Tall, narrow and full of art, new Sunny Isles Beach condo tower unveiled

Muse, a tall, narrow condominium unveiled for Sunny Isles Beach, will tout something different: a sculpture by artist Helidon Xhixha for each unit.

Xhixha, an Albanian-born artist whose light-reflecting steel sculpture have been offered at Art Miami and Art Basel’s Swiss fair, will consult with unit buyers and design a piece for each, the developer said.

“He is going to do art in every apartment and around the grounds and lobby,’’ said Kevin Maloney, founder and CEO of New York-based Property Markets Group, which is launching the project with co-developer S2 Development of Aventura.

The 649-foot-high building — which will match the height of the Porsche Design Tower and Mansions at Acqualina, two other luxury projects in Sunny Isles Beach — will stretch to the maximum permitted in the area by the Federal Aviation Administration.

With oceanfront parcels all but gone, the ultra-sleek 47-story, 68-unit tower will be shoehorned into a less than one-acre site with 100 feet of oceanfront at 17141 Collins Ave. With setbacks, the building will be just 60 feet wide facing the ocean.

Jade Ocean is immediately south and Ocean 4 is just north of the project, which was conceptually designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott and fleshed out by the Miami-based firm of Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership.

The skyscraper will feature spacious residences starting at 2,360 square feet, and will include two full-floor penthouses spanning more than 5,800 square feet with five bedrooms and 4 1/2 baths.

“From a staging point of view, it’s going to be difficult to put up: a tall, narrow building with a twist and cantilevers,’’ Maloney said.

Maloney said PMG was approached to joint venture the project by co-developer S2 Development of Aventura, which controlled the land. S2 Development is headed by CEO J. Claudio Stivelman and president Marc D. Schmulian.

Maloney, a tall and lean triathlete, has revealed a penchant for tall, lean buildings. In April 2013, PMG announced plans for Echo Brickell, a luxury condominium at 1451 Brickell Ave. that will rise about 60 stories. He made headlines in Manhattan with plans to build a tall, thin skyscraper at 107 W. 57th St., along one of midtown Manhattan’s major east-west streets.

Muse is expected to begin taking reservations soon and to break ground in June.

The blended price for the units will be $1,300 a square foot, with lower floors averaging less than $1,000 a square foot and upper floors reaching $2,000 a square foot. The developer will require 50 percent deposits from buyers, with 20 percent due at contract signing, 10 percent at groundbreaking, and 20 percent when the building is topped off.

Most floors will have two units, one on the east, with a thick support core, and one on the west. “When you go high, you end up with a thick core, with heavy shear walls to support the building,’’ Maloney said.

Gil Dezer, a major developer in Sunny Isles Beach, obtained the first clearance to build to a height of 649 feet with the Porsche Design Tower.

• Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/06/3855981_tall-narrow-and-full-of-art-new.html#storylink=cpy