Miami's 1450 Brickell Office Tower Named 'Project of the Year' by Urban Land Institute District Council

Rilea Group's LEED-Gold certified, Class A office tower takes top honor at ULI's Southeast Florida/Caribbean 2012 Vision Awards. End Quote

Miami, FL (1888PressRelease) September 06, 2012 - 1450 Brickell, Downtown Miami's premier class A office tower, was selected as 'Project of the Year' by the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council. The 'Project of the Year' distinction - widely considered the land use and development industry's top honor - recognizes the real estate project that best embodies the mission of the Urban Land Institute: ensuring the responsible use of land in an effort to create sustainable, thriving communities around the world. The award was presented during the District Council's 2012 Vision Awards, held on August 29, 2012 at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami.

Rilea Group developed 1450 Brickell and the adjacent One Broadway luxury apartment building at the entrance to the Brickell Financial District, between Brickell Avenue and South Miami Avenue at the intersection of Southeast 15th Street. The mixed-use complex includes approximately 583,000 square feet of Class A office space, 410,000 square feet of residential space for 371 units, and more than 35,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurant/retail space.

"1450 Brickell and One Broadway have injected new life into an area that was overlooked for decades as not-yet-ripe for commercial development," said Alan Ojeda, CEO of Rilea Group, the development firm behind 1450 Brickell. "Flash forward to today and the neighborhood is home to retail, dining and nightlife, residential apartments, and offices for some of the largest, most respected names in business. This complex has proven that mixed-use development in Miami's urban core can be sustainable, pedestrian-friendly and commercially viable."

1450 Brickell has reached 94% occupancy just two years since opening its doors, with a tenant roster including JP Morgan Chase, HJ Heinz Company, Longchamp, Bilzin Sumberg, BNY/Mellon and American Express. The building has become a sought-after address for companies looking to establish a presence in Miami, with nearly half of its tenant roster being new to the Miami market. Next door, the One Broadway building is 98% leased, and the complex's street-level retail product is fully occupied and open for business. Restaurant tenants include PM Fish & Steak House, Brickell Irish Pub, Pieduck's Pizza, and TIKL Raw Bar & Grill.

"By developing a mixed-use project combining residential, retail and commercial uses, we've been able to market 1450 Brickell as much more than an office building," said Rilea Group Executive Diego Ojeda. "The tower is a gathering place for the community, a business hub, and a lifestyle destination in the heart of one of the world's most dynamic urban districts."

Rilea Group prioritized durability and energy efficiency when designing 1450 Brickell. The building became the City of Miami's first newly-built office tower to achieve LEED Gold status in 2010. And its exterior curtain wall window system is one of the nation's strongest, fashioned entirely out of large-missile impact glass tested to withstand hurricane force winds. The tower also sports an above code backup generator that can power tenants' basic electric needs during outages.

Designed by Miami-based architectural firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates and constructed by Coastal Construction, 1450 Brickell offers panoramic views of Biscayne Bay, Brickell Avenue and the City of Miami, with floor-to-ceiling windows and wide-open floor pates ranging in size from 24,000 square feet to 25,600 square feet, maximizing the flow of natural light throughout tenant areas.

The other 'Project of the Year' finalists were Miami's Marlins Park, the Florida Atlantic University College of Engineering & Computer Science building in Boca Raton, Miami-Dade County's Brownsville Transit