Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty Proposes Downtown Miami Supertall

Aby Rosen wants to build a 104-story supertall with residential units and a hotel in downtown Miami, joining a group of developers who aim to reach new heights in the city. 

New York-based RFR Realty, led by Rosen, proposes a 1,049-foot tower with 252 hotel keys, 1,074 residential units and a 1,013-space garage at 130 and 136 Biscayne Boulevard, and 141 Northeast Third Avenue, according to an application RFR filed to Miami-Dade County last month. A spokesperson for the firm didn’t provide details on whether the units will be condos or apartments. 

The filing marks the seventh supertall proposed for Miami, although only one of them is under construction. A block north of Rosen’s development site, PGM and its partners are building the 1,049-foot Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences at 300 Biscayne Boulevard.  

The threshold for a tower to reach supertall status is 984 feet, a height that has evaded developers in Miami for years. Though many have proposed towers reaching 1,000 feet or above, the closest any developer has come is the Hollo family, with its Florida East Coast Realty’s nearly 900-foot tall Panorama in Brickell. 

Developers that propose supertalls generally aim for 1,049 feet because it is the maximum allowed in Miami under Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. 

Rosen owns the 2.2-acre development site. Last year, his firm paid $25.8 million for the 241-key YVE hotel at 136 Biscayne Boulevard and $25 million for the 12-story Biscayne Office Center at 141 Northeast Third Avenue, according to records. RFR bought the 130 Biscayne Boulevard site, which now is a parking garage, as part of its $81.1 million purchase of the adjacent 100 Biscayne office tower last year. 

South Florida real estate publication The Next Miami first reported on RFR’s proposed supertall.

RFR, which counts the Seagram Building and Chrysler Building in New York within its portfolio, also co-owns the W South Beach hotel and paid $20.5 million in 2019 for a retail building at 318–334 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. 

Also in downtown Miami, Florida East Coast Realty wants to build the 1,049-foot One Bayfront Plaza at 100 South Biscayne Boulevard. 
Among the other proposed Miami supertalls is Swire and Related Companies’ nearly 1,000-foot One Brickell City Centre office building at 700 Brickell Avenue and 799 Brickell Plaza in Brickell.