Miami’s first supertall tower has reached a financial milestone in an unprecedented way, securing the biggest construction loan in Florida's history as developer PMG gears up to start vertical construction on the tallest U.S. residential building south of New York.

Bank OZK and Related Fund Management provided the $668 million loan for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami. It’s the largest construction loan for a residential condo in Florida’s history, according to PMG.

Upon completion, the tower will be Miami's first supertall — a building over 987 feet — reaching 1,049 feet high.

“It takes an army,” said Dan Kaplan, managing partner of PMG, in an interview with CoStar News. The project has been under development for eight years already, Kaplan said, and had involved a number of partners, including private equity firm Greybrook, Mohari Hospitality, S2 Development and global hospitality company Hilton, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria brand.

To secure financing, PMG and its partners worked "since the dark days of COVID" to “prove out every single part of the project” for capital markets, said Kaplan. Any issues with sales, zoning and contracts had long been taken care of. "So when the world turned around and Southern Florida began to flourish as a condo market, we were the first people out of the gate," he said.

“At the end of the day, you’re relying on us to manage the construction process,” Kaplan said. “But other than that, every other risk part of the project has been solved for you,” he added.

The project’s general contractor, John Moriarty & Associates, began a 36-hour nonstop foundation pour for the tower on Friday.

With an anticipated completion in the second quarter of 2028, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences will be the Hilton brand’s global flagship, Kaplan said. The tower occupies a prime location in the heart of Miami at 300 Biscayne Blvd.

Miami’s elevated status as a global financial heavyweight set off a race among developers looking to build supertall towers for the city’s wealthy newcomers, but PMG’s Waldorf Astoria is furthest along in the development process.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami's 387 units are 90% sold. Prices originally began at $1 million but now range from $4 million to $30 million for a penthouse. The tower’s hotel component will include 205 guestrooms, two restaurants, and approximately 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Kaplan said he had spent time with up to 30 of his close financial contacts to outline the opportunity the tower presented, considering how far the developer had gone to make sure it was as safe an investment as could be.

That included committing to non-disturbance agreements, a “deep analysis” of the construction schedule, $40 million worth of insurance, and a months-long process called deep-soil mixing, in which the developer mixed cement directly with Florida’s otherwise soft limestone bedrock to help better support the 100-story tower.

“They looked at the risk profile, and a handful of them took a view that in today's market, that the loan they were providing us is an incredibly good risk adjusted return,” said Kaplan. “It all boils down to reputation, track record, and the ability to execute,” he added.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami was designed by Sieger Suarez Architects and architect Carlos Ott. Interior design was led by BAMO. Financing was arranged by JLL’s Christopher Peck, Chris Drew, Brian Gaswirth, Jimmy Calvo and Mateo Bolivar. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Saul Ewing LLP represented PMG and Greybrook. Sales at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami are led by PMG Residential’s Christian Tupper, Aura Aragon, Daiana Quiceno, Alejandra Castillo and Karine Carvalho.