One Bayfront Plaza is a proposed supertall skyscraper in Miami, Florida, U.S. The building, construction of which has been approved, would stand at , with 93 floors, becoming the tallest building in Miami and Florida. One Bayfront Plaza would primarily consist of offices and hotel space, but also would include a retail mall, condominiums, and parking garage on the lower levels, as well as possibly an observation deck at the top. The entire project consists of over of Class A office and hotel space, as well as a total building area of over including the large podium. One Bayfront Plaza is the first skyscraper over to be approved for construction in Miami. The building's primary advocate is real estate developer Tibor Hollo, who has won several awards for his 55 years as a developer in Miami, and is currently the president of Florida East Coast Realty.
One Bayfront Plaza has gone through several design revisions since its original proposal as a single, 80-floor, tower, which exceeded height restrictions. It was first approved as a complex of two connected towers as shown in the rendering below and was to be known as the 100 South Biscayne complex with the taller tower being high. The development was planned to include an adjacent, connected 850-room hotel tower referred to as 100 South Biscayne II. Both buildings in the complex had a scheduled groundbreaking in 2011, and were estimated to be completed by 2015. Most recent news suggests the development is back to a single 1,010-foot tower design with a large podium, which was given a possible 2014 groundbreaking; however, by 2014 it was stated that the project was being put off at least until the completion of FECR's under construction Panorama Tower in 2017.
History
One Bayfront Plaza was originally proposed as a office and hotel tower. The design included of office space, a 650-room hotel and a 3,000 space parking garage. However, due to the height limits for buildings in downtown Miami and the possibility of interference with aviation traffic going into and coming out of Miami International Airport, it was unlikely that the building would be approved for construction with the proposed height. The FAA conducted hundreds of impact surveys in the downtown area and negotiated with many building developers during the mid-2000s boom to lower the planned heights of their buildings. One example is 900 Biscayne Boulevard, located just a few blocks to the north of the OBP site, which was reduced from to . The FAA reasoned that the skyscrapers interfered with their radar, in addition to being a physical hazard to landing planes. The redesigned One Bayfront Plaza was approved at its exceptional height of 1,049 feet due to its determination by the city as a significant landmark and because it got a Major Use Special Permit (MUSP).
In July 2007, a revised design of the building was released. The new design scaled back the height to , and the floor count of the building was reduced to 70. The major feature of the new design was the incorporation of a separate hotel building to be located adjacent to the tower. The main tower was to be all office space. This revised design was subsequently approved by the City of Miami on July 25, 2007, but construction never began. In the fall of 2008, the building's height was scaled back again slightly due to new zoning laws to its current design as a single, 80-floor, 1,010-foot tower. The single tower would contain residential space at the bottom, accounting for the higher floor count. This design of the tower was to incorporate fluid dampers used to absorb wind gusts and create energy efficiency for the skyscraper. The tower was designed to resemble a sail to reflect the bay it overlooks.
In mid-2011 it was announced that the project was still alive and that the plan should be ready in 14 months. It was also announced that architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox had been chosen to work on the project to help TERRA Architecture with the design. The plan was released in early 2012 and included another redesign of the tower.
In 2016, the project was revived as a 93-story mixed-use building, with 1,000 parking spaces and a commitment to the Metromover connection.
Design and location
One Bayfront Plaza will be located at a waterfront site along Biscayne Boulevard, overlooking both Biscayne Bay and Bayfront Park. A pedestrian bridge will connect it to the Bayfront Park Metromover station located directly in front of it. The development will total , including 700 residential units, retail, and of office space, as well as two hotels totaling over 600 rooms.