Swire breaks ground on Brickell Key towers with $1.7B presold

Swire Properties is breaking ground on two Brickell Key towers without a traditional construction lender, funding the build from its own asset sales plus buyer deposits on $1.7 billion of condos sold before a shovel hit the ground.

Why it matters

Swire president David Martin told Bloomberg the company is self-financing the towers, tapping proceeds from sales of Brickell City Centre assets and part of buyer deposits. For developers, that is the clearest sign yet of how strong the top of the Miami condo market is: deposits and cash, not debt, are carrying the capital stack.

The buyers back that up. Martin said about 65% are domestic, 30% plan to use the unit as a primary residence, 60% as a second home, and many pay all cash. Finance and tech buyers are driving demand, he said, and prices have risen about 30% since south tower sales opened in 2024.

The numbers

The 66-floor south tower holds 228 residences and is 80% sold. The 33-floor north tower combines a 121-room hotel with residences and is 25% sold. Two penthouses sold for about $50 million each, together $100 million, according to a March release.

Our own pull of the Miami-Dade permit record shows permit 2026059413, a new multifamily condo building at 500 Brickell Key Dr, issued July 20 at an estimated $226 million to Swire Brickell Key Hotel Ltd. Balfour Beatty Construction is listed as contractor. Swire declined to discuss total construction cost or expected sales revenue. Earlier coverage: the $226M sitework start, the $240M permit and $466M on one parcel.

What’s next

Completion is targeted for 2030. The model works only while the ultra-luxury segment keeps absorbing pre-sales at rising prices, a segment Bloomberg contrasts with broader condo sales that have slumped in recent years. Watch the north tower’s 25% sold figure, the thinner of the two, as the test of whether cash demand reaches the hotel-branded half. More in our South Florida coverage.