Gatsby-Inspired Extravagance Planned for Major Food Group’s Brickell Tower
By Mark Hallum May 26, 2022 4:37 pm
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Major Food Group is adding luxury residential to its diet with a 1,049-foot-tall tower planned at 888 Brickell Avenue in Miami inspired by the imagination of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The restaurant group, along with developer JDS Development Group and designers Studio Sofield and Ken Fulk, released plans for what will be one of the highest towers in the Miami skyline, known simply as Major. It will have 259 custom apartments with 115,000 square feet of amenities including a private club, hotel and food and beverage options all managed by Major Food Group.
This will be the first major expedition into real estate development for Major Food Group partners Jeff Zalaznick, Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, who have been on a growth rampage in South Florida and elsewhere over the last two years.
But it’s also a natural step for the restaurateurs, who are known for prioritizing hospitality and atmosphere in addition to food. Major Food Group had already begun expanding into hospitality with a partnership at The Newbury hotel in Boston, where it is responsible for all food, beverage and amenity spaces; and at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, where it’s helming four of 12 restaurants, part of a total makeover of the venerable resort.
At Major, the covered entrance will give residents and guests a Great Gatsby-like experience, according to the developers, with architecture trimmed in gold leaf and slabs of travertine. A gold-beaded screen overhead will light the entrance to the building.
“The idea is to just show up, and everything is taken care of,” Zalaznick said in a statement. “From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, every whim and desire is anticipated.”
Major Food Group announced its partnership with JDS Development in December 2021. It remains unclear where the joint venture stands in purchasing the 22,568-square-foot site from La Primera International, where a seven-story structure currently stands.
Nonetheless, the joint venture says the furnished residences in the condo-hotel, ranging from one to four bedrooms, will be custom designed by Studio Sofield. Units will be able to be converted into private residences, suites or guest rooms through a “lockout” function, according to the developers.
“With Major, we honor the cultural heritage of this magnificent city, from the seductive to the sublime,” tower designer William Sofield said in a statement. “I want to celebrate this sexy city with an indulgent swim in the only silver and gold pool in Miami.”
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
