128 Southwest Seventh Street

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

A new Brickell residential tower blends hospitality, wellness, and workplace-inspired amenities to support Miami’s evolving live-work-play lifestyle.

Location

Miami, Florida

Client

Focus Development

Expertise

Residential Cities & Urban Design [FPO] Mixed Use [FPO] Retail Centers Hospitality

Opportunity

Growing demand for flexible urban living in Brickell created an opportunity to deliver a connected, amenity-rich residential destination tailored to modern lifestyles.

Set on the former Miami Starlite Motel site, the project responds to Brickell’s rapid growth and demand for housing that supports increasingly fluid daily routines. Focus envisioned a residential destination where work, wellness, recreation, and social connection coexist within a highly connected urban setting. Positioned on a compact infill site between two existing towers, the design balances density, views, privacy, and circulation while opening the podium top to the sky and activating the ground floor with retail, dining, and a through-block paseo that contributes to the surrounding neighborhood.

Why This Matters

01
Urban Residential Growth
The project introduces 517 new apartments in one of Miami’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, expanding residential choice on a compact site, steps from transit and Brickell’s urban amenities.
02
Hybrid Living
Integrated spaces for focused work, exercise, restoration, recreation, and gathering allow residents to move fluidly through their daily routines while remaining connected to others.
03
Street-Level Activation
Retail, dining, landscaped walkways, and a through-block paseo extend activity beyond the building, creating a more welcoming pedestrian experience for residents and neighbors.

The world-class design, unparalleled location, and favorable zoning were strategically developed to meet the needs of the modern renter flocking to the Brickell neighborhood.

Solution

Gently curving terraces and a layered amenity network connect daily residential life to Brickell’s outdoor culture, streets, and skyline.

The tower’s gently curving terraces respond to its constrained footprint by opening residences toward views of the bay, river, and skyline. Beneath the expressive balcony bands sits a disciplined, highly efficient dwelling volume, planned with generous façade-to-depth ratios so every home earns strong daylight and outdoor access. At street level, a landscaped paseo links Seventh and Eighth Streets, organizing circulation while activating the site with retail and dining. Above, co-working, wellness, and rooftop recreation form a flexible amenity network layered vertically through the building — city at the base, daily life at the podium, celebration at the crown.

From brief to build: shaping a constrained urban site around expansive views, outdoor living, pedestrian movement, and connected daily experiences.

The process began with the resident: who would live here, and how. It then turned to the forces of the site, weighing zoning, orientation, views, and the surrounding streets. Massing studies pushed the tower west to anchor the Eighth Street corner, pulled the podium in to express the tower, and opened the corners to the water. The curving terraces emerged from a drive to maximize views and outdoor living, not as a formal gesture. Wind and view-corridor studies verified outdoor comfort and unit placement, while integrated developer-builder collaboration kept every concept buildable from day one.

Resident-Driven Planning

Unit mix, layout, and terrace design evolved from resident needs, maximizing daylight, views, and outdoor living.

Impact

The development will expand Brickell’s housing supply while creating a more connected residential experience at the scale of both the building and neighborhood.

Its integrated amenities, outdoor spaces, active ground floor, and pedestrian connections are designed to support daily life while contributing energy to the surrounding streets.

What Changed Because of This

01
Residential Choice
The development will add more than 500 units to a high-demand neighborhood, expanding housing options near transit, employment, retail, dining, and cultural destinations.
02
Connected Living
Work, wellness, recreation, and gathering spaces will form an integrated amenity network designed around residents’ changing activities, schedules, and daily needs.
03
Public Realm
Ground-floor retail, dining, landscaping, and a through-block paseo will create a more active and welcoming pedestrian experience along the surrounding streets.

The design turns a constrained site into an opportunity for expansive living, connecting residents to outdoor space, neighborhood activity, and one another.

Recognition

01

Hoodline Miami

The start of construction on Gensler-designed 128 Southwest Seventh Street, highlighting the residential tower’s transformation of the former Starlite Motel site.

02

Commercial Observer

Reported that the project’s $250 million construction financing, identifying Gensler as designer of the 517-unit residential tower planned for Brickell.

03

The Real Deal

The Real Deal tracked Focus Development’s Brickell tower through entitlement and financing milestones, noting the Gensler-designed project’s scale and transit-oriented location.

Team

Project Leadership

Aleksandar Sasha Zeljic

An award-winning design leader, Sasha is a Principal at Gensler with more than 27 years of global experience shaping complex, high-profile buildings and the multidisciplinary teams that deliver them. He co-leads the firm's global Lifestyle sector and drives studio operations and strategic growth across the North Central Region.

Sean O’Gorman

Sean is a Global Residential Practice Area Leader and Residential Leader for the firm’s North Central region, based in Gensler’s Chicago office.

Lori Mukoyama

Lori is a Principal and Global Hospitality Leader based in Chicago, with more than 25 years of experience creating experience-driven environments across hotel, restaurant, retail, and workplace sectors in the U.S. and around the world.

FAQ

01

How does this project respond to changing residential lifestyles?

The building combines housing, co-working, wellness, recreation, and hospitality-inspired amenities to support modern live-work-play routines.

02

What makes this residential tower unique within Brickell?

Its curving terraces, layered outdoor spaces, and through-block paseo create a residential experience that connects individual homes to the city and surrounding landscape.

03

How does the project engage the surrounding community?

Retail, dining, landscaping, and pedestrian connections activate the ground floor and extend the project’s experience beyond the residential lobby.

04

How are remote and hybrid workers supported?

Co-working areas, meeting rooms, focus booths, breakout spaces, and a work café give residents multiple settings for individual and collaborative work.

05

What wellness amenities are included?

Residents have access to a pool, fitness spaces, lounge areas, outdoor amenities, a dog spa, and wellness-focused gathering spaces.

06

How does the project strengthen urban connectivity?

Proximity to transit, walkable streets, and a through-block pedestrian paseo improve access to surrounding destinations and public amenities.

Related Work

project

1010 South Wells

1010 South Wells anchors the South Branch of the Chicago River, bringing 386 new residential units, resident amenities, and a public riverwalk to the South Loop.

Related Expertise