Brickell Waterfront Development Site At 1201 Brickell Bay Dr Sells For $363M

 
Ever since we very first started working in the Brickell area, new residents ask the same question. “What’s going on with this waterfront lot in between Jade at Brickell and The Mark on Brickell Bay Drive?”

The answer has always been the same. “Right now it is a parking lot, but one day it will be a tower.”

But the history is not so vague. The development site was owned by Tibor Hollo of Florida East Coast Realty. He has developed a host of waterfront buildings from Brickell to Edgewater over the years, including Panorama Tower. He is quite an interesting man and has quite the interesting story, but for today we are talking about the Brickell waterfront development site.

The History of the Site

The site was originally slated to be developed into a monstrosity of a multi-use development in 2006 dubbed Villa Magna. When 2006-2009 happened (don’t pretend you don’t remember), the project was placed on hold and Mr. Hollo focused on other projects. He says himself that he likes to build only one tower at a time, and you kind of have to respect that out of him, but he still had something big planned for the site.

Fast forward to 2016 and he still had big plans, albeit different. Mr. Hollo had Panorama Tower under construction, the tallest tower south of Manhattan (he loves having the tallest tower, everything he builds is substantial in height), and he had a new vision for his waterfront development site at 1201 Brickell Bay Dr. He intended to call it “The Towers” and it was to be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning British architecture firm Foster + Partners.

The Towers were slated to feature two 1,049 ft towers with a total of 660 luxury units, connected by a rooftop amenity deck.

When I spoke with him about it, his face lit up as he boasted, “If you have ever been impressed by the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, you’re going to love this development.” His robust enthusiasm for the neighborhood is infectious.

Today’s Update

Time has passed and the market has changed. Florida East Coast Realty (the company Mr. Hollo founded) has owned the 2.5 acre lot since the year 2000, when they purchased it for a mere $15.5 million. Mr. Hollo’s son, Jerome Hollo is now managing TWJ 1201 LLC, the entity that holds the property.

This week, the property has changed hands for a whopping $363 million to 1201 Brickell Bay LLC, a Delaware-based foreign LLC that is managed by Randall Davis in Chicago according to the South Florida Business Journal.

The price jump is expected, as this is one of the last waterfront development sites available in Brickell, and is the only one that is completely ready to begin construction. Others would need to go through a lengthy condo termination process including complicated owner buyouts followed by demolition, or the saga that we have seen with the First Presbyterian parking lot site. So, at a time when so many businesses and residents are flocking to the area, the premium paid for this parcel completely makes sense.

The main question now is… will the new owners uphold Mr. Hollo’s vision? He currently still has the tallest tower in Florida with the 868-foot Panorama Tower, but PMG’s Waldorf Astoria in Downtown is set to surpass that with their 1,049-foot design. Only time will tell.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with the project, subscribe to our newsletter. Also, please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested in buying or selling in Brickell or surrounding areas. You may reach Broker and Executive Director of Luxury Sales, Michael Light, directly at 786.566.1700 or via email at michael@miamiluxuryhomes.com.