Developer PMG is planning its second supertall tower in downtown Miami, this time partnering with the iconic hotel brand Delano to build a 90-story condo skyscraper that will rise nearly 1,000 feet and include the city's first public observation deck.
Miami-based PMG is teaming up with Ennismore, one of the owners of the Delano brand, to build the Delano Residences Miami at 400 Biscayne Blvd. The project is planned for a site just steps away from where PMG is building the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences, Miami's first supertall tower.
The Delano Residences is expected to be 985 feet tall and will be the first residential project from the Delano hotel brand. Plans include 421 studio- to three-bedroom units, office suites, two restaurants and an observation deck offering residents and visitors an 850-foot-high view of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.
Supertall towers, or a structure that is taller than 984 feet, can only be built in a small area between downtown Miami and the financial district because of height restrictions from the Federal Aviation Administration and the nearby international airport. The 1,049-foot-tall Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences is set to wrap up vertical construction later this year.
The Waldorf Astoria supertall has been under development for the better part of the last decade. But Ryan Shear, one of PMG’s managing partners, expects the Delano Residences to be a five-year project. Shear told CoStar News that his team is taking lessons it has learned from the Waldorf Astoria project to speed up development of the new tower.
"Every part" of developing a supertall tower is different, Shear said. “Selling them, financing them, definitely constructing." Tall buildings, especially in Miami, require multiple engineering considerations to build atop the city’s soft limestone bedrock and strengthened concrete to account for wind gusts and South Florida’s infamous hurricanes.
But “we feel incredibly equipped. We're doing it. We've done it before,” Shear said.
Shear told CoStar News that PMG expects to break ground on the tower next year, following an 18-month sales cycle. “Then it's roughly a four-year build,” he said. Sales at the Delano Residences are set to launch in March, Shear said. Prices begin in the $800,000s.
From South Beach to downtown
Branded residences are common in Miami — the city is second only to Dubai with the number of branded units, according to a report by marketing firm Henley & Partners — and that means PMG needed the Delano Residences to stand out.
“We want to build a building that’s unique,” said Shear, adding that the city is home to “so many” spectacular buildings, with amenities that range from spas and gyms to membership rooms and restaurants.
And that led to the partnership with Ennismore, the operator of the iconic, all-white Art Deco-style Delano Miami Beach hotel and the owner of the global Delano hotel brand.
"I'm from Miami, so Delano means personally a lot to me. I think it means a lot to a lot of people that grew up down here, putting aside its fame globally," said Shear. When the brand became available to work with, PMG worked “as quickly as possible,” he said.
The Delano Miami Beach hotel opened in 1947 along Miami Beach’s neon-lined Collins Avenue. The building was acquired by Eldrige Industries in 2020 and then the company brought on hospitality operator Ennismore to reimagine the hotel that is set to reopen this year following an extensive renovation.
The hotel became a fixture of Miami Beach's nightlife and boosted the city's status as a trendy destination in the 1990s after its "whimsical" renovation by Ian Schrager and Philippe Starck. The pair created the hotel's "Alice in Wonderland" themed lobby, while Madonna served as a partner in the hotel's restaurant and bodybuilder David Barton ran the gym.
The Delano's storied legacy extends to Dubai and Paris, where Ennismore operates two other Delano hotels. In 2023, Ennismore partnered with Cain International, an alternative asset manager focused on real estate, to build new hotels globally and the Delano brand is expected to open two locations in London and New York later this year.
Delano "was our No. 1 choice" to work with for the new proposed supertall tower, said Shear, who added the deal worked for both PMG and Ennismore.
The tower will include a new iteration of the Miami Beach hotel's famed Rose Bar, known for its red walls and quartz countertop, alongside the Cafe Delano, an all-day signature restaurant.
Beyond the brand and its ritzy bar, residents at the Delano Residences will be supported by Accor One Living and receive VIP recognition and elite memberships to all of Accor's loyalty and rewards programs, alongside preferred rates to more than 5,700 Accor and Ennismore hotels and resorts worldwide.
Good for the city
Shear told CoStar News that the Delano Residences is part of a broader evolution underway in Miami that reflects South Florida's rising global status, with the city now firmly ranking alongside cities like New York or Chicago as a global destination.
That was a key reason the team decided the tower should include the city's first observation deck, he said.
“Being on the ranks of New York or Chicago" that both have towers with observation decks that "people travel to see them, we should be at that place,” Shear said. “It’s good for the city.”
While PMG is building the Waldorf Astoria a little over a block away and multiple supertall towers are planned from other developers throughout downtown Miami, none have thus far included a public observation deck.
"I think that Miami is still having this magical moment and the ability to latch onto that or help catalyze that ... It's an honor and a pleasure to be part of the Miami movement that is now. And I think buildings like this really help," Shear concluded.
For the record
Sales at the Delano Residences are led exclusively by PMG’s in-house brokerage, PMG Residential. The design team includes conceptual artist Carlos Ott and architectural firm Cube 3 with interiors by Meyer Davis.