Swerdlow Group to Launch Construction of Miami’s Block 55

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The Swerdlow Group has announced that construction is set to start next month on Block 55 at Sawyer’s Walk in downtown Miami. The 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project from will feature 556 units, 355,000 square feet of retail space and approximately 1,050 parking spaces. Earlier this month, the firm sold Blue Tide Apartments near Daytona Beach, Fla.

Anchoring Block 55’s ground floor will be a Target store featuring an in-store full-service Starbucks and CVS pharmacy. A grocery store, health club and hard goods and apparel retailers are among the other initial retail and service tenants. Restaurants within the commercial space will offer al fresco dining options along the adjacent block-long dedicated park called Sawyer’s Walk, which extends along the development’s north side. 

The apartments will be available in one- and two-bedroom floor plans measuring roughly 626 and 940 square feet in size. An amenity suite atop the development’s retail podium will feature a private clubhouse.

Designed for optimal customer convenience, the parking garage is both low in the structure and close to the street. The design will enable shoppers bound for the retail floors to leave their vehicles and move quickly to stores via vertical access points.

Rapid redevelopment

Situated within downtown Miami’s central business district, Block 55 at Sawyer’s Walk is located south of Overtown’s historic Wynwood/Design District. This enclave, among the oldest in the Magic City, had for years been neglected by developers. It is the linking community between the bustling Brickell and Midtown neighborhoods. Approximately 4,000 apartment units in development or recently completed are within two blocks.

Downtown Miami is a rapidly-growing live-work-play destination with a current citizenry of approximately 263,000 residents. Its daytime population is still larger, standing at 347,702. The area generates $48.6 billion in annual sales. Block 55 will be served by a bus stop on premise. One block away is a Virgin station offering rail service to Orlando and West Palm Beach, the Miami-Dade County Metrorail and Miami Metromover.

A convention center and 1,800-room Marriott Marquis Hotel are two blocks to the east. Major employers in the area include World Fuel Services Corp., Carnival Cruise Line, Brightstar and Lennar—the second, fifth, sixth and eighth largest Florida employers respectively. Construction of the retail portion of the development will take two years. The residential portion will require an additional six months to complete.