PROFILEmiami’s Top 5 Of 2017

It’s that time of year again. While most of the United States is stuck in a New Years icebox, the sun is shining bright on Miami. 2017 was a big year for Miami real estate as towers such as One Thousand Museum and  Panorama Tower reached for the sky, pushing Miami’s skyline to new heights while others such as Grove at Grand Bay and Brickell Heights officially opened their doors to residents. The luxury residential market also saw a huge year as many of Miami’s most lavish and exclusive estates hit the market and traded hands for record breaking prices. Here is PROFILEmiami’s Top 5 Moments from 2017:

1. Zaha Hadid's One Thousand Museum Reveals Artefacto Designed Preview Residence 

In November, the Zaha Hadid-designed One Thousand Museum revealed the first look at their uber-luxe "preview residence" furnished by Miami-based Brazilian furnishing brand, Artefacto and designed by Joao Armentano. Artefacto outfitted the fully-built out 17th floor's interiors, fusing Zaha’s futuristic aesthetic with the brand’s signature Brazilian approach to contemporary design. Paulo Bacchi, President and CEO of Artefacto, hand selected items from the brand’s newest collection, which hit showrooms last summer in celebration of their 15th anniversary. The 4,635 SF residence features 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms with a half-bath. The unit features elegant and timeless warm tones and clean lines to complement the building’s curvaceous architecture, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay and Museum Park, and an impressive art collection curated by Sarah Jane Bruce (SJB Fine Art Services) and Flavia Masetto (Flavia Masetto Fine Arts). Once completed the residence sold within days for $6.8 million. Tour the lavish residence here. 

2. Fly Through A Choeff Levy Fischman Designed Palm Island Mansion With A 15’ Waterfall 

Palm Island was hot with news through 2017 including 280 South Coconut Lane on Palm Island hitting the market for $10.8 million and Birdman’s estate falling into bankruptcy, but at PROFILEmiami we have to give the cake to the Choeff Levy Fischman-designed 73 Pam Avenue. 73 Palm Avenue is a 13,676 SF waterfront villa that features 9 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 1 powder room. The two-story contemporary also features a private rooftop terrace, disappearing sliding glass doors to optimize indoor/ outdoor living, 15' cascading water feature that empties into a reflecting pond with large stepping-stones creates a floating illusion and greets guests at the home’s main entrance, a statuesque three-story staircase, LED lighting, custom Italian kitchen, Crestron automated smart home, home theater, wine cellar, fully furnished throughout with Minotti, Poliform and other fine furnishings, 4-car garage suites and an elevator. Outdoors, the home features a 2,500 SF roof top terrace with summer kitchen, oversized infinity-edge pool, a secluded hot tub off the master bedroom terrace and 100' waterfront frontage. The home was designed around the giant Banyan tree located near the water in the backyard. 73 Palm Ave. is currently listed for $29,500,000 with Mirce Curkoski and Albert Justo of One Sotheby's International Realty. Tour the spectacular estate here. 

3. PROFILE Exclusive: Inside One Thousand Museum with Louis Birdman, Co-Developer Behind The Uber-Lux, Zaha Hadid-Designed Futuristic Tower

In August PROFILEmiami had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Louis Birdman, one of the co-developers behind One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, to discuss the futuristic, ultra-luxury, condo tower. Louis tackles everything from working with legendary architect Zaha Hadid, to tackling the luxury market and the unique GFRC exoskeleton design that makes up the tower's unique, skyline changing, iconic design. Take a look inside the mind of one of the masterminds transforming Downtown Miami into a vibrant, modern, world-class city center.

PM: No developer had touched creating ultra-luxury in downtown Miami up until this point. What made you guys say let's be the first?

LB: When we started to see the market coming back. There was a period of time when the market imploded. It wasn’t just a Miami issue, it was a global banking issue. The first real estate market that started to rebound was New York, and shortly thereafter came Miami. The profile of buyers changed dramatically from the last peak in the market, where it was a highly speculative market that lots of investors highly leveraged. This time around, the buyers for condo products, particularly in Miami, were more focused on luxury. They were investors, but they were also end users. With a large flow of capital domestically and in Latin America, Miami has been one of the places that people look to invest in real estate. Continue reading the exclusive interview here. 

