Clad in his signature all-white suit and fedora, Alan Faena joined development partners Edgardo Defortuna and Shahab Karmely on stage Saturday night to announce the opening of the Faena Residences Miami Cultural Pavilion and Collaboratory. The event, held at 90 Southwest Third Street along the Miami River, marked the start of high season for the project.
“We are offering happiness,” Faena said during the event, which introduced both a sales center and cultural hub adorned with models of the planned towers and spaces reminiscent of the Faena District theater in Miami Beach.
The sales gallery began operations in spring. According to Defortuna, buyers started signing contracts over the summer after an initial marketing campaign aimed at friends and family. Defortuna’s Fortune International Group and Karmely’s KAR Properties are developing Faena Residences together with Faena. The project will feature two 68-story towers with a total of 440 condos connected by a roughly 50,000-square-foot amenity bridge.
Units will range from one to four bedrooms as well as penthouses. Prices start at $1.4 million for standard units and go up to $35 million for penthouses. Nearly 100 units have been presold so far, totaling about $300 million in contracts, Defortuna said. He noted that around 60 percent of demand is foreign while domestic buyers make up about 40 percent.
Saturday’s celebration took place on a vacant riverfront site at 24 Southwest Fourth Street where about 250 people attended, according to Defortuna.
Faena Residences is only the second such branded project by Faena in Miami-Dade County following his earlier development in Miami Beach, which includes condos, a hotel, bazaar, and events venue. Other projects exist in New York and Buenos Aires; expansions are planned for Tulum and regions in the Middle East.
After his speech Saturday night, Faena described his brand: “Faena is Faena. Faena is a place like no other,” he said. It’s “a place of fantasy, a place of entertainment, a place for fun.”
The new residences form part of a three-phase project spanning over five acres along the Miami River District; future phases will also involve Faena as partner but details were not disclosed. Karmely mentioned plans for interconnected phases featuring shared landscaping and educational hubs.
Amenities planned for residents include a movie theater inside an amenity bridge topped by a cathedral-like dome, an event space, library, demonstration kitchen, recording studio and other features intended to foster community life.
According to Karmely, this development is among the last works designed by architect Rafael Viñoly before his death in 2023.
Construction is scheduled to begin mid or late next year with completion targeted for 2029.
Among early buyers are Raphaella and Christian Sigel from Brazil who reserved a two-bedroom unit as their vacation home for approximately $2 million. Christian Sigel explained their decision: “We discovered Faena when we went to Buenos Aires, and we stayed in the Faena hotel.” He added they considered other branded condos before choosing this one.
Dr. Ash Beharrie from Sunrise has bought a condo on the 24th floor for family use: “This is something I want to keep forever,” he said. Beharrie noted he also looked at other branded projects but valued what he called “an amazing name.… It spares no expense.” Waiting until completion was not an issue: “That’s actually good. It gives me some time to pay for it,” he joked without disclosing price details.
Technology executive Sanjeev Raman has purchased an eighteenth-floor two-bedroom unit with his wife as an investment but may consider it as their primary home later on because they appreciate both “the brand and lifestyle” offered along with membership benefits through Faena Rose club.
While foreign buyers have historically dominated Miami’s new condo market—especially during periods when out-of-state migration increased due to events like the pandemic—developers now expect more interest from New Yorkers following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election win there due to proposed tax increases and rent policies causing concern among some residents up north.
“I think inevitably we will get” New York buyers,” Karmely stated.” But I don’t want people to come here because they are escaping something. I want them to come here because this has become the city of the Western Hemisphere.”
Defortuna added that foreign clients feel pressure to act quickly amid fears that rising demand from U.S.-based buyers could drive prices higher again: “I think that the feeling is they [foreigners] better act now,” he said.” Foreign buyers are used to buying preconstruction…But they feel if New Yorkers come prices are going up.”
Defortuna expects particular interest from Argentina—home country for both himself and Alan Faena—as well as Brazil and Mexico among others.
The launch adds another entry into South Florida’s already crowded branded condo market; research shows Miami leads North America with nearly fifty completed branded developments plus over fifty more planned—second only globally behind Dubai according to Knight Frank research cited by Savills. Other upcoming luxury-branded residential projects include Ritz-Carlton (North Bay Village), Waldorf Astoria (downtown), Nobu (Brickell).
Despite competition concerns Karmely expressed confidence:”Any time is right time”for launching this venture.”There are lot people selling burgers: McDonald’s,Burger King,Wendy’s.They can keep selling.What we have here such completely different approach,”he said.”There no other competition because frankly,you cannot pick another project brings combination talent location execution capability design we have here.”
