SUNNY ISLES BEACH — The oceanfront town known for its luxury skyscrapers will soon be home to one of the tallest beachfront residential towers in the entire nation.
The Bentley Residences, currently under construction at 18401 Collins Ave., will stand a head-turning 749 feet high, taller than all the other towers lining Sunny Isles Beach. The Bentley-branded skyscraper broke ground in early 2024 and is slated for completion in 2028.
Dezer Development describes the Bentley project as its “current crown jewel.” Designed in conjunction with Bentley Motors, the 62-story building features a sparkling diamond-quilted glass façade reminiscent of the diamond pattern seen in the interior of a Bentley.
Pricing for the 216 residences starts at $5.8 million, with the two penthouses priced at $37.5 million each.
Residences will be expansive, ranging from 5,256 to 6,333 square feet. The tower, built for the ultra-wealthy, will include amenities with five-star hospitality and service.
Amenities will include a private restaurant led by award-winning chef Todd English, a whiskey bar, cigar lounge, cinema, spa, oceanfront beauty salon, fitness center and a landscaped beach club with cabanas.
The “Dezervator,” a patented hydraulic elevator system named after Dezer Development, will allow residents to ascend directly to their private sky garage — and their floor — without ever leaving their car.
The “Dezervator” first appeared in the nearby Porsche Design Tower, which was developed by Dezer in collaboration with the Porsche Design Group. The tower, one of the tallest in town at 641 feet, opened in 2017.
At the Bentley Residences, each apartment will have room for up to four cars.
“It’s really a testament to the ultra luxurious brand of Sunny Isles Beach,” Mayor Larisa Svechin told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The Porsche tower was the first one with the Dezervator. You can park two cars in your apartment at the Porsche tower. And at the Bentley you can park four. That’s what makes it the next 2.0 building. It really is about the cars. And you can get even more cars downstairs. You can have room for all 26 of your cars — I’m not joking. It’s just a testament to the love of cars in our city.”
The very design of the building is a nod to Bentley’s elegant style, the developer says.
“Just as Bentley vehicles offer supreme comfort while embracing the freedom of the open road, our residences extend this philosophy to your home environment,” the developer’s website says. “The expansive balconies, each featuring a private heated swimming pool, invite you to immerse yourself in the fresh air while enjoying the epitome of relaxation.”
Sunny Isles Beach, a town with 2.4 miles of coastline, has made a name for itself as a skyscraper-friendly town and a magnet for international elites.
“We don’t tout these towers as being the tallest,” Svechin said. “They’re the most luxurious. They just happen to be tall. The Bentley is iconic and this tower is going to make our skyline even more iconic. It really puts us on the map as an international city. We’re really becoming known as the super luxurious, high-end, world-class city.”
The Bentley tower will not be the tallest in Miami-Dade County. That title currently goes to the 85-story Panorama Tower, which stands 868 feet high in downtown Miami. The Okan Tower, a skyscraper currently under construction in downtown Miami, will be even taller at 902 feet. The Okan is expected to open in 2027.
The mayor of Sunny Isles Beach says she expects the Bentley to become another landmark building in a town known for its luxury skyscrapers.
Tall towers don’t make the kind of waves in Sunny Isles Beach that they do in spots like Fort Lauderdale and other coastal cities in Broward County, according to the mayor.
“I know people in Broward say don’t Sunny Isles our beach,” Svechin said. “There’s always people who are not going to be happy. But at the end of the day, if there’s a demand, the apartments are going to get sold. And it helps the tax base. It brings up the property value for everybody. I think our residents recognize that.”
The taller the tower, the deeper the foundation.
The Bentley recently completed a record-breaking concrete pour, the largest in Florida history and the second largest ever in the United States, according to the developer.
The foundation, crafted with more than 20,000 cubic yards of concrete, is supported by piles that reach depths of more than 170 feet.
The concrete pour was a 36-hour undertaking, with crews working round the clock to get the job done. During that time, more than 250 cement trucks delivered 2,100 truckloads of concrete, snarling traffic along Collins Avenue.
City officials say they received few complaints, partly because most residents were notified early on about the project and steered clear of the area.
“The residents knew it was going on,” the mayor said. “We had spent a significant amount of time to communicate what was going on and advising them to avoid the area.”
In Sunny Isles Beach, developers are encouraged to build 24/7 so they can open quicker, Svechin said.
“It’s done faster,” she said. “Construction that would have taken three years (on a traditional work schedule) might take 18 months. We want to try to get it done so we don’t have construction during the holidays.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
