Carlos and Martin Melo

The Melo brothers became pioneers of residential development in the Edgewater enclave after shifting with their father from his condo development firm in their native Argentina to pursue multifamily deals in Miami in the early 2000s.

Since then, they’ve completed more than 8,000 condos and apartments and helped redefine the local landscape, with the 667-unit Art Plaza, 425-unit Miami Plaza, 497-unit Melody Towers and 710-unit Square Station – cornerstones of Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.

Their work downtown includes 1,600 units in two towers, with a third under construction. Melo Group’s track record started with a 100-unit apartment building in Edgewater, where the firm both sparked and rode a boom, bringing Aria on the Bay near Margaret Pace Park, the Aria Reserve towers, and the 258-unit 22 Skyview rental tower. Melo Group is also planning a pair of towers with nearly 1,200 apartments, combined.

Melo’s stockpile of Miami development sites includes 3 acres the firm purchased for $105 million in 2021, and a 2.8-acre Brickell City Centre site it bought for $200 million last year after seller Swire Properties scrapped a planned office supertall. Their vision for the future faced a challenge late last year, when Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado named Melo Group alongside Blackstone, Simon Property Group and Prologis, among others, in a lawsuit seeking to overturn recent downward valuations of trophy properties, which lowered property taxes. The case is pending.