Project rendering courtesy of The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami.
Swire Properties broke ground October 1 on The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami, a two-tower condominium and hotel development on Brickell Key. The project had recorded more than $1.7 billion in residential sales before construction began, according to the developer and The Florida Press, which reported the sales figure October 9.
The development is scheduled for completion in 2030. It will replace the former Mandarin Oriental hotel, demolished earlier this year, with a new hotel and hundreds of residences on the island just off Brickell.
The groundbreaking and presales total stand out in a regional market with very different conditions across its neighborhoods and price points. While ultra-luxury projects are attracting substantial buyer commitments, South Florida is also seeing new affordable housing financing, contested development proposals and the delivery of previously planned condominium towers.
Two towers, one hotel and nearly 330 residences
Designed by New York-based architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, the project comprises a 66-story South Tower and a 33-story North Tower.
The South Tower is planned to contain 228 private residences. The North Tower will combine 70 private residences with 28 turnkey Hotel Collection residences and a 121-room hotel. Swire has described the hotel as a future North American flagship for Mandarin Oriental.
The developer reports that the South Tower is 80% sold and the North Tower 25% sold. The North Tower sales gallery opened in May. In 2026, the project generated more than $620 million in sales, including more than $150 million over a three-month summer period, according to Swire’s groundbreaking announcement.
Two South Tower crown penthouses were each reported sold for $49.9 million earlier this year. Swire said the sales established mainland Miami records for condominium sale price and price per square foot. The sales do not establish pricing for the remaining residences: the developer’s release lists starting prices of $7 million for South Tower homes and $4 million for North Tower homes.
Casa Bella Residences was completed this month, with closings underway and the first residents moved in. Photo by Robin Hill, via Florida YIMBY.
Presales meet a shifting condo landscape
The Mandarin Oriental sales total is a major figure for a project that has not yet risen above ground, but it reflects demand at the upper end of the market, not a broad measure of how Miami-Dade’s condominium sector is performing.
The Florida Press report describes the project’s buyer pool as largely domestic, with about 65% of purchasers from the United States. That profile differs from the international buyer presence long associated with Miami’s luxury market.
The project also brings a globally recognized hotel brand into Brickell Key’s residential setting. Its planned amenity program includes a 100,000-square-foot podium with pools, fitness and wellness facilities, dining spaces, lounges and other shared areas, according to Swire. The developer says it is self-financing construction, using proceeds from asset sales and a portion of buyer deposits, rather than relying on a construction loan.
Those details matter as a point of comparison with the rest of South Florida’s development pipeline. Luxury presales, housing for income-qualified residents and projects requiring zoning changes all compete for attention, but face different financial and public approval processes.
Other developments across South Florida
Downtown Miami marked a different kind of milestone this week with the completion of Casa Bella Residences by B&B Italia at 1400 Biscayne Boulevard. The 56-story, 319-unit tower developed by Related Group and Alta Developers is more than 90% under contract, with closings underway and residents already moving in, according to Florida YIMBY. The project’s completion follows years of construction and turns a planned development into occupied housing in the Arts and Entertainment District.
Further north, a major proposal remains subject to local review. Tavistock Development is seeking approval for four towers of approximately 270 feet at Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale. The plan would add 339 condominiums, commercial space and a waterfront promenade, but has drawn opposition from residents concerned about height, traffic and neighborhood impacts. The proposal is not approved; it would require rezoning and support from at least four of the city’s five commissioners. South Florida Digest’s report on the proposal details the dispute over the requested height, which is more than twice the area’s current 120-foot limit.
The proposed Pier Sixty-Six expansion remains under review. Photo via South Florida Digest.
Fort Lauderdale also saw an early sale at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Fort Lauderdale Beach. Developers MICL and Admire Capital reported that a buyer purchased a two-story penthouse before the penthouse collection’s official release. The sale price was not disclosed. The 83-residence project is planned for 551 Bayshore Drive, with completion expected in 2029. CondoGrid’s report says the residence has 3,401 square feet of interior space and nearly 3,908 square feet of terrace.
Project rendering via CondoGrid.
Affordable housing financing and local opposition were also part of the week’s regional real-estate news. Berkadia announced $67 million in construction-to-permanent financing for Federal Apartments, an affordable housing redevelopment in Fort Lauderdale’s Progresso neighborhood. The project is planned to provide 164 homes for households earning 30% to 50% of area median income, while preserving and extending a Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments contract through 2046, according to Berkadia.
In Miami Beach, developer Russell Galbut withdrew three proposed Live Local Act projects after residents raised objections. The projects would have added nearly 400 homes. The decision underscores the tension around the state law, which allows qualifying developments to exceed local zoning limits in exchange for reserving at least 40% of units for income-qualified households. The Real Deal reported that Galbut said the withdrawals followed conversations with local officials and reflected a desire for collaboration.
What the Brickell Key project signals, and what it doesn’t
The Mandarin Oriental’s presales show that buyers are committing significant sums to a branded, waterfront development with a long build-out timeline. But that single project does not describe every part of the housing market, or the priorities facing cities across South Florida.
The region’s real-estate map stretches from dense waterfront districts such as Brickell Key to communities near the Everglades, where land use, water management and conservation bring different planning questions. In urban centers, the immediate debates include tower height, infrastructure, affordability and the balance between private development and public access.
For now, the Brickell Key project moves from sales momentum to construction. Its next milestone will be progress toward the 2030 completion target, and whether the pace of development and the scale of buyer demand hold as the towers take shape. Continue following South Florida’s real estate coverage for updates on major projects, housing and local development decisions.
