Foundation Finished on Florida's Tallest Building

MIAMI-With its foundation finished, the $350-million, 63-story mixed-use Four Seasons Hotel and Tower begins to rise on its Brickell Avenue site between 14th Terrace and 14th Lane. The structure will dominate the Miami skyline.

At 800 feet tall, the Four Seasons building will eclipse the 738-foot, 55-story Downtown First Union Financial Center and reign as Miami’s tallest structure when it is completed in 2002.

Joint ventured by New York City’s Millennium Partners and local developer Terremark Worldwide, the project will contain a 297-room Four Seasons Hotel, 200,000 sf of office space, 190 high-end condo apartments, retail space and a sports club. Projected office rents are in the $37 to $42 per sf range.

The foundation work took eight months because it is the deepest ever dug in Miami, according to local construction sources. A typical foundation for a large building here goes down 40 feet. But this tower required digging 145 feet below the surface. Enough concrete was used to pave 128 miles of sidewalk.

The development is being financed by the Goldman Sachs Whitehall Fund, the Soros Quantum Realty Fund and Citicorp Real Estate, along with a consortium of European institutions.