Greater Miami Area

When close to 1,000 private jets descend on Miami for Art Basel Miami Beach this December, well-heeled art aficionados will disembark and depart for accommodations in the Four Seasons, the Setai Hotel, Lux SLS or one of three nearby Ritz Carlton Hotels. 

They may hit the tony Delano South Beach Hotel, or the venerable Fontainebleau, where Frank, Dean, Sammy, Joey and the rest of the 1960s rat pack held court. 

Yet, a growing number of exclusive buyers will be heading home to their luxury condominiums and their gourmet tastes. After all, Miami and its sister cities  of Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach have become a shining, tropical beacon epitomizing luxury condo living and a gourmet capital as well. Forbes called Miami “a spicy-hot cosmopolitan city where each neighborhood fuels creativity.” For good reason. Today a hotspot for art, nightlife, and global business – not to mention its role as a tourism destination – from downtown to trendy and hip Brickell Avenue where the “Brickellistas” dwell to the beach, Miami’s charisma and character rise high into the tropical sky. And with the new gleaming Virgin Brightline train connecting these cities , the whole area is seamlessly one. 

I have become familiar with Miami only recently. Though I still consider Manhattan my home, I am finding Miami to be an increasingly exciting option. Have you ever been to a place that feels so special that you just leave in a better mood? What started out as a second home is now threatening to become a primary residence. With a world class symphony and ballet and new exciting first-time shows, Miami is on track to equal her northern rivals like New York and Chicago. 

A Feast for Every Sense 

Sure, Miami is a latecomer to the world’s luxury living and cultural scene. Locals speak boldly when mentioning their city in the same breath as London, New York, or Hong Kong . Sure, Miamians know they’re a late arrival, but they’re proud of what their community offers. Places like the Perez Art Museum Miami, The Bass Museum, the New World Center, World Symphony Orchestra and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts add to the cultural life of this increasingly vibrant city. 

To many, the city has made up for lost time with a frenetic pace. After all, Art Basel Miami Beach is mentioned with global reverence. 

To be sure, dining is part of any city’s culture. Being located at the hemisphere’s north-south crossroads has brought Miami a cultural cornucopia not found in other geographies.  

Exceptional dining abounds across Miami. James Beard Award-winning chef José Andrés lights up The Bazaar, which features what’s been called a “playful indoor-outdoor space” conceived by Philippe Starck. Located in the heart of the South Beach Art Deco District, the 2016 AAA Four Diamond Award Winner puts a clever spin on avant-garde tapas, served with theatrics in what one writer called the “Spanish-Eclectic retro-lounge” in the SLS Hotel South Beach. 

Nearby on Miami Beach’s fabled Lincoln Road pedestrian shopping mall and beneath its Japanese style irimoya retractable roof, the London-based Chotto Matte prepares Nikkei Japanese-and-Peruvian repasts. Chef James Gallagher prepares sake dragon rolls,ceviche, yuca frita, and various robata dishes and sautéed items within a sophisticated, open-air enclave. 

Head west across the McArthur Causeway to Miami downtown to another host of culinary creations. Yet, it’s the Latino fare – with a distinct, multi-ethnic flair – that sets the city’s culinary offerings apart from those anywhere else on the planet. Estefan Kitchen, named for Cuban émigrés and music icons Emilio and Gloria Estefan, explores reimagined Cuban fare in the city’s Design District. There’s lechón flatbread, vaca frita, and braised short ribs, served with a side of live music reminiscent of pre-Revolution Havana. 

Over on Brickell Key, just a bridge from the financial district, N by NAOE offers Shabu-shabu, lightly cooked thin slices of Wagyu beef imported from Japan and quickly swished in a steaming kelp stock – all served in a communal setting. 

Overlooking Biscayne Bay, La Mar  restaurant at The Mandarin features upscale Asian-Peruvian fusion and traditional, signature ceviches and freshly grilled anticuchos from acclaimed chef Gastón Acurio. If the evening view isn’t enough to heighten the senses, there’s the sumptuous Sunday brunch. 

Like so much in Miami, fine dining here often has a back story. Like before Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs had just suffered a heart-breaking defeat to the Miami Heat. Instead of the title-clinching celebration Coach Gregg Popovich was preparing at Il Gabbiano, “Pop” turned the gathering into a post-game therapy session over wine and a menu that includes Costoletta Alla Milanese, Bistecca Alla Griglia, and Scampi Alla Francese at the Michelin-rated restaurant. 

Just to the north and tucked in the Design District, Mandolin Aegean serves up Greek and Turkish dishes prepared simply and beautifully. As Conde Naste Traveler opined, the mezes, salads, sandwiches, mains, and sides, made of seasonal ingredients, freshly caught fish, and vegetarian options, make “it easy to indulge in as much — or as little — as you feel like.” 

As is the case with much in Miami, the garden terrace built from a 1940s-era home is ideal for an intimate dalliance or the place to see-and-be-seen – or both. 

A Feast for Every Luxury Lifestyle 

The feast in Miami is also to partake of the uber luxurious Condo living which has taken style and status to a whole new level. 

Take The Continuum on South Beach, for example. When it opened in 2002, the two residential skyscrapers feature 40 floors of unfettered luxury with direct beach access, a lagoon pool, sporting club, tennis courts and private tennis club, and Redwood sauna. Both are just a short ride from Prime 112 or Joe’s Stone Crab, the venerable seafood and steak house recently mentioned in the New York Times for having been mentioned in the TV show, Billions. 

