For the buyer moving to Miami for good, who has to choose between living inside the city and living beside the ocean.
This page explains. Whether the building suits you is a separate conversation. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
Brickell suits the full-time buyer whose week runs through offices, restaurants and trains, and who wants the most choice of new towers and price points. Bal Harbour suits the buyer whose week runs through the beach and the shops, in a village of one third of a square mile with very little left to build. On our file, Brickell's new towers start From $952,900 at ORA by Casa Tua and From $2,950,000 at 619 Brickell by Nobu. Bal Harbour's oceanfront choice, Rivage, starts From $14,100,000, and Ocean House Surfside next door offers 25 homes on the sand.
Neither is better. One is a city address, the other a beach address, and the cost of living in each is paid in different currencies: noise and density in Brickell, distance and scarcity in Bal Harbour.
Brickell:
619 Brickell by Nobu. Price point: From $2,950,000. Delivery: no date on our file. Unit mix: about 300 homes, one to five bedrooms, from about 1,160 square feet. Position: on the water at 619 Brickell Avenue. Brand: Nobu, under licence.
Cipriani Residences Miami. Price point: From $1,859,900. Delivery: summer 2027, topped off July 2026. Unit mix: 397 residences including penthouses with private pools. Position: 1420 South Miami Avenue, with bay and skyline views. Brand: Cipriani runs dining and concierge.
ORA by Casa Tua. Price point: From $952,900. Delivery: no date on our file. Unit mix: studio to four bedrooms, all furnished. Position: 1210 Brickell Avenue, near the Metrorail and Metromover stations. Brand: Casa Tua, licensed operator.
Bal Harbour and Surfside:
Rivage Bal Harbour. Price point: From $14,100,000. Delivery: no date on our file. Unit mix: about 56 homes of three to six bedrooms, about 3,300 to 12,600 square feet, across 25 stories. Position: about 2.7 oceanfront acres with about 200 linear feet of private shoreline, the last oceanfront parcel in Bal Harbour. Developer: Related Group and Two Roads Development, with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
Ocean House Surfside. Price point: released on request. Delivery: no date on our file. Unit mix: 25 residences of two to five bedrooms. Position: 9309 to 9317 Collins Avenue, on the ocean in Surfside, between Bal Harbour and Miami Beach. Developer: MTP Oceanside LLC, with Arquitectonica's Bernardo Fort-Brescia.
In Brickell, you walk. Offices, restaurants, the Metromover and the bay walk are at street level, and a tower like ORA puts transit at the corner. The cost is density: more neighbours per floor, more traffic, more noise at street level. Buildings answer that with height and service, which is why the Brickell list is full of hotel and restaurant names.
In Bal Harbour, you drive or you stay. The beach is the front garden and the shops are a short walk, but most errands beyond the village mean a car. The cost is distance from the city's working core. What you get back is space: Rivage homes start around 3,300 square feet and run to about 12,600, with oceanfront pools, a spa and hammam, private marina services and house cars.
Size points to Bal Harbour and Surfside. Rivage starts at three bedrooms, Ocean House offers up to five, and Ocean House lists staff quarters with a service kitchen, a private six car garage and private storage. In Brickell, family-sized homes exist at 619 Brickell by Nobu, up to five bedrooms, and at Cipriani, which has a children's playroom and a dog park.
School runs are the question that settles most family moves, and they depend on the school, not the building. Our page on relocating to Miami with a family covers how families choose, and moving to Miami: where to live maps the neighbourhoods.
Brickell is the wider ladder. Published entry prices on our file start From $952,900 at ORA, From $1,859,900 at Cipriani and From $2,950,000 at 619 Brickell by Nobu. Bal Harbour's oceanfront is a narrow, high ladder: Rivage starts From $14,100,000, and Ocean House releases pricing on request. Scarcity is the reason. Our Rivage dossier records the site as Bal Harbour's final oceanfront parcel; when it is built, there is no next one.
Brickell suits the full-time buyer who works in the city, wants to walk to dinner and wants a choice of price points, from a furnished studio at ORA to a waterfront family home at Nobu. You give up the beach at your door and some quiet. Our best luxury pre-construction in Brickell page compares the three towers in depth, with the Nobu dossier, the Cipriani note and ORA's entry price.
Bal Harbour suits the full-time buyer who wants the ocean, large rooms and a small village, and is buying near the top of the market's price range. You give up the city on foot. If you want the beach with more choice of buildings, our Miami Beach oceanfront comparison covers the island to the south. See the Rivage dossier, the Ocean House note, our Bal Harbour and Surfside zone page and Bal Harbour vs Surfside vs Miami Beach.
Moving full-time also raises the question of Florida residence and homestead. Our page on whether buying makes you a Florida resident explains the steps. The desk walks both neighbourhoods with you on a weekday and a weekend, with the current releases in hand.
Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current plans, pricing and availability as the developer releases them, discussed one to one.
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We hold no listings and we are not the developer. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier and we will tell you what applies to your situation, what does not, and where we would not proceed. Where a question is legal, tax or structuring, we introduce you to advisers who handle that properly rather than answering it ourselves.
Miami Dossier is the private buyer advisory of Metrik Real Estate, built to represent buyers in Miami pre-construction. Principal: Samuel Strauch.
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