Press releases
SHVO Secures Final Approval for The Alton
SHVO, Dec 04, 2023Miami Beach Design Review Board Provides Unanimous Approval for Foster + Partners First Office Building in Miami Beach
MIAMI BEACH — SHVO, the ultra-luxury real estate development and investment firm, is pleased to announce that it has secured the unanimous approval of the Miami Beach Design Review Board for the development of The Alton, a groundbreaking nature-inspired office building designed by Foster + Partners.
The recent expression of support by members of the Design Review Board follows the approval of the Miami Beach Planning Board, and represents the final consent required for construction, which is expected to commence in early 2024. This is a significant milestone for the ultra-luxury development, the first office building by Foster + Partners in Miami Beach. Kobi Karp Architects will be the local architects for the project.
The six-story biophilic building will comprise 170,000 rentable square-feet of office space, 17,000 square-feet of ground floor retail, and five luxury residences, strategically located at the intersection of Alton Road and the iconic Lincoln Road shopping district.
The Alton’s design is inspired by the lush climate and rich vegetation of Florida, blending elevated workplaces with native landscapes, and features over 300 feet of prime Alton Road exposure with grand terraced outdoor rooms and panoramic views. The property will be constructed to LEED GOLD standards, with an inherent focus on sustainability and well-being, while seamlessly integrating art, architecture, and nature.
“We are grateful for the resounding support we have received from the local community for the development of The Alton, a key component in our mission of preserving and elevating Miami Beach’s architectural landscape,” said Michael Shvo, Chairman and CEO of SHVO. “With nature at the heart of its design, and an unparalleled commitment to sustainability, this will be an office building unlike any other in the city.”
David Summerfield, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, said: “Learning from Florida’s vernacular architecture, The Alton features extensive landscaping, incorporates natural light and passive shading techniques to create a dynamic urban environment. The building is designed with a strong structural rhythm that generates a shaded retail colonnade at street level. The scheme is also extremely permeable, with pedestrian routes directly underneath the building, connecting West Avenue and Alton Road.”
The Alton is one of three anticipated Class-A office properties, totaling almost 400,000 square-feet, being developed in Miami Beach by SHVO in collaboration with acclaimed architects Peter Marino Architect and Foster + Partners. Combined with the restoration and development of The Raleigh, the firm is investing over $2 billion in Miami Beach in partnership with Deutsche Finance America.
About SHVO
SHVO is a real estate development and investment firm built on the vision of Chairman & CEO Michael Shvo to create culture-defining experiences in iconic properties.
Headquartered in New York City with offices in Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago, SHVO owns and operates a national portfolio valued at more than $8 billion and 4.5 million square feet across commercial office and retail space, hospitality, and luxury residential assets. The firm’s selective portfolio of architecturally significant properties, from innovative ground up new developments to revitalized landmarks that define skylines in the world’s leading cities, includes the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, The Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, 333 South Wabash Avenue (‘The Big Red’) in Chicago, Mandarin Oriental Residences at 9200 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Mandarin Oriental Residences Fifth Avenue in New York City and the AMAN New York Hotel and Residences at the Crown building.
Renowned for its expertise, SHVO is fully integrated with highly diversified industry experience in every aspect of acquisitions, finance, development, design, sales, leasing, property management, hospitality, and sustainability.
About Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability, which was founded over fifty years ago in 1967 by Norman Foster with his late wife, Wendy. Since then, he and the team around him have established an international practice with a worldwide reputation for thoughtful and pioneering design, working as a single studio that is both ethnically and culturally diverse. The studio integrates the skills of architecture with engineering, both structural and environmental, urbanism, interior and industrial design, model and film making, aeronautics and many more – our collegiate working environment is similar to a compact university. These diverse skills make us capable of tackling a wide range of projects, particularly those of considerable complexity and scale. Design is at the core of everything that we do. We design buildings, spaces and cities; we listen, we question, and we innovate.
The studio has established an international reputation with buildings such as the Hearst Headquarters in New York, 30 St Mary Axe, popularly known as The Gherkin, in London, Millau Viaduct in France, the German Parliament in the Reichstag, Berlin, The Great Court for the British Museum, Headquarters for HSBC in Hong Kong and London, the ME Hotel in London, Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt, the Metro Bilbao, the Carré d’Art Nîmes, the sustainable Masdar development in Abu Dhabi, and research centres for Stanford University, California. Recent work includes the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Samson Pavilion for CWRU and Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Duo Central Park in Sydney, Apple’s headquarters in California, Bloomberg’s new European headquarters in London and the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia. Currently, the practice is involved in projects such as the New Slussen Masterplan in Sweden, Kuwait International Airport, and 425 Park Avenue in New York.