Or Art Basel visitors may stop by the sales gallery for Aston Martin Residences in downtown Miami to discuss details for the 66-story tower planned for downtown Miami. In a few years, that buyer-turned-resident will drive his limited-edition Aston Martin to his $50 million, 10-bedroom penthouse atop the planned 66-story tower designed by Revuelta Architecture International and Bodas Miani Anger Architects. 

This is all designed, as developer Germán Coto of G&G Business Developments told the venerable Ocean Drive magazine, “ to meet the needs of today’s modern cosmopolitan lifestyles.” 

Speaking of cosmopolitan, a penthouse at Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isle Beach recently sold for $10 million.  Not to mention the Mansions at Acqualina and 157 Ocean. 

So it seems, Miami shows no signs of slowing down its hyper-drive into the world’s most vaulted lifestyle destinations. Whether it’s Latin Americans living in the de facto capital of the entire hemisphere, locals moving up in station, or fellow Americans fleeing high-tax states for Florida’s no-income tax status – a designation that’s saving new arrivals millions in taxes – Miami is a haven for rich buyers in search of luxury. 

If they’re not already part of the city’s new skyline, they are grand visions on the developer’s or architect’s drawing board. 

Consider architect and developer Zaha Hadid’s vision: One Thousand Museum. Before last year closed out, the development had pre-sold 82 percent of its 83 residences. The Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s project, which includes a $49 million penthouse, earned a spot on TheRichest.com’s list of the world’s 10 most luxurious penthouses. It joins ranks that include New York’s Woolworth Tower Residence (No. 9), the Odeon Penthouse in Monte Carlo (No. 8), and Opus in Hong Kong (No. 8). For those keeping score, the most luxurious penthouse resides at West 57th Street in Manhattan known as Billionaires Row to the cognoscenti. 

One Thousand Museum – named for fellow developer Jorge Perez’s Perez Art Museum Miami nearby – features a futuristic, curvilinear design in the heart of Miami. Two stories are dedicated to the spa facilities, the private helipad, and a sunbathing terrace. 

Need to see for yourself? Head over to Miami’s North Beach neighborhood. Earlier this year, the penthouse at Eighty Seven Park Miami Beach hit the market for $68 million. If it earns its asking price, this two-story unit at the Renzo Piano-designed condo will set a county price record. The tower already has lured tennis pro Novak Djokovic. 

Again, for the scorecards, the record sales price to date is the $60 million hedge-fund billionaire manager Ken Griffin spent in 2015 on two penthouses at Faena House. 

While Faena has lured celebrities like Kanye West, who spent $14 million to surprise bride Kim Kardashian there, a purchase spurred while he was in town for Art Basel, across the bay, a host of developments continue to rise. New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton bought a penthouse unit at Aria on the Bay in the rising community of Edgewater close enough to the Graffitti ridden Wynwood and the elegant Arts and Design District hotspots.  

Such rising, centrally located communities, offer an affordable lifestyle for those who don’t have trust fund accounts or are not born with the proverbial silver spoon. Or just want a second home for their Winter frolics. There are a myriad of options available in full service 5 star condominiums for much under $1 Million in these fast growing communities whose central location, proximity to world class museums and restaurants make them a compelling buy. And to add to all this is Miami’s free MetroMover service which loops around these neighborhoods every few minutes. 

This metamorphosis touches much of the area. Una Residences will deliver to the Brickell Road stretch neighboring Miami’s financial district what some call a sculptural, nautical-inspired 47-story tower. Developer OKO Group tapped Gordon Gill Architecture, the firm that designed the Jeddah Tower currently under construction in Saudi Arabia. And then the Miami Worldcenter. Tagged as one of the largest private master-planned, mixed-use projects in the United States, condos at Paramount Miami Worldcenter are expected to top $1.7 million

Miami is not alone as a home for luxe living. To the north, the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences built by the Fort Lauderdale based Merrimac Ventures is scheduled to debut in late 2020. Penthouses are expected to fetch $5 million. 

To some, there’s no Miami like Miami Beach. So it is with Beach House 8. Just beyond the seagrass strewn sand dunes, this Arquitectonica-designed clutch of eight boutique, oceanfront residences nestled in the heart of Miami Beach are decidedly close to everything “South Beach.” 

Question is, with residences ranging from $8 million to $24 million, what could you possibly walk to from here that’s better than what you call home? 

To be sure, Miami may be on the rise as a luxury destination. But some see the shadows of other markets. So it was when Miami developer Ugo Colombo, himself celebrated for igniting Miami’s emergent skyline in the 1980s, decided to erect the Brickell Flatiron building in Miami’s financial district. It’s already convinced Chicago maritime executive Jake Vogel to drop $13.2 million on a three-story condo there – the highest price paid for a condo in Miami’s Brickell district since 2007. 

It’s no happenstance that the Flatiron bears the name does. The tallest condo tower south of Manhattan, that’s only one bragging point. The distinctive iconic shape from the mind’s eye of architect Luis Revuelta will rise from a prominent perch at Brickell’s epicenter. It features interiors architected by Massimo Iosa Ghini, and a rooftop sky spa, pool and fitness center 64 floors up. 

The resurgence of Miami is best summed up by Alyce Robertson, Executive Director of the Miami Downtown Development Authority: “In little more than a decade, Miami has been transformed from a one-destination beach town into a multi-faceted city made up of diverse, colorful neighborhoods with Downtown at the center of it all – from walkable streets and  beautiful parks to the City’s top entertainment stops. 

So as those hundreds of private jets take flight at week’s end, shuttling the well-heeled to their next destinations, some will stay behind, dining on hemispheric-hinted fare and ensconced in their luxurious condominiums. 

To add to the excitement of this 24 hour round-the-clock buzzing city, the famous phrase “What happens in Miami, stays in Miami” can easily be applied.