In Miami, Armani-Branded Condo Tower Tops Off
The 56-story, 649-foot Residences by Armani Casa, which was announced in 2014, has topped off in Sunny Isles Beach. The project is being developed by Dezer Development and Related Group. It is expected to open in 2019.
The Armani project is part of a bigger trend of brand-name condos in Miami. An Aston-Martin-branded condo tower is going up on Biscayne Boulevard and a Missoni condo in Edgewater. Dezer already built a Porsche-branded tower in Sunny Isles Beach.
Buyers in such projects have said they believe the brand names will help units hold value with worldwide buyers even as local trends come and go.
“It’s like buying into Coca-Cola,” one buyer told the Wall Street Journal.
The Dezer/Related project stems from a branch of the Armani fashion line. The Armani/Casa Interior Design Studio was founded in 2003. Its designs are also incorporated in other high-end projects around the world, including the Macka Residences in Istanbul and Century Spire in Manila.
The building architect is Cesar Pelli, who designed the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami. The contemporary glass tower is being touted as “ultra luxury.” Units will cost $2M and up, to $17M for the duplex penthouse.
Two floors of amenities were designed “under the artistic direction of Giorgio Armani," who is now 84, and they include a cigar room, wine cellar, heated pool, spa, movie theater and more. The project sits along 300 feet of private beach.
Dezer Development has been a major player in South Florida real estate, having bought 27 acres of oceanfront property that includes 2,100 acres in Sunny Isles. After partnering with Donald Trump on three projects, Gil Dezer, the son in the father-and-son team behind Dezer Development, started Dezer Signature Brands.
Related Group has its own monster reputation, having built 90,000 units worldwide and altered the South Florida landscape with luxury towers of its own. Chief Operating Officer Matthew Allen will be a featured panelist at Bisnow's Eighth Annual South Florida State of the Market Sept. 20.
