Mandarin Oriental Starts Building Its Brickell Key Comeback, Billed as a North American Flagship

Mandarin Oriental is officially on its way back to Miami. Swire Properties broke ground on October 5 on The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami, a two-tower project on Brickell Key that will include a 121-room hotel the group expects to be its North American flagship. Completion is targeted for 2030.

The new towers rise on the waterfront site of the brand's previous Miami hotel, which Swire demolished in a controlled implosion in April 2026. In the United States, Mandarin Oriental's best-known address today is Mandarin Oriental, New York at Columbus Circle, which gives a sense of the bar the Miami hotel will be measured against.

What is being built?

Kohn Pedersen Fox designed both towers. The 33-story North Tower holds the hotel, 70 private residences and 28 turnkey Hotel Collection residences. The 66-story South Tower is entirely residential, with 228 homes. A 100,000-square-foot amenity podium serviced by Mandarin Oriental connects the two, with pools and cabanas across several levels, warm and cold plunge pools, wellness cabanas, a children's club, a screening lounge and a sports court.

Interiors are split between two AD100 designers: Laura Gonzalez for the North Tower residences and Tristan Auer for the South Tower. Thailand-based SHMA is handling the landscape. North Tower owners will get access to the hotel's spa and waterfront dining, plus a dedicated residential team.

How strong is demand?

Swire says sales across both towers have passed $1.7 billion, including more than $620 million in 2026. The South Tower is 80 percent sold and the North Tower 25 percent. Earlier this year two crown penthouses sold for $49.9 million each, about $6,300 per square foot, which the developer says set mainland Miami records. Remaining homes start at $4 million in the North Tower and $7 million in the South Tower.

"This groundbreaking marks an exciting new chapter for Mandarin Oriental and our return to Brickell Key," said Laurent Kleitman, the group's chief executive.

What does it mean for hotel guests?

At 121 rooms, the hotel will be intimate by big-city standards, with most of the North Tower given over to residences. Brickell Key itself is a 44-acre island a short bridge from Brickell and downtown, so the setting trades a beach for bay views and quiet. Until 2030, travelers who want a top-tier stay in Brickell have Four Seasons Hotel Miami on Brickell Avenue, while beachfront options sit across Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach.