeast First Avenue, a 1.6-acre site just south of the Design District. Terra and Lion paid $40 million for the site in 2023. The project is also slated to have 27,500 square feet of retail space.
Martin and Simkins tapped a design team that includes Arquitectonica, interiors firm Yabu Pushelberg and landscape architect CLAD.
The developers are also planning The Well Club at Miami Tropic to offer fitness and spa facilities by the wellness brand.
Prices range from $1 million to over $6 million, with sales and marketing led by Douglas Elliman.
The Helm | 4201 Northeast Second Avenue | Helm Equities
Helm Equities, an affiliate of JEMB Realty led by Ayal Horovits and David Escava, is planning a 36-story mixed-use Live Local Act development at 4201 Northeast Second Avenue that will include 162 branded condos and 116 apartments. The complex will also have 80,000 square feet of office space and 45,000 square feet of retail space in a separate six-story building.
Helm bought the 2-acre site for $12.5 million in 2014, according to property records. The developer tapped Cube3 to design the project, which will include amenities like a pool and fitness center.