Edge House, Biscayne 18, and 1775 Biscayne Advance Through Foundation Work, Bringing 2,330 Units
Three construction sites, all sitting across the street from one another, are quickly moving through foundation work to deliver three residential towers in one of the most concentrated pockets of development in the country. Located within walking distance of Margaret Pace Park along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor, Edge House, Biscayne 18, and 1775 Biscayne Boulevard will soon rise alongside each other, transforming a stretch of the neighborhood that has waited decades for this moment. The three towers are being developed by Grupo T&C, The Melo Group, and LCOR, respectively, and all three broke ground on foundation work around the same time, though Edge House, led by Grupo T&C, has pulled ahead, having started construction months before the other two. Once complete, the corridor will deliver 2,330 units combined across rental and condo product, a dramatic shift for lots that sat undeveloped for decades. The last single-family homes and miscellaneous structures on these parcels were demolished back in 2009, and it wasn’t until 2026 that construction on all three sites finally got underway, capping off nearly two decades of waiting. Edge House Edge House hit a major milestone in mid-July with the completion of its foundation pour. Led by general contractor Thornton Construction Company, the pour required more than 7,000 cubic yards of concrete, delivered by over 700 trucks across a 30-hour stretch. It marked the largest construction milestone on the project since it broke ground in the spring of 2025. Grupo T&C General Manager William Ticona called it “an incredibly proud moment for our entire team,” adding that the firm remains focused on growing its footprint in one of the world’s most active real estate markets. The project has since moved into the early stages of vertical construction, with rebar columns now rising to outline the first floor and the elevator shafts that will form the tower’s structural core, according to an Instagram post from the developer. When Floridian Development visited the site in mid-August, two cranes were already erected and operating, equipment that will remain in place until the tower tops out at 56 floors, or 630 feet, sometime next year. Once finished, Edge House will bring 608 units and 293 parking spaces to the corridor, along with a wide range of amenity spaces and unit types. Kobi Karp is serving as architect. View this post on Instagram A post shared by G&E Florida Contractors (@gefloridacontractors) 1775 Biscayne New York-based developer LCOR is also progressing through foundation work on its site. Permits filed with the City of Miami show the project has already secured both a foundation permit and a vertical construction permit, with only minor corrections pending on the master permit. That approval structure allows the project to move directly from foundation work into vertical construction without waiting on further permit sign-off. On site, crews led by general contractor Coastal Construction are currently installing rebar columns, laying the groundwork for an eventual foundation pour. At the current pace, a topping out toward the end of next year appears likely. While 1775 Biscayne won’t rank among the tallest towers in the area at 42 floors and 446 feet, its scale will still be enough to create a canyon-like effect along Biscayne Boulevard, a reminder of just how far Miami’s skyline has come when a 446-foot tower barely registers as tall by comparison. Upon completion, the project will include 544 rental units, 628 parking spaces, and 9,772 square feet of ground-floor retail. ODP is the architect. Biscayne 18 Melo Group’s next rental tower project is getting underway as the firm wraps up construction on Downtown 6th, also known as Central Tower. Recent photos posted by Ryan RC Rea on X show Biscayne 18 progressing through foundation and rebar installation in similar fashion to LCOR’s 1775 Biscayne, with rebar cages, heavy machinery, and other equipment visible on site. Permitting records show a site preparation permit for foundation work has already been issued, with construction handled by Melo Contractors Corp, the developer’s in-house contractor: a strategy the firm uses to keep costs down. The project is still awaiting approval on both a phased vertical permit and a master building permit, though given how quickly Melo Group has moved on past projects, those approvals are likely to come soon. Once complete, Biscayne 18 will deliver 1,178 rental units split evenly between its two towers, 589 units each, along with 37,010 square feet of commercial space, 17,670 square feet of office space, and 1,472 parking spaces. Each tower will rise 46 floors to a height of 465 feet. Given Melo Group’s track record of moving fast, a topping out next year seems all but guaranteed, with full completion expected sometime after. G3aec and Melo are responsible for the tower’s design.
Developers Plan 25-Story Live Tower at 1501 Collins Avenue, While Sparing the Historic Bancroft Hotel
Yet another high-rise is headed for Miami Beach’s iconic Collins Avenue, and like many of the towers recently proposed across the city, it’s coming courtesy of the state’s controversial pro-housing law, the Live Local Act. The project, led by a joint venture between Pebb Capital, Maxwelle Real Estate Group, and GFO Investments, calls for the partial demolition and redevelopment of 1501 Collins Avenue, home to the historic art deco Bancroft Hotel. But unlike The Savoy, a recent Live Local Act proposal Floridian Development covered previously that would demolish a historic structure entirely to make way for something taller, this project takes a different approach: the historic portion of the site stays standing. Three distinct uses currently occupy the property. On the far west side sits the Bancroft Hotel, an art deco building dating back to 1939. In the middle is an associated dining space, and to the east stands a multi-story condo tower, both built in the late 1990s. The hotel and dining space have sat vacant for years now, having survived multiple failed redevelopment attempts before this one. Under the new proposal, the joint venture would fully restore and preserve the Bancroft Hotel while demolishing the adjacent dining space to make room for a 25-story mixed-use tower combining workforce housing, condos, and hotel rooms. Plans submitted less than a month ago outline 124 total units, split between 50 workforce rental units priced at or below 120 percent of the area median income and 74 for-sale luxury condos. The workforce units will occupy the two floors directly above ground level, with a small average footprint of 469 square feet per unit. Above those, the tower will house 42 hotel rooms, followed by the 74 luxury condos on the upper floors, offering some of the best views in the area. That workforce housing component isn’t a voluntary gesture on the developer’s part, it’s baked into the law itself. The Live Local Act only grants its height, density, and zoning boosts in exchange for a commitment: at least 40 percent of a project’s units must be priced at or below 120 percent of the area median income, and stay that way for a minimum of 30 years. Workforce and condo residents will share a set of amenities, including a large pool, outdoor seating, and indoor amenity space that has yet to be finalized. Hotel guests will have their own separate amenities, also centered around a pool and indoor space, plus a restaurant on the 21st floor with terrace views overlooking the water and city. While the tower’s occupied floors top out at 25, a 26th-floor terrace level will add pool access exclusively for the building’s penthouse units. Beyond residences and amenities, the development will also include 15,999 square feet of commercial space in total. Parking, meanwhile, will be split across two spaces: 88 spaces in the basement of the tower itself, plus an additional 97 spaces in the basement of the neighboring condo building, previously used likely for Bancroft Hotel and dining operations, to reach a combined total of 185 parking spaces. In total, the tower will rise 325 feet, making it one of the tallest structures in the area. The design comes from Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, the firm behind the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, working alongside Built Form Architecture. The building will be wrapped almost entirely in floor-to-ceiling glass and glass balconies, with curving forms and other detailed material choices for the exterior. According to the architect, the design “emphasizes horizontality” as “a nod to its Art Deco context,” using terraces at various levels that align with neighboring buildings to create facade breaks integrated with landscaped common areas. Whether the project actually gets built, however, is still an open question. Earlier this year, the development hit a snag when the city’s planning staff reportedly refused to accept the joint venture’s Live Local Act application. According to a lawsuit later filed over the dispute, the city argued that the Bancroft and Ocean Steps parcels function as a single, unified development site, meaning the developer would need sign-off from the neighboring condo owners before moving forward. The joint venture disputes that requirement, maintaining that no such approval is necessary, and ultimately sued the city over the disagreement. It’s unclear whether that legal fight is still ongoing, but given that the developer has continued submitting multiple variants of the plan, the project appears likely to move forward regardless.