4. PROFILE Exclusive: Transforming Coconut Grove with David Martin of Terra

In March PROFILEmiami had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with David Martin, one of the founders of Terra and the mastermind behind Park Grove and Grove at Grand Bay. Find out how he is helping transform Coconut Grove into one of Miami's hottest neighborhoods.

PM: You guys have been integral in transforming Coconut Grove. What do you think of the recent new developments in Coconut Grove and the new energy they have brought?

DM: I think it is about time. I think that the world and the city is realizing a lot of the amazing assets thats Coconut Grove has. It has amazing parks, amazing schools, amazing people. Geographically it is strategically located to a lot of different other neighborhoods as well. Now with the Grove at Grand Bay project that we did, it was big, and now Park Grove with Related, I think that this is developing into a neighborhood with new architecture as well as with some of the old Florida architecture as well. It has a good diversity and design and I think that there is a lot of new restaurants that are coming and a lot of new retail. Coconut Grove is a neighborhood that has a lot of components but it is very quite and peaceful. That quiet innocence is what people are looking for to raise their families, or spend time with their families. A lot of our buyers are empty nesters so they're looking for urbanism and walkability so that tree canopy here and walkability is very important as well. Continue reading the exclusive interview here.

5. Inside PROFILEmiami’s Five Star Stay at The Residences at W Fort Lauderdale

In September PROFILEmiami had the exclusive opportunity to stay at W Residences Fort Lauderdale, located directly on Fort Lauderdale's pristine beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. After a $60 million renovation overseen by Related Companies and Meyer Davis Studio, W Fort Lauderdale is one of the finest options on Fort Lauderdale's seaside A1A strip. The two-tower property features luxurious, nautical private condominium residences and hotel, all with direct ocean views. W Fort Lauderdale’s five-star amenities and services feature a high-end beach club, full-service pools, multiple restaurants and eateries, spa, fitness center, nightlife and full-service staff. Buyers at W Residences Fort Lauderdale are investing in the brand’s lifestyle offerings. They can enjoy the quality service, amenities and hospitality that W Hotels are internationally known for. Whether you are looking for a beachside weekend escape, full-time residence, part-time residence or rental-income property, W Residences Fort Lauderdale is a prime beachfront option. Read PROFILEmiami’s full review of our five-star stay here. 

PROFILE Exclusive: Inside One Thousand Museum with Louis Birdman, Co-Developer Behind The Uber-Lux, Zaha Hadid-Designed Futuristic Tower

PROFILEmiami had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Louis Birdman, one of the co-developers behind One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, to discuss the futuristic, ultra-luxury, condo tower. Louis tackles everything from working with legendary architect Zaha Hadid, to tackling the luxury market and the unique GFRC exoskeleton design that makes up the tower's unique, skyline changing, iconic design. Take a look inside the mind of one of the masterminds transforming Downtown Miami into a vibrant, modern, world-class city center.

PM: No developer had touched creating ultra-luxury in downtown Miami up until this point. What made you guys say let's be the first?

LB: When we started to see the market coming back. There was a period of time when the market imploded. It wasn’t just a Miami issue, it was a global banking issue. The first real estate market that started to rebound was New York, and shortly thereafter came Miami. The profile of buyers changed dramatically from the last peak in the market, where it was a highly speculative market that lots of investors highly leveraged. This time around, the buyers for condo products, particularly in Miami, were more focused on luxury. They were investors, but they were also end users. With a large flow of capital domestically and in Latin America, Miami has been one of the places that people look to invest in real estate. 

