Brickell City Centre

Brickell City Centre ^[1][2] is a $1.05 billion shopping and mixed-use project in Miami, Florida. When finished, it will span up to five blocks to the west of Brickell Avenue and to the south of the Miami River, in the Brickell district of Greater Downtown. It will be anchored by a 107,000 square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue,^[3] Cinemex, and Italian food hall. The project is located between 7th and 8th Streets on both sides of South Miami Avenue and east of South Miami Ave on the north side of 7th Street. Additionally, it may expand to develop two more blocks that Swire already owns at 700 Brickell Avenue and SE 6 Street.

The large project was first proposed during the real estate bubble of the 2000s, but then cancelled during the economic downturn. It was revived in 2012 with enough acreage to qualify for Special Area Plan (SAP) zoning, with construction beginning by years' end. The hotel and residential towers, as well as some office space, opened in 2016, with phased retail openings in November 2016. A phase two may begin construction in 2017. Contrary to the name, the development is not in the traditional downtown Miami city centre, but in the more recently redeveloped Brickell financial district.

Overview

The project is being developed by Swire Properties Inc (the US subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Swire Properties), and will span 9 acres,^[4] including a department store, luxury shops, restaurants, hotel, office towers and condominiums.^[5] The hotel flag was awarded to EAST, a Swire Hotels brand, which will be their first venture in North America. Currently there are EAST hotels in Hong Kong and Beijing, China.^[6] In February 2013, Swire Properties and the owners of Bal Harbour Shops announced that they had come to an agreement to co-develop the retail portion of the development.^[7] Later, in 2015, mall developer Simon Property Group also became a retail partner.^[8] Parts of the project are expected to open by the end of 2015, while the residential towers began occupancy through 2016, with the retail portion to open by year's end.^[9][10] The Eighth Street Metromover station reopened in late 2015, though the third floor connection to the retail component remained locked through 2016.

History

Empty plots stretched from the Miami River to about Eighth Street in 2012 after clearing a tennis court before Brickell City Centre.

Part of Brickell City Centre site in 2011 prior to revival

Pedestrian bridge over South Miami Avenue during construction in early 2015.

The development was originally proposed as a complex of four skyscrapers was approved by both the City of Miami and the Federal Aviation Administration, but the entire complex was cancelled in 2008 due to poor market conditions.

In June 2011 the project was revived by Swire Properties, and the complex is now planned to consist of four stories of retail and entertainment space, topped by six smaller towers; two residential, two office, a wellness tower and a hotel. Arquitectonica remains as the architect. Two additional lots were bought by Swire in 2011: (Brickell Tennis Club and Eastern National Bank building) in order to qualify for Special Area Plan zoning, making the entire development site over 9 acres (36,422 m²); this will also allow direct access to the Eighth Street Metromover Station, which was renovated and integrated into the development.^[11] The project will also contain two levels of underground parking, covered sidewalks, and interconnectivity between all the buildings.^[12] Underground parking in South Florida is a rarity due to the low elevation above sea level.^[13][14] The 2,600 sub-grade car park for Brickell City Centre covers 7 acres (2.8 hectares), and required installation of watertight slurry walls from the site elevation of 7 feet (2.1 m) NGVD to around -20 feet (6.1 m).^[15] The City Commission gave the project its final approval in July 2011.^[16]

On July 15, 2013, It was announced that Swire Properties had purchased an adjacent site at 700 Brickell Avenue in Miami, formerly the regional headquarters of Northern Trust Bank. The lot totals 1.55 acres and was purchased for just over $64 million.^[17] In September 2013, Swire announced the plans for the site, which include the previously purchased Eastern Nation Bank building. The proposal is for a future phase of the project which includes an 80-story tower, called One Brickell City Centre, which will include retail, Class-A offices, condominiums and hotel space.^[18] The building was originally proposed at 1,102 feet (336 m), but was later reduced to 1,040 feet (320 m),^[19] at which height it was approved by the FAA.

Towers

The phase one towers are tall and slender with glass walls and standard balconies.

Towering over the five-story mall that covers the majority of three city blocks are three high rises, known as "EAST", "Reach", and "Rise". Each is just over 500 feet (150 m) with about 45 floors.^[20] There is also proposed tower known as One Brickell City Centre. Its height has been approved by the FAA and it would be the tallest building in Miami. The residential towers were "topped-out" in 2015 and began occupancy in 2016. While no official start date was given for One Brickell City Centre, Swire reported that it would be after the completion of phase one. There is also a plan for a more modest second phase tower known as "North Squared" that would be at SE 6 Street. Similarly to the first three towers, it would be a little over 500 feet (150 m) with just under 50 floors, as well as over 700 additional parking spaces than the several as part of the current underground garage.^[21] One Brickell City Centre would be the tallest building in Miami by a large margin, beating the under construction Panorama Tower by over 150 feet (46 m), though other supertall (1,000 ft+) buildings have been proposed in Miami.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Miami
• One Brickell City Centre

External links

• Brickell City Centre Condo

References