Standing proud: Miami developers race to erect city’s tallest tower

Developer Gil Dezer won’t stop until he’s on the top.

“We keep asking the FAA for taller, and the request keeps getting granted,’’ said Dezer, whose company is the largest landowner of oceanfront property in South Florida, with condo sales of more than $4 billion in the state.

Dezer is talking about two of his projects, both branded by automakers: Porsche Design Tower Miami at 649 feet, and the Bentley Residences Tower, which when completed, will rise 749 feet. That will make Bentley the tallest residential building on the US coastline.

Dezer is among a cadre of Miami developers racing to build roughly a dozen super-tall residential towers that push the limits in what has historically been a mid-rise city.

In fact, until 2015, most buildings were limited to below 500 square feet and the FAA, which determines how high these structures can go, routinely cut the requested feet of some projects in half. But that year it lifted its restrictions and a spate of super-tall projects were soon underway.

Thanks to the influx of well-heeled New Yorkers, who are used to living at great heights, there is no shortage of takers for Miami’s new crop of tall poppies.

“The bigger the better!’’ enthused Jeff Zalaznik, co-founder of Major Food Group, whose company is currently erecting the 650-foot-tall Villa Miami in Edgewater.

“This is a unique opportunity to build an architectural masterpiece that will change the skyline. While being very tall, it’s still very intimate, with only one or two units on each floor. The idea is not more people, but more luxury. It’s going to be spectacular, with a helipad on top and marina at the bottom. It’s like living on the water, so you don’t even have to get in your car.’’

Apartments in these new buildings don’t come cheap. Pre-construction prices in the Bentley start at $5.5 million and $4.8 million in Villa Miami. But on higher floors costs soar to $35 million for a penthouse in the Bentley.

“We don’t have acres of land like Texas,’’ noted developer Kevin Venger of 1000 Group, who built the impressive 709-foot 1000 Museum Tower which opened in 2019. “We have smaller lots and many projects are urban infill, similar to New York, so you go vertical.’’

It all started with the Panorama Tower, the first ultra-tall in the trend. That mixed-use condo tower rises 869 feet and opened in 2018. It’s still the tallest completed building in the city.

The new Aston Martin Residence is currently the city’s second-tallest tower.

“Super-tall towers were never a part of our landscape until Panorama,’’ said Jay Parker Phillip, president of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing in Florida. “The next one of that magnitude is really the Waldorf.’’

The Waldorf Astoria Residences is perhaps Miami’s most ambitious tower currently under construction. Located Downtown, it will rise 1,049 feet (or 100 stories), after breaking ground in Oct. 2022.

“Higher floors are going at a premium,’’ explained Kevin Maloney, founder of Property Market Group, developer of the Waldorf. “The top 20 stories are selling for 50% more than the lower floors. Sometimes the owners want us to disclose the prices. They are happy to say they paid a significant number to have the best and the highest.’’

One penthouse there is asking $55 million and 88% of units have already sold.

“We are trying to do something iconic,’’ said Maloney. “The Waldorf is about 40 stories higher than anything else in the state of Florida.’’

David Martin, CEO of Terra, whose first building in 2004 was 25 stories, was able to increase the height of his latest structure, Five Park, by turning 3 acres of the plot into a park.

As a result, he is going from the initial proposal of 10 stories to 48, creating the tallest building in South Beach.

“We are studying neighborhoods and how to benefit them,” he said. “The community got a park, just by giving height. Having something tall and slender is less impactful to the neighboring community because it protects the view and sunlight. Five Park is built on 2 acres but could have been on 7.’’

Developers like Martin argue that because each luxury unit is oversized — the average in Five Park is about 2,300 square feet — and has high ceilings, the buildings actually keep the area’s density down.

“Five Park was approved to have 510 units, but we only have 230,’’ said Martin.

Miami architect Kobi Karp, who designed Panorama Tower, and is currently at work on the 750-foot Miami River Residences and the 725-foot residential building at 700 North Miami from New York developer Steven Witkoff, agrees that colossal condos are beneficial to the city.

“They are sustainable, resilient and both energy- and cost-efficient,’’ he said. And, in South Florida, people aren’t too worried about blocking light. “When I build a high-rise it gives me a lot of shade and shadow, which is desperately desired in a subtropical climate.’’

 “Why climb the mountain? Because you can.’’

Kevin Maloney, founder of Property Market Group

Of course, constructing a massive building is no easy feat. “We have to withstand 180-mph hurricane winds; with the amount of concrete we use, we could build three times as high in New York,’’ says Dezer.

“These towers are exponentially more complicated and expensive once you get above 60 feet,’’ said Maloney.

“People are talking about buildings and announcing them, but it’s a long road to get there. We will put 500 piles 18 stories [tall] into the ground, and one pile goes through the sand and ocean floor. Then we will begin a superstructure that will rise 100 stories.’’

It turns out that not everyone is a fan of being on top of the world.

“There are a lot of people who are scared of heights — more than you would think,’’ noted Venger. “Even celebrities who can well afford it are not comfortable being that high.’’

So why take such a risk? “It’s called insanity and insecurity,’’ quipped Maloney. “Why climb the mountain? Because you can.’’