When we saw this resurgence, we zeroed in on this site, which was a former BP station. We always looked at this site as one of the best development sites in Downtown. You have Museum Park with nothing built in front of it, you have great views of the bay and great views of Miami Beach. We had a unique site that a lot of people had interest in and is high-density. We could have put 500 units on it, but instead we decided to scale down the number of units and create an ultra-luxurious property. We wanted to create a type of unit that didn’t exist in the market place. As the market bottomed out and then moved back up, the units that were bringing the greatest premium and spending the least days on market were units that were over 3,000 SF. Less than 5% of the inventory were units over 3,000 SF and many of those were combined or the premium units like penthouses and tower suites; units that made up a small segment of the inventory in Downtown and Brickell. 

We set out to create a building that fit that profile, and started looking at Miami Beach and what people were buying single-family units on the islands (Palm Island, Star Island, Hibiscus Island, Venetian Islands, Sunset Islands), and in the South of Fifth neighborhood. If we were going to attract a buyer that would otherwise be purchasing there, we had to create a building that would attract the top segment of the market. That is how we decided to create this product type in this location. Since we paid a lot of money for the site and wanted to build a few units that were very large, we knew we were going to look at absolute prices just above $5 million. 

PM: Where did the idea and concept to build such an architecturally stunning building come from? When did this all of this start to come together?

LB: Because of the record number of homes being sold over $5 million and $10 million, we felt that there was enough of the market to create that type of inventory but in a luxury high-rise building. That is where the idea of bringing in someone like Zaha Hadid came from. We wanted to bring in an architect that was very high profile, maybe even controversial, who had never done anything in Miami before. Herzog & de Meuron and Rem Koolhaas already had projects here, we didn’t want someone that had already left their mark. We wanted to do something different. 

Zaha was at the top of our list when we created our fantasy list of top architects. We didn’t even know whether she would have any interest or if we could get her to do a high-rise condo in Miami. As it turned out, when we pitched the project to her and her firm, they were immediately interested. Unbeknownst to us she really wanted to do something big in Miami. She had competed to get the Frost Museum of Science, she was one of the architects that submitted proposals and they ultimately went with Grimshaw Architects, a contemporary of hers from the U.K. I think for her own personal reasons it was important for her to do something like this in Miami. It was an opportunity that presented itself at the right time and her style fit our idea to create these large, out-of-the-box units. 

PM: With the New York building that she did as well, 520 West 28th Street, it becomes iconic to where it becomes the “Zaha Building."

LB: Exactly. That project actually came after One Thousand Museum. She was commissioned on that project by Related Companies in New York well after the announcement of this project. We got her into that type of space, and I think Related Companies saw that we got a tremendous amount of PR as a result of getting her to do this project in Miami. They thought it was a good fit for New York. That project is really nice. It is different for that area and on a beautiful site. It is not a high-rise, but it is very unique. You see the building is immediately recognizable as a Zaha design, and I have been there on a typical weekend seeing people on the high-line walk by and take pictures all day. It is very iconic. 

PM: Your background is as an architect…

LB: I’m an architect and moved to the development side in the early 1990s-2000s. On One Thousand Museum, Zaha Hadid Architects did all of the design. With my experience as an architect I am able to participate in the decisions that are being made, but they were given a free hand to design the building as they saw fit. The original design and the final design didn’t deviate very much from Zaha’s original concept.

PM: What have been some of the challenges about building such a unique, artistic structure and all of the teams and moving parts of the project?  

LB: The structure is very complex. We are utilizing a system that has never been used before to build a high-rise building. We are using a pre-cast GFRC, which is a glass-fiber-reinforced-concrete, as formwork to create the construction of the building. This formwork is actually used in the construction and left in place. It is not like typical formwork where you use formwork that you pour concrete then you strip the formwork away. The building from the 15th floor up is utilizing this GFRC as formwork and from the 14th floor down we are using it as a cladding over concrete. The lower portion of the building will be covered with the same material that is used to cover the upper portion of the building. The actual product is being manufactured from the architect’s 3D model that they created in Dubai. 

