Miami's Mandarin Oriental hotel, an exclusive getaway on the island of Brickell Key, disappeared into a cloud of dust and rubble after its implosion early Sunday.
The demolition, following months of preparation, marks the end of an era for the well-known Florida hotel. It makes way for a luxury two-tower hotel and condominium from developer Swire Properties USA and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
The demolished Mandarin Oriental hotel opened in 2000 and was developed by Hong Kong-based Swire Properties and operated by Mandarin Oriental. The 326-room hotel plummeted 23 stories to the ground following a controlled implosion performed by Palm Beach, Florida-based demolition contractor BG Group and Maryland-based subcontractor Controlled Demolition.
It follows the hotel's closing about a year ago, after it laid off hundreds of employees. Throughout its 25-year history, the hotel, featuring award-winning chefs and restaurants, hosted celebrities such as Will Smith and Jennifer Aniston and was the go-to location for high-flying executives and VIPs.
Now, Swire Properties and Mandarin Oriental are planning to continue the international hospitality brand's legacy of five-star service on Brickell Key, a 44-acre island overlooking Biscayne Bay and the downtown Miami skyline.
"The next big step is six months of clearing all of the debris. The very first activity we have is improvements to our seawall on the project. In the fall, we start groundbreaking, which will allow us to go vertical," on the Residences at the Mandarin Oriental, said Jessica Chen, vice president of construction at Swire, in an interview with CoStar News on Sunday.
The Residences at the Mandarin Oriental Miami's South Tower is expected to be 66 stories with 228 residences while the 34-story North Tower will be home to Mandarin Oriental's North American flagship hotel as well as additional condo units. The project is expected to be completed in 2030.
Swire Properties launched sales of the North Tower in November, after selling more than half of the units at the South Tower and generating $1.2 billion in sales. Most recently, two penthouse units in the South Tower sold for nearly $50 million each, showing just the latest sign of high-end demand in the city.