The Triangle Breaks Ground in Miami’s Health District, Among the First Live Local Act Projects to Reach Construction
Ground has officially broken on The Triangle, a proposed workforce housing development in Miami’s Health District spearheaded by Miami-based developer DFRE. The project is being built under Florida’s Live Local Act, the state’s closely watched pro-housing law that grants zoning exceptions and faster approval timelines in exchange for setting aside at least 40 percent of units as workforce housing. With construction now underway, The Triangle stands as one of the first developments to bring the legislation from paper to pavement. The project takes its name, and its distinctive shape, from the land beneath it. Designed by ODP Architects, the building is molded around a quirky, just-under-0.7-acre triangular lot that DFRE purchased in 2019 for $1,675,000. The site had sat as an undeveloped grass lot for decades before the project’s approval finally gave it a path forward. Once complete, The Triangle will offer 112 rental units, all priced at income-restricted rates for households earning up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income. That goes well beyond what the Live Local Act requires: the law mandates that only 40 percent of a project’s units be priced at that income threshold, but DFRE opted to apply it across the building’s full inventory. Units will average around 450 square feet, each with a private balcony, and residents will have access to a 10,000-square-foot pool terrace on the fifth level, along with gathering spaces, grilling areas, and additional amenity space throughout the building. “Our responsibility extends far beyond developing real estate,” said Daniel Dias, principal at DFRE, in a statement. “With The Triangle, we’re turning a site in the heart of the Health District into attainable, well-designed housing for the people who serve this community. It’s about giving Miami’s workforce the opportunity to live closer to where they work while creating a place that strengthens the neighborhood for the long term.” At street level, the project is designed with pedestrian activity in mind, featuring expanded sidewalks and added greenery. The ground floor will also house a 3,500-square-foot fitness center along with several entrances leading into the building’s parking garage, which architecture firm ODP says will hold 72 spaces. In total, the development will span 121,636 square feet across eight floors, rising to roughly 80 feet. Its exterior will combine tall windows, stucco finishes, and metal balconies, set against a color palette of browns, grays, and blacks. The $35 million project is slated to top off in mid-2027 and reach completion in early 2028, positioning it to become one of the state’s first fully realized Live Local Act developments. That distinction carries weight in a county known more for proposals than completions. According to Floridian Development’s analysis, only around 100 projects taller than five stories are currently under construction countywide, a figure that underscores how significant this single groundbreaking could be. If The Triangle delivers as planned, it may signal the start of a broader wave of Live Local Act projects moving from concept to construction across South Florida.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences Begins Construction on Miami’s Brickell Key
Construction has officially kicked off at the site of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences, one of Miami’s most closely watched condo and hotel developments. Crews recently began deep soil mixing ahead of the development’s planned October groundbreaking date, a technique essential for towers of this scale. The process strengthens the ground before foundation work can start, which is particularly important given Miami’s sandy, often unstable geology. With that process underway, the 294-unit, 149-key development is on track to begin rising next year across its two planned towers. This progress comes not long after the original Mandarin Oriental hotel was brought down to make way for it. Built in 2000 and home to 326 hotel rooms, relatively young by most building standards, the tower was demolished in a controlled implosion that drew onlookers from across the city. In the months since, debris cleanup from that demolition has neared completion, and in the areas already cleared, deep soil mixing is now moving forward. Below is a video outlining recent construction milestones. Click to view and expand. That sequence of ground preparation before vertical construction is not unique to this site. A similar approach is playing out a short distance away at Citadel’s new global headquarters, a project Floridian Development has also covered, where foundation work is only now getting underway after months of soil improvement. The parallel makes sense: Brickell Key is an artificial island, which makes this kind of ground preparation especially critical. None of that work is happening without oversight. The construction activity, located at 750 Claughton Island Drive, is backed by a steady stream of county permitting, with several permits either issued or under review. These include approvals for soil improvement tied to the deep soil mixing, site cleanup, a foundation permit for the hotel tower, and a master building permit for the residential structure. According to the issued master building permit, the project carries an estimated cost of $226 million and will add 1,286,326 square feet of new construction to the site. Much of the momentum behind this groundbreaking can be traced back to strong sales performance, with units in both the north and south towers repeatedly breaking records when they first hit the market. That demand stems in large part from the site’s location. Positioned on Brickell Key, the property offers one of the few unobstructed waterfront views left in Miami, with water visible in three directions, a rarity that has commanded both premium pricing and sustained buyer interest. It’s a location that will pay off further once the towers themselves take shape. Upon completion, the development will offer some of the highest vantage points in Miami. The taller of the two towers will rise 66 stories to a height of 850 feet, while the shorter hotel tower will reach 33 stories and 426 feet. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, both structures will be wrapped in balconies and floor-to-ceiling glass, with an ornate crown detail capping each tower. Within those towers, the residential and hotel components are split by structure. The south tower, the taller of the pair, will house 228 residential units, while the north tower will include 66 residences alongside 121 hotel rooms and 28 hotel-branded residences. Across both, residents will have access to an extensive amenity package, including multiple outdoor spaces with sweeping views, pools, private waterfront cabanas, sports courts, a spa, a wellness deck, and resident lounges. Some pieces of the picture, however, are still coming into focus. Details such as commercial square footage or parking spaces aren’t yet available, since Swire Properties and Mandarin Oriental have not submitted those plans to public boards for review. Even so, the development is likely to feature commercial space and adequate parking for each resident once those details are finalized. Construction is expected to conclude in 2030.