Examples of the GFRC Panel Exoskeloton 

LB CTND: About 5,000 panels that range anywhere from 2,000 lbs. to 5,000 lbs. are “dryfit” together in Dubai and then shipped to Miami in containers in an ongoing 18-month process. The panels come into the Port of Miami and are taken to a yard in Doral where they are inventoried and checked for damage. The steel cages of rebar are fitted inside 2 GFRC panels together make the column and the brackets that you see on the corner of the building. We bring the put together pieces to the building as we work on each level. It is a process that can go on for almost 2 years from beginning to end. We are completing a floor each week on average and are up to the 50th floor right now.

The process has actually gone really well. One of the concerns we had was what if one of the panels got damaged in shipping or while being hoisted into place. We have only had 3 damaged out of nearly 4,000 panels. One was damaged being put in place and 2 were damaged in shipping to the point where they couldn’t be used. We planned ahead for these obstacles by building the lower part as cast-in-place concrete that would then be clad later, giving us a head start so that we could have 8 or 9+ floors at any one time. That way if something got damaged, we had time to have another panel replacement made and shipped back over here. They can make a panel in about a week to 10 days, but it takes a while to ship it here. We didn’t want to stop and miss a pour because we were waiting for a piece. 

The whole process is being filmed for a documentary by Discovery Channel and PBS called Impossible Builds. We are going to be one of five buildings around the world that are featured in a documentary series that they are doing on buildings that are highly-complex and difficult to build. 

PM: Where does the GFRC start?

LB: It starts on the first half-floor unit right above the townhouse level. The townhouse levels have big 2-story balconies formed by very round holes, which is all done in cladding. It was logistically impossible to do it as formwork. By using this GFRC form process, we are able to create very precise shapes and finishes that we could never get out of cast-in-place-concrete, at least not in a high-rise building. Everyone was wondering how it would come out and the results are really impressive. 

PM: It’s interesting how style and technology can go hand-in-hand.

LB: You could never build a tower like this without the current technology that exists with computers and 3D modeling. Every time they make a change they are modifying the entire 3D model for the building. When we make a change as we are going up in the building, it affects the entire structure. 

PM: How do you think this Park West area of Downtown will change over the next five years and how will One Thousand Museum contribute to this change?

LB: This area is changing at a very fast pace. The big catalysts for this are the numerous public projects. The first big one was the Adrienne Arsht center that goes back about 10 years, but the planning of it began even earlier. There was also Museum Park, which used to be called Bicentennial Park, that was going to be redeveloped to create a whole arts center. The idea of putting museums in the park, came in the early 2000s. This was an area of Downtown that was very unique. It is not often that there is an opportunity to do a major downtown redevelopment and have so much land that was ripe for development all in one place. Miami WorldCenter aggregated almost 32 acres when you add in the former arena site. 5 years from now you are going to see a very mature, developed area of Downtown because Miami WorldCenter already has seven or eight projects under various stages of development. We were the last Biscayne front piece on the park. This whole neighborhood is filling in and from the point of access, we have always felt that this end of the Biscayne corridor is much more suited for the type of intensive development that is going on. The museums are now a reality and the number of visitors that they are getting at the Frost Museum of Science has exceeded everyone’s expectations. There has been discussion about getting Museum Park into a conservancy like Millennium Park in Chicago and Central Park in New York. They have made so many improvements and activated the space for people. You are going to see more of a push to continue to improve the area. 

About Louis Birdman, Co-Developer, One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects:

For nearly three decades, real estate industry veteran Louis Birdman has taken a leadership role in the development of over 70 residential projects, comprising more than 18,000 residential units nationwide. Mr. Birdman has a significant background in property acquisitions, dispositions, entitlements, financing, planning, design, construction, sales and marketing. Mr. Birdman has been a principal investor and developer in numerous real estate developments projects throughout Florida and nationwide, including Las Vegas, Arizona, Colorado and Texas. He is also the founder and principal of Louis Birdman Architect, an architectural consulting practice that provides consulting services to developers of real estate in both related and unrelated entities. He has been a registered architect licensed in Florida since 1989 and has held architectural licenses in multiple jurisdictions in the United States, including Chicago, New York and Nevada.

