Historic Board Clears Path for 75-Story Nobu Condo at 619 Brickell
A 6-1 Historic Preservation Board vote on Nov. 3 cleared the way for 619 Brickell by Nobu, a 75-story ultra-luxury condo from 13th Floor with units priced from about $3 million to $60 million.
MIAMI — Brickell’s newest ultra-luxury condo tower just cleared the historic-preservation hurdle that had stalled it for months. The church next door stands to walk away with roughly $240 million.
Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board voted 6-1 on Nov. 3 to lift the historic designation from First Miami Presbyterian Church’s school building and parking lot at 609 Brickell Ave., clearing a path for 619 Brickell by Nobu. The board also shrunk the historic boundary to the sanctuary footprint plus a 15-foot buffer. The sanctuary was completed in 1949.
The redo vote came after a summer of legal setbacks. Prior approvals were undone in August by three judges after the Icon Brickell II condo association — about 160 feet away and within the 500-foot notice radius — was wrongly shut out of the process. The city appealed in October and lost. On Nov. 3, the board approved the boundary change again.
What 13th Floor and Nobu Plan to Build
Developer 13th Floor is pairing with Nobu’s residential offshoot, which already has towers in Mexico and Toronto and a hotel in Miami Beach. The project is a 75-story ultra-luxury condominium with units priced from about $3 million to $60 million. Plans include a Nobu restaurant and a wellness suite. Completion is targeted for late 2030 to early 2031.
The board attached one condition: it retains architectural review if there are substantial exterior changes to the tower. Per the Miami Herald, no other city approvals are required, and 13th Floor can begin work. The firm said the timeline is unchanged.
Key Point Academy Downtown, which had occupied the church annex, relocated to the Omni Center at 1501 Biscayne Blvd. in August, removing one operational obstacle from the redevelopment site.
Neighbors Push Back on Traffic, Trees and Noise
Opposition has centered on Icon Brickell II and the Brickell Homeowners Association. Neighbors cite traffic, the fate of trees near Mary Brickell Park, noise and pollution. Attorney Ryan Abrams represents Icon Brickell II.
A 60-day appeal window to city commissioners remains open. Abrams told the Herald the fight is not finished: “This is not over, this is just one step. We’re looking at all the options, but there’s going to be more ahead.”
Brickell Homeowners Association president Ernesto Cuesta framed the dispute as a governance issue rather than a developer problem. “I don’t blame the developers. Developers are there to make money, to make profits. It’s the city, it’s our leaders, the ones that have been elected by us, that have to defend the quality of life of the residents,” he said. He also warned that “Traffic is going to be an issue and the deforestation of the trees in the area.”
Church Sanctuary Stays; Sale Could Top $240 Million
The board’s compromise leaves the 1949 sanctuary under historic protection while freeing the school and parking lot for the tower. Olivia Klein, spokesperson for 13th Floor and First Miami Presbyterian, cast the vote as a win for both preservation and the congregation’s future.
“We appreciate the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board’s careful consideration of all the information presented and its ultimate decision to preserve the historic 1949 sanctuary, enabling the church to serve future generations,” Klein said. “We look forward to advancing the project and bringing this vision to life.”
The church could earn about $240 million from the sale — a figure that would rank among the more consequential land transfers along Brickell Avenue in recent years and one that underwrites the congregation’s long-term finances even as the skyline rises around it.
Why It Matters for Miami
619 Brickell is a stress test of how Miami balances brand-name luxury development against neighborhood quality-of-life claims on its densest corridor. A 75-story Nobu-branded tower with a restaurant and wellness suite will pull high-net-worth buyers, hospitality traffic and construction jobs into a stretch of Brickell already crowded with towers. The roughly $240 million church sale also shows how historic congregations can monetize surplus land while keeping a protected sanctuary in place.
The procedural history matters for every developer watching the city. An August court ruling that undid prior approvals because a nearby condo association was shut out, followed by a lost city appeal and a successful Nov. 3 redo, is a reminder that notice rules and adjacency fights can reset months of entitlement work. With a 60-day appeal window still open and Abrams signaling more challenges ahead, the board vote is a green light with a caution flag.
For contractors, brokers and lenders, the practical takeaway is simpler: 13th Floor says it can begin work, completion is aimed at late 2030 to early 2031, and unit pricing from $3 million to $60 million puts the project firmly in Brickell’s ultra-luxury tier. Whether commissioners or the courts reopen the file will decide how quickly that capital stack starts pouring concrete.