Vlad Doronin’s second condo tower in Edgewater and 13th Floor Investments’ proposal for a Nobu-branded residential building next to a historic Brickell church are advancing.
The Miami Urban Development Review Board voted in favor of both developments on Wednesday, with most board members gushing over the designs of what would be the latest luxury tower additions to the city’s quickly evolving skyline. One board member voted no on Doronin’s planned building, citing issues with some of the design.
Miami-based OKO Group, led by Doronin, plans the 53-story, 117-unit project, called OKO Lilli Tower, on the half-acre lot at 717 Northeast 27th Street, which fronts Biscayne Bay on its east and north sides. It comes with a 350-foot public baywalk along the tower and an eight-story garage with ground-floor retail and 244 spaces at 527 Northeast 26th Street, about a block south of the planned tower.
Coconut Grove-based 13th Floor, led by Arnaud Karsenti, wants to build a 75-story, 321-unit tower stamped by the luxury Nobu brand on nearly 2 acres at 619 Brickell Avenue. The project, called 619 Brickell by Nobu, will rise on the site of the parking lot and school for First Miami Presbyterian Church, while the church will remain intact.
The UDRB’s approval is a recommendation with the city’s planning and zoning director holding authority over the final decision.
OKO Lilli Tower
Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and ODP Architecture and Design, the tower will consist of condos ranging from one-bedroom to five-bedroom units. Each home will be accessed through private elevator arrival.
Amenities, including the spa, lounge and pooldeck, will be curated by Doronin’s Aman brand, according to the project’s application filed to the UDRB.
Lilli is the second phase of OKO’s four-phase project. The firm completed the first phase with the 60-story, 249-unit Missoni Baia at 777 Northeast 26th Terrace. OKO, along with London-based Cain, finished Missoni Baia in 2024 after years of delays. The plans for the third and fourth phases haven’t been disclosed.
The approval of Lilli tower includes greenlighting a slew of zoning waivers, including reducing the podium setback to 9 feet from the 10-foot requirement due to the site’s narrow 81-foot depth along Northeast 27th Street. Other waivers include allowing pedestrian entrances at over 75-foot spacing.
The center of the building is shifted slightly to the south of the site, allowing for wraparound unit floorplates, said architect Juan Betancur of Adrian Smith. “This way, every unit has views to the bay both on the east and the north.”
He described the design as “minimal,” “clean” and “simple,” saying the tower also will have warm champagne and metal tones.
“It’s an incredible site. I do think you took advantage of the site itself, its narrowness. You are maximizing a lot of things here. With regards to the tower, I think you have a beautiful, very elegant, almost sculptural tower,” said board member Ignacio Permuy.
Nearly all other board members echoed those comments, but Manuel Gallardo, an architect who sits on the board, wasn’t as thrilled, taking issue with the garage and a portion of Lilli’s design.
Because the garage will span less than 200,000 square feet, the minimum to bring a project to the UDRB’s purview, it wasn’t up for a vote by the board, a developer’s representative said.
“I think the garage is really awful,” Gallardo said, likening the design to something out of Home Depot or a Florida Power & Light transformer site. “There is no thought or creativity or artwork.”
Gallardo also took issue with a portion of the building’s design, calling it “cold to the pedestrian” and adding that Lilli’s design as a whole is “a very simple building” that is functional with no frills.
The board approved the project with conditions for the developer to add more shade trees, with the proposal now showing mainly palms, and to meet with neighboring residents. Two representatives for nearby residents said they don’t oppose the project but expressed nervousness over traffic patterns.
619 Brickell by Nobu
Designed by Foster + Partners and Sieger Suarez Architects, the tower has gone through several hurdles since it was first revealed in 2021.
13th Floor and its project partner, the Ardid family’s Brickell-based Key International, is expected to purchase the development site for $240 million from First Miami Presbyterian Church, though the deal was initially threatened by a church member’s complaint seeking to block the sale.
After that, the developers faced opposition from Brickell residents who crusaded over the potential increase of traffic and loss of open space, as well as the planned demolition of the church’s school. Last year, opponents lost their fight when city commissioners denied their appeal of the historic declassification of a portion of the site.
The project will include ground-floor commercial space, new church facilities and a public baywalk, the application says.
“The building is very much composed, and it’s intended to be a striking silhouette into the skyline,” one of the tower architects said, pointing to the design that twists every couple of floors.
“The tower is a sculpture, and I am really in love with what you did at the podium,” one board member said.
“Everything you have is very horizontal,” another board member added. “I think it’s going to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Miami.”
A couple of people on the dais also complimented the flow between the tower’s façade fronting the historic church, saying it pays homage to the historic building.
New York-based Nobu, founded by chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert De Niro and film producer Meir Teper, encompasses Japanese-Peruvian restaurants, hotels and residences.
13th Floor and Key International launched sales last month, after securing more than $1 billion worth of unit reservations that are to be converted to contracts this summer. Condo prices range from $3 million to more than $60 million for the penthouses.