Louis Birdman is currently the Co-Developer of One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, a 62-story, ultra-luxury high-rise condominium Tower in Miami, FL with 83 half-floor and full-floor residences. One Thousand Museum is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in mid-2018, slated to be Miami’s most iconic tower and the centerpiece of Miami’s Museum Park.

The Sales Center at One Thousand Museum

The Real Entry of the Multimillion-Dollar, Ultra-Luxury Condo to Downtown Miami

In the past 10 years, Downtown Miami has seen a mere 152 closed condo sales over $1 million. The most expensive closing, a 4 bedroom unit in Marquis Residences which sold for $4.2 million, followed by a 3 bedroom unit sale at Epic Residences for $3425,000. The area is new and coming into its own with the opening of the American Airlines Arena, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the Phillip and most recently, the Patricia Frost Museum of Science. Now, Downtown Miami is ready to supplant itself as one of Miami's premiere neighborhoods and pricing to live in the area is set to rocket up. Great buildings such as Marquis Residences, Ten Museum Park, 900 Biscayne, Marina Blue and Epic Residences, amongst others, already feature closings that have eclipsed the $1 million mark; but, a selection of new buildings including the ultra luxury One Thousand Museum, Aston Martin Residences, and PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter are going to quickly escalate that number.

One Thousand Museum

One Thousand Museum

One Thousand Museum is a true architectural masterpiece. Zaha Hadid's last residential tower, the building is truly is a class of its own. The building is ultra-luxury, featuring a mere 83 units on land that is zoned for up to 550 units. Residences part of a limited collection of "museum-quality homes" that offer "an unprecedented level of service and amenities." Pricing firmly supplants the building for the elite as units range from $5.5 million to over $20 million and 4,600 SF to over 10,000 SF. The smallest unit in the entire building is a half-floor. The residence's floor plans offer "east to west" flow-through layouts, 12-foot ceilings, oversized terraces, private elevators, an 86' long great room, media den, family room, custom Italian Kitchens by Poliform, Gaggenau appliances, Poliform closets, Apure interior lighting, Crestron smart home innovation and exclusive interiors by Zaha Hadid.Amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center, full-service spa, beautifully landscaped pool deck, private theater, sky lounge and art gallery. Tour the full floor, $20.7 Million Unit 5201.

Aston Martin Residences

Aston Martin Residences

Aston Martin Residences will truly be a building for the luxury enthusiast. This exciting project is located in the second lot on the Miami River, next to Epic Residences and One Miami. Units are extremely pricey, starting at $500,000 and range up to $7,000,000 for the "River and Panoramic Residences" part of the building, and $14,000,000 to $35,000,000 for the "Penthouses." The ultimate unit will be a triplex penthouse that comes complete with a private pool, helipad and Aston Martin Vulcan. The tower's interiors will feature lighting and handmade detail based on the car in addition to hand-adorned residence door numbers from the same jewelers that place the logo on the hood of Aston Martin cars. The building will features floor-to-ceiling glass with no visible concrete, including glass encased support beams. Sales just launched (Summer 2017) and it is reported that pre-sales already exceed $100 million in Aston Martin's first branded residential tower. Tour their newly opened, multimillion-dollar sales center.

Aston Martin Residences

PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter

PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter

PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter is the largest building and community of the three, and will be the luxury residential centerpiece of the larger Miami Worldcenter initiative. PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter rise 60 stories and features 513 condominium units along with 450K SF of retail space and easy access to Miami Worldcenter, which will feature a plethora of retail, dining, entertainment, office space, etc. on their high-street retail concept. For those that want to live in the center of it all in unparalleled luxury, PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter offers their Penthouse Collection, 26 exclusive penthouse residences. The penthouses will consist of 18 large single-story residences and 8 two-story duplex residences. Penthouse Residences will range in size from 3,500 SF - 6,000 SF and come in 4 and 5 bedroom layouts; additionally, penthouse residences will range in price from $3.5 to $9.5 million. Penthouses will feature panoramic views, private elevator access, 10-foot ceilings, European kitchens and bathrooms complete with rain showers and spa tubs, as well as larger entertainment spaces. Residences also include chef's kitchens including 12-foot islands and the highest quality Gaggenau appliances including a full-size wine cooler and premium induction cooktops. The penthouses will be part of the tower’s four-level Skydeck, which is designed to look like the helm of a magnificent Italian super yacht and will feature its own sky view lounge, sunrise pool, observatory, infinity pool, sundeck and Tai Chi deck. Check-out the unveiling of the 26 Exclusive "Penthouse Collection" Residences. 

PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter

Tour The Full-Floor Residence Located on the 52nd Floor of Zaha Hadid's One Thousand Museum Asking $20.7 Million

Unit 5201 in Zaha Hadid's One Thousand Museum is part of a limited collection of "museum-quality homes" that offer "an unprecedented level of service and amenities." It is one of eight exclusive residences in One Thousand Museum's Zone 4, which features eight 10K+ SF, full-floor residences with 360 degree views, the only of their kind in Miami. It is currently asking $20,700,000.  

5201 features 5 bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms spread over 10,353 SF with an additional 1,180 SF of outdoor space. The residence's floor plan offers an "east to west" flow-through layout, 12-foot ceilings, oversized terraces, private elevators, an 86' long great room, media den, family room, custom Italian Kitchens by Poliform, Gaggenau appliances, Poliform closets, Apure interior lighting, Crestron smart home innovation and exclusive interiors by Zaha Hadid. The full-floor, 360 degree layout of the residence offers views of Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach, Atlantic Ocean, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Key Biscayne. Amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center, full-service spa, beautifully landscaped pool deck, private theater, sky lounge and art gallery.

Zaha Hadid's One Thousand Museum Filmed to Be Featured in Discovery Channel & PBS' "Impossible Builds"

Starchitect Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum in the Park West neighborhood of Downtown Miami will be one of five featured in an upcoming documentary entitled Impossible Builds, which will air on PBS and Discovery Channel. Impossible Builds explores building complex structures such as One Thousand Museum from around the world. The 62-story, 709 foot, architectural work of art that sits on Museum Park and Biscayne Bay was handpicked by Discovery Channel due to the intricate engineering of the exoskeleton exterior. Pieces for the exoskeleton are prefabricated off-site and arrive in shipments from Dubai. The outer shell is made-up by close to 5,000 pieces sourced from glass fiber reinforced concrete which form the structural façade. Other projects that have been chosen for the series are Villa Resorts in Dubai and the thinnest skyscraper in New York City. The episode is expected to air in 2018 and is produced by Blink Films. One Thousand Museum has passed the halfway point and has an expected delivery date in 2018. 

“It is an honor for the project to be spotlighted in this important documentary film. We could not think of a better way to immortalize the forward-thinking project to a global audience across continents through this important documentary,” said Louis Birdman, one of the co-developers for One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Check out our April 2017 Construction Update HERE. 

Construction Update: One Thousand Museum Passes Halfway Point, On Track for 2018 Completion

One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, has passed the halfway point for the 62-story building which is on track for delivery in 2018. The building will be Zaha Hadid's first residential skyscraper in the western hemisphere and is being developed by Louis Birdman, Gregg Covin, Kevin Venger and the Regalia Group with Plaza Construction as the general contractor. The tower will be among the tallest residential buildings in Miami and required a deep foundation that drilled to a record of over 170'. One Thousand Museum's design features an exoskeleton design which acts as the buildings structural support. This allows the developer to remove columns from the units, creating expansive glass views of Biscayne Bay. 

One Thousand Museum is over 50% sold and required over a $450 million buildout. The tower will feature only 83 units ranging from $5.5 million to over $20 million and 4,600 SF to over 10,000 SF. Amenities will include Miami's only private rooftop helipad, state-of-the-art fitness center, spa, two pools, indoor aquatic center, and a sky lounge.

Check-out our coverage of One Thousand Museum closing on their $225 million construction loan in December.