List of tallest buildings in Miami

History

Miami's history of high-rises began with the 1912 completion of the six–story Burdine's Department Store, although the Freedom Tower, built in 1925, is Miami's best-known early skyscraper and remains an icon of the city. From the mid-1990s through the late 2000s, Miami went through the largest building boom in the city's history. In what was dubbed a "Manhattanization wave", there were nearly 60 structures proposed, approved or under construction in the city that were planned to rise over 492 feet (150 m) in height. As a result of the construction boom, only two of the city's 25 tallest buildings were completed before the year 2000, and the city has one of largest skylines in the United States, generally ranking only behind New York City and Chicago. The boom, however, ended abruptly around 2008 when the real estate market crashed and the late-2000s recession began. By 2011 the market began to return, with new office and condominium projects such as Brickell House announced for construction beginning in 2012. This was followed by a second boom that is currently active As of January 2015. This second boom has more proposed towers for the region than were built in the first boom from 2003 to 2010. Only 10 buildings out of 75 on the list were built before 2000, and only 18 were built before 2005.

Present

The tallest skyscraper currently under construction is Panorama Tower in Brickell. The tallest active proposals include One Bayfront Plaza (OBP) and One Brickell City Centre (OBCC), both of which may rise over 1,000 feet (305 m). One Bayfront Plaza is a mixed-use building proposed for 100 South Biscayne Boulevard, approved for construction since 2007, and scheduled to be completed as early as 2018. Since then, it has gone through several design changes and does not have a reliable construction date. By the end of 2016, there were about ten proposals for supertall buildings in downtown and Brickell. In addition to OBCC and OPB, these included The Towers by Foster + Partners, One MiamiCentral, 300 Biscayne, Capital at Brickell (CCCC Miami), World Trade Center of the Americas, Skyrise (tower), as well as the more speculative Sky Plaza and One Fifth.

FAA height limits

One Bayfront Plaza was for many years the tallest building ever to be approved for construction in the city, at the maximum FAA height limit of 1,049 feet (320 m), though several other buildings were approved at similar heights in the mid 2010s. It was later reduced and is expected to rise 1,010 feet (308 m), with 80 floors. It also has the distinction of being the first skyscraper over 1,000 feet (305 m), known as a "supertall", to be approved in Miami. Several other buildings have been proposed to rise over 1,000 feet (305 m), including One Brickell City Centre, but have been reduced by the FAA. Approvals for comparably tall buildings in Miami are very rare due to the proximity of Miami International Airport (MIA). The main runways of MIA align planes taking off and landing directly over the greater downtown area, and for this reason the Federal Aviation Administration sets precise height limits for construction in Downtown Miami. The fate of high rise construction in Miami was greatly threatened by a "One Engine Inoperative" (OEI) policy proposed by the FAA in 2014. This proposal would drastically reduce the maximum permitted height of structures around 388 airports in the country, even causing existing structures to be modified. In the end, the FAA did not go forward with the extreme limitations and even began giving quicker approvals to buildings with heights up to 1,049 feet (320 m) above sea level, leading to many proposed and approved supertall projects.

Tallest buildings list

This lists ranks the tallest buildings in Miami that stand at least 400 feet (120 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed or topped-out. Where applicable, floor counts are given by the observed measurements, as reported floor counts may include many skipped floors, not limited to floor 13.

Tallest buildings in each neighborhood

This lists the tallest building in each neighborhood, district, or sub-district of Miami. Note that all buildings over 400 feet (120 m) are within the Greater Downtown area between the Julia Tuttle Causeway and Rickenbacker Causeway, east of Interstate 95. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed or topped-out for still under construction or stalled buildings.

Tallest under construction or approved

All of the planned high-rise buildings that were not constructed by the 2008 financial crisis were either put on hold or cancelled altogether until 2011 as the market was becoming stable once again.

Under construction

This lists buildings that are currently under construction in Miami and are planned to rise at least 400 feet (122 m). Buildings that have already been topped out are moved to the main list.

* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding expected building dates of completion has not yet been released.

Approved

This list contains buildings that are approved by the city for construction and are planned to rise at least 400 feet (122 m). Many of these buildings were approved during the 2000s Miami Skyscraper Boom, but were put on hold during the Great Recession and have been announced to start construction in 2013 and early 2014.

Timeline of tallest buildings

There have been several buildings in Miami that have served as the tallest building in the city. While the 5-story Burdine's Department Store was the first high-rise building in the city, the Freedom Tower is generally regarded as Miami's first skyscraper. From 2003 to 2008, the Manhattanization of the city led to a huge amount of new development. Several buildings were under construction, and many that were approved or proposed could have earned the title of tallest building in the city upon completion. However, other than the Four Seasons Hotel (2003), none of them made it before the market crashed in 2007. In 2017, Panorama Tower will overtake Four Seasons as the tallest in the city and the state.