While higher costs delay some ambitious projects around the country, Miami’s first supertall tower is rising on the city's skyline at a rate of one floor every 10 days.
With construction so far reaching about a third of its planned height, the 100-story Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami from developer PMG has already started to tower over the marina and bayfront. Builders have assembled the shell of the first three of nine sections designed to look like stacked glass cubes.
When it opens sometime in 2028 at 1,049 feet high, the tower is set to become the city’s first building to earn the supertall label that applies only to buildings ascending more than 987 feet.
A tour on a recent afternoon showed the building already offering panoramic views of downtown Miami, the bustling cruise terminals at the port and the emerald waters of Biscayne Bay.
At the busy site, PMG is running a tight schedule to avoid potential cost increases or material shortages for what could be Miami’s most notable project yet, said Ryan Shear, managing partner at Miami-based PMG, in an email.
“Careful project scheduling and phased procurement strategies have also minimized risks related to market uncertainties” and allowed the team “to adapt quickly to any changes without significant disruption,” Shear said.
Other partners involved in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami are private equity firm Greybrook, Mohari Hospitality, S2 Development and global hospitality company Hilton, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria brand.
Plans for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences include 360 one- to four-bedroom residential units that are already over 90% sold. Prices for remaining units start at about $2.1 million, while the penthouse is listed for $50 million, with sales having “exceeded expectations,” Shear said. Over half of the project's residences were sold even before the ceremonial groundbreaking in 2022.
As for the new hotel, 205 guest rooms are planned for the tower's bottom portion, spanning about 30 floors. When completed, it will be Hilton's global flagship for the historic Waldorf Astoria brand.
Rising luxury condo demand
Appetite for Miami's luxury condominiums has only grown over the past five years. Condo sales above $1 million are up 88% since 2019, according to figures from the Miami Association of Realtors. Cash deals, more typical of high-end buyers, now account for about half or more of all condo sales.
That means that Miami may get a few more towers as tall as the Waldorf Astoria, but only “as long as the luxury demand side of the equation holds up, which has been the case so far,” said Juan Arias, CoStar’s South Florida director of market analytics. Arias added that the Waldorf Astoria is one of the clearest examples of "interest from sophisticated players in tapping into the market.”
The project's rapid ascent into the Miami skyline comes after years of preparation. Years before any shovels hit the ground, the team knew that the tower would have to handle the worst of Florida's weather. That means that "the building’s design incorporates features to withstand hurricane-force winds, including strategically placed cantilevered cubes for better wind load distribution," Shear said.
Deep soil mixing, a months-long process where concrete is worked directly into the soil, was used to firm up Miami's soft and porous limestone bedrock that would otherwise be unable to support the weight of such a tall tower. Once that was done, a 36-hour, round-the-clock foundation pour ensued in June 2024. It helped "address the site’s complexities and keep the project on track," Shear added in an email to CoStar News.
That also helped the developers score the largest construction loan in Florida's history last year. To secure the $668 million loan, all aspects of the project, including committing to non-disturbance agreements, $40 million of insurance, and any issues with sales, zoning and contracts had to be taken care of, according to Dan Kaplan, managing partner of PMG.
The company has a number of projects going vertical across Miami in addition to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences, including twin towers branded after one of the city’s most famous nightclubs. And the developer plans to build a stand-alone Waldorf Astoria Residences in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Despite all the risk, “we’ve built a diverse portfolio that includes condos, multifamily, and affordable housing, which gives us the flexibility to pivot with the market,” Shear said.
For the record
John Moriarty & Associates is the general contractor. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami was designed by Sieger Suarez Architects and architect Carlos Ott. Interior design was led by BAMO. Bank OZK and Related Fund Management provided the construction loan. Sales are led by PMG's in-house brokerage, PMG Residential.