Developers Edgardo Defortuna and Shahab Karmely plan a Faena District along the Miami River, The Real Deal has learned.
Defortuna’s Fortune International Group and Karmely’s KAR Properties are working with Alan Faena on Faena Residences, a planned 440-unit luxury condo development, Defortuna said. The two-tower project will be built on the site at 90 Southwest Third Street in Miami, where KAR Properties previously planned to develop One River Point.
The two buildings, which will connect via a sky bridge, were designed by the late architect Rafael Viñoly. Fortune joined as a co-developer in late 2022.
Sales will begin later this year. Units will be priced starting in the $800,000s with some asking more than $4 million.
“We’ll be in full force by the time Art Basel rolls around,” Defortuna said.
The project will mark the second South Florida real estate development for Faena, following the completion of his Faena District in Miami Beach, which includes the Faena House condo, Faena Hotel, Faena Forum and more. That was backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik.
The Miami River condo project will be part of a three-block, phased development with a private park, wellness facilities, a marina and public art, according to a press release. The condo towers’ sky bridge will include a two-story, 45,000-square-foot amenity space that Faena will program.
“We really feel Alan [Faena] has done an incredible job at bringing this amazing development to life, reshaping what living in this part of town will be about,” Defortuna said. “A lot of the amenities are targeted for longevity, wellness and wellbeing.”
Construction could begin by early 2026.
Fortune and KAR secured a $38 million loan from Bank OZK in late 2022, which was a line of credit to be used for sales and marketing.
Karmely’s plans for the 60-story, connecting two-tower project were first revealed in 2014. That version called for an 85-foot waterfall; a three-story, floating glass skybridge; and a 55th floor, members-only “Sky Club” with two restaurants, a cigar lounge, wine cellar and a screening room.
A TRD analysis last year found that developers have a dozen projects in various stages, from proposals to nearly completed construction, that would add 10,500 condo and apartment units along the Miami River.
On the south side of the river, projects include Related Group’s Baccarat, a 75-story, 355-unit tower planned for the site at 99 Southeast Fifth Street. That’s part of a three-building complex.
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Faena’s branding of the project also adds to a robust pipeline of branded condo projects in South Florida.
French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is the latest to join that trend. The Michelin-starred chef is working with David Martin’s Terra and Michael Simkins’ Lion Development Group on Vongerichten’s first residential project, called Jean-Georges Miami Tropic Residences. The 48-story, 320-unit tower is planned for the site at 3501 Northeast First Avenue, just south of the Miami Design District near the Shops at Midtown Miami.
