Miami developers have expanded the branding of their luxury condos from high-end cars and famous designers to include world-class chefs, and even posh wellness centers, to lure buyers, Side Dish has learned
The city’s booming skyline, which features residential towers named for Porsche and Bentley as well as Armani/Casa, will soon be joined by a 48-story luxury building bearing the name of Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Jean-Georges Miami Tropic Residences, slated to open in 2027 in the Design District, will offer condos starting at $1.6 million and feature the French legend’s renowned ABC Kitchen trilogy– ABCV, ABC Cucina and ABC Kitchen.
While the restaurants will be open to the public, well-heeled residents can expect finely appointed apartments, Vongerichten has designed the kitchens — from the appliances to the pots and pans. He can even stock your fridge before you land.
“A chef understands all the details that create quality, such as texture and color, so it’s natural for a chef to bring their experience into lifestyle,” Vongerichten told Side Dish during a recent visit to the Sunshine State.
The property, with the motto “taste is everything, will be launched in partnership with developer David Martin of Terra and Lion Development.
Before teaming with Vongerichten, Martin launched the Carbone residences, as Side Dish previously reported, in partnership with Carbone’s parent company, Major Food Group, and fellow developer One Thousand Group.
The 58-story, steel-and-glass Carbone tower, known as Villa Miami, leans on celebrity chef Mario Carbone, who has also designed the kitchens and can stock the fridges and bars.
The Cipriani brand is also well represented with Mr. C and the Cipriani Residences.
Bringing in big-name restaurant brands to boost condo sales is nothing new. In New York, developers anchor elite buildings with private restaurants run by the likes of Daniel Boulud, and Vongerichten, who helms the kitchen at the exclusive 220 Central Park South on Billionaires’ Row.
In Miami, however, partnering with chefs, restaurants and wellness centers has become the latest evolution in the residential branding revolution.
This week, Martin will also launch The Well Coconut Grove Miami, Side Dish can reveal exclusively. The tower follows last December’s debut of The Well Bay Harbor Island which also features commercial space — some of which was recently leased by Tom Brady for his family office.
An exclusive wellness club that features nutrition and medical programs, fitness classes and the latest in longevity spa treatments, the Well boasts celebrity clients including Brady, Emma Roberts,Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas.
“I think the big idea is to create environments that enhance peoples’ lives,” Martin told Side Dish.
“When we start out with an idea or project, we are trying to figure out how people can improve their lives. We try to go through pretty specific processes to understand who is the owner we are designing for — with demographics and psychographics and the data informs our decisions about who our partners are.”
The health spa was co-founded by Rebecca Parekh, Sarrah Hallock and Kane Sarhan, who opened The Well New York near Union Square in 2019. Membership prices for classes start at $350 a month.
“So many people who come to the club in New York said they wanted to live here,” said Sarhan, adding that expanding from private clubs to residences was a natural extension of the brand.
“Wellness Is a macro trend. Everyone with money is interested in longevity, fitness and weight loss. That’s what they are spending their dollars on.”
The new, eight-story Coconut Grove residence will also include a full market, along with ‘on demand’ juice and snack programs, family meal prep services, and a cafe and restaurant in the building, Sarhan said.
The Well also has doctors and nutritionists, along with spa treatments focusing on health, like infrared saunas, cold plunges, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, PLT light beds, and more.
Buyers can also customize wellness rooms in their homes, and the kitchens come with a “healthy butler pantry,” with “healthy cooking machinery, so cooking at home is easy,” Sarhan said.
At Coconut Grove, 20% of the 200 units sold during the first 48 hours, Sarhan said, and they have deals to develop new branded residences in Mexico, London and Texas:
“When I look at the sub market, whether it is Coconut Grove or Bay Harbor, it is for intellectual communities of empty nesters moving from homes to buildings because they want services,” Martin added.
