German Automaker Becomes Latest Luxury Brand To Pair Name With South Florida Condos
Mercedes-Benz and JDS Development Group plan to open Mercedes-Benz Places in 2027 in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. (The Boundary)
Mercedes-Benz is joining forces with JDS Development Group to become the latest luxury brand to pair its name with condominiums in South Florida as more automakers cross over into real estate.
Mercedes-Benz Places at 191 S.W. 12th St. in the heart of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood is set to be the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker’s first branded real estate project in North America and second across the globe. The company announced its first such development in January that’s planned to rise in Dubai.
Mercedes-Benz Places in Miami is designed to have 791 units in the 67-story mixed-use tower at 1 Southside Park. Construction on 1 Southside Park — the original name of the overall project — began in 2022 after JDS Development Group secured $86 million in construction financing from New York-based Maxim Capital Group.
At over 2.5 million square feet, the developer said, it is one of the largest projects under construction in Florida. Plans for the mixed-use tower include 200,000 square feet of office space, 130,000 square feet of amenities, a 174-key Treehouse Hotel, retail space and a city of Miami fire station. The residences will include electric vehicle charging stations, bicycle and scooter rideshares, and a fleet of cars for occupants.
Michael Stern, founder and CEO of JDS Development Group, said in a statement that the new residences would “move beyond a traditional residential building to create a new community for the future,” adding that the residences would be “underpinned by sustainable building methods and design.”
Mercedes-Benz Customer Solutions arranged the licensing deal between Mercedes-Benz and JDS Development Group for the project. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Bauhaus Elements
The original plans for 1 Southside Park, designed by New York-based SHoP Architects, have been reconfigured by both the SHoP and Mercedes-Benz teams. The change was aimed at aligning with the automaker’s design philosophy it calls sensual purity, drawing on Bauhaus elements and “based on the duality of emotion and intelligence” and comprising a “hot and cool pole,” said Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at Mercedes-Benz AG, in the statement.
Representatives for JDS Development Group declined to comment when reached by CoStar News.
The Mercedes-Benz design team worked alongside SHoP Architects on the tower’s design. (The Boundary)
The design has been changed to more strongly feature the color silver along much of the tower’s exterior and is complemented by the classic Mercedes-Benz black and white colors that evoke the luxury automaker’s iconic three-pointed star. Straight edges have been replaced by elliptical lines and influences from the natural environment.
Eva Wiese, head of Mercedes-Benz Customer Solutions, said in the statement that the company aims to create residences that are”undeniably Mercedes-Benz” in a “location worth living in.”
In an email, a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz told CoStar News that the partnership was formed to create new experiences for customers and fans as well as to strengthen the company’s positioning as one of the world’s most desirable luxury automotive brands.
“Branded real estate of this type has emerged as a powerful business strategy in property markets around the globe. Not only are luxury buyers attracted to the physical building, they are also putting increased emphasis on prestigious and lifestyle-orientated apartments and mixed-use facilities with unique experiences,” the spokesperson told CoStar News.
Real Estate Shift
Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to pivot into branded real estate deals in the United States in a move that has become increasingly popular over the past few years.
South Florida is set to be home to three luxury car-branded condo towers: one branded after Porsche with a one-of-a-kind “Dezervator” car elevator; the nearly complete Aston Martin Residences with a penthouse that comes equipped with a 1-of-12 race car and private track lessons; and the Bentley Residences from Dezer Development, developer of the Porsche Design Tower in 2017 that has since upgraded the signature car elevator for the new Bentley project.
Other U.S. examples include Fiat House, a branded apartment project from Italian carmaker Fiat and local developer Unlmtd Real Estate in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Gil Dezer, the developer behind the Porsche Design Tower and Bentley Residences, explained to CoStar News in an October interview that he expects automakers to continue shifting into residential real estate. “The automotive brands today, because of where they are going, are going in on the lifestyle side. They’re designing the cars that will … create that lifestyle and extend the lifestyle so it’s not just driving a car anymore,” Dezer said.
In Miami, Mercedes-Benz Places is expected to open sometime in 2027. Sales are set to be managed by real estate services company Serhant. According to the project’s website, condo units — ranging from studios to three-bedroom units — begin at $550,000 and exceed $4 million.
