13th Floor and Key International are launching a Nobu-branded condo tower in Miami’s Brickell, the brand’s first residential project in the city.
The announcement follows a controversial fight over the development site, which is on the longtime grounds of the historic First Miami Presbyterian Church at 609 Brickell Avenue.
Brickell residents opposing the development lost their fight in April, allowing the developers to move forward with the project. The tower is planned for 2.2 acres currently occupied by the church’s school and parking lot. The church will remain intact and is expected to sell the site to the developers for about $240 million.
13th Floor, led by Arnaud Karsenti, and Key International, led by the Ardid family, are both based in Miami. They tapped Foster + Partners and Sieger Suarez Architects to design the waterfront tower, dubbed 619 Brickell. It will span 74 stories with 300 units, according to the press release. The building will have 90,000 square feet of amenities, including a pool, fitness center, spa facilities and a cafe. It will have a Nobu restaurant on the ground floor, making it the Miami area’s second Nobu, after one in Miami Beach, the release shows.
The site is adjacent to the office tower at 701 Brickell Avenue, which Elliott Management bought for a near-record $443 million last year.
Nobu Hospitality was founded by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor and hotelier Robert De Niro, and producer Meir Teper. It is led by CEO Trevor Horwell and COO Struan McKenzie.
The firm has branded condos in Cabo, Mexico, and Toronto, Canada. It also has planned condos in Orlando; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Tulum, Mexico; Montenegro; Barbuda; Kraków, Poland; Manchester, England; Amsterdam; Baku, Azerbaijan; Kuwait, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Abu Dhabi and Al Marjan Island, United Arab Emirates; Cairo; Bangkok; and Da Nang, Viet Nam, according to its website.
Karsenti and the Ardids both have other projects planned in Brickell. Earlier this month, Karsenti partnered with Dubai-based Kerzner International on Siro Brickell, a planned condo-hotel with 180 keys and 350 branded condos. Last year, the Ardids partnered with Chicago-based Sterling Bay on a 51-story Brickell office tower at 848 Brickell Avenue.