For the rich and famous, the rico and the suave, that sparkling visage of Miami is a reality. So, where do the wealthy and beautiful people of Miami lie on high thread count silk sheets at night? Where do you find the most expensive Miami apartments?
Just 11 miles up A1A from Miami Beach and 40 minutes from Downtown is the barrier island city of Sunny Isles Beach. SIB is a stunning strand of beach with a Collins Avenue backbone on the Intracoastal Waterway, lined with gleaming high-rise skyscrapers over the Atlantic Ocean.
And one of these incredible edifices is the 132-unit Porsche Design Tower, a 60-story residential building designed by Porsche Design Studio. Halfway up on the 30th floor is unit #3005, a 3,415-square-foot, ocean-view 3-bedroom/4.5-bath stunner that will set you back a mere $25,000 a month. It can be yours, Spencer Strasmore, but what makes this sunny apartment worth that hot a price?
A neighborhood of beaches, parks and shops
Photo courtesy of 18555 Collins Ave 3005 / Miami MLS®
The Porsche Design Tower is situated on the north end of Sunny Isles Beach, surrounded by high-end condo towers and hotels on the golden beaches by the Dumbfoundling Bay inlet and the Lehman Causeway to Aventura and the mainland.
Collins Avenue, the major oceanfront thoroughfare that begins 13 miles to the south in Miami Beach, sits just outside the building’s back door and contains a plethora of vintage shops, cafés, bakeries, bistros and boutiques within walking distance.
Just two miles down the strand over the Intracoastal is the gorgeous Oleta River State Park, with waterfront hiking trails and wilderness bike trails among the rare Casuarina trees, as well as secluded spots for canoeing and kayaking.
And the south end of the island is Haulover Park, a mixed-use beachside park with a boating and fishing marina, tennis courts, kiteboarding, enclosed dog park, picnic areas and food trucks. But be forewarned. The northern half-mile stretch of beach is a designated clothing-optional, hundred-acre urban naturist beach, the largest public nudist beach in the U.S.
For a change of scenery, posh South Beach is just 40 minutes south, the world-renown Wynwood Art Walk is just 45 minutes away north of downtown and Hard Rock Stadium — home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins — is just a half-hour west.
In need of some retail therapy? The tower is just five minutes from the Aventura Mall, where you can outfit yourself for the part at stores like Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Cartier and Givenchy.
High-end fixtures and two incredible features
Photo courtesy of 18555 Collins Ave 3005 / Miami MLS®
But why would you ever want to leave if you lived in an apartment like this? Upon entering, your private interior elevator opens directly into your massive Porsche-inspired common area.
The suede-and-leather furnished living and dining room features black tile flooring and black quartz accents, a ventless gas fireplace, track lighting and a wraparound 10-foot floor-to-ceiling windows looking north-by-northeast out over the Atlantic.
The Poggenpohl-designed kitchen features Miele appliances, including a wine cooler, induction cooktop, high-speed microwave, dual-ovens and warming drawers, Dornbracht fixtures, motorized doors and marble countertops in the cooking area and on the colossal island.
All three bedrooms offer floor-to-ceiling windows with ocean views, full baths and walk-in closets. And each of the four-and-a-half bathrooms includes Dornbracht fixtures and marble countertops, as well, with automatic Toto bidet toilets in the master bathroom.
But honestly, none of that matters because of the remaining two items.
The apartment features its own two-car garage right on your floor just off the living room. Yes, that’s right. The building contains three unique robotic car elevators that allow you to drive into a parking carousel at ground level and an automated self-accessible lift will fly your vehicles 30 stories up to be parked in your own 500-square-foot sky garage where you can view them like a piece of art behind glass right from your couch.
But why sit on your couch when you can lounge out on your own 830-square-foot private balcony 300 feet over the Atlantic Ocean? The oversized curved stone-patio terrace offers panoramic views, an outdoor “summer kitchen” with barbecue grill and service area and a fully-private heated “plunge” swimming pool.
If you can drag yourself out of your apartment, the building also offers an incredible host of amenities. Residents can enjoy a clubroom with a stadium-seating movie theater, virtual golfing and a VRX iMotion Z-55 race car simulation game, an oceanfront fitness center with spa and yoga studio, a bar lounge with large-screen TVs and a glass-enclosed restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating featuring private wine lockers for each tenant.
Facing the Intracoastal is an elevated sunset terrace with two heated swim spas, while out back you’ll find a landscaped patio with heated swimming pool and poolside food and beverage service, a private gate beach area and 200 feet of ocean frontage. There’s even an in-house “car concierge” who will wash your car, rotate the tires and perform routine maintenance.
How else to be a baller in Miami
Sure $300,000 a year in rent is a lot of dinero if you take your talents to South Florida. Pads like this are reserved for the Magic City elite like Wayne Huizenga, Sean Diddy Combs, Donald Trump (whose Mar-A-Lago is just two hours up the coast) and Booz Allen Hamilton C.F.O. Lloyd Howell who just moved in on the 33rd floor.
But financial experts suggest you spend no more than a third of your pre-tax income on rent, so all you need to be bringing in to snag this auto showroom in the sky is a cool $900,000. What else could you afford to hit the beach with for $25,000 a month?
- 250 jumbo crab claws at Joe’s Stone Crabs
- 727 DVD copies of the entire series of Miami Vice on Amazon
- 1,000 Speedos
- 11 Home Plate Box season tickets to the Miami Marlins
- 2018 smart fortwo electric drive car
Not as fast, not as furious
We can’t all ball like Dwayne Johnson or tool around in tricked-out street racers like Vin Diesel, so a giant Porsche piston in the sky might be a little above our budget. Fortunately, there are plenty of other gorgeous — and slightly more affordable — rental units around Miami-Dade that might be a little more your style.
- Sofia Coral Gables —Penthouse from $10,699/month
- 10295 Collins Ave — Two-bedroom unit from $9,999/month
- 13621 Deering Bay Drive — Penthouse from $9,500/month
- Flamingo Point Center Tower — Townhouse from $9,170/month
The rent information included in this article is based on April 2019 rental property inventory on ApartmentGuide.com and rent.com and is used for illustrative purposes only. The data contained herein do not constitute financial advice or a pricing or availability guarantee for any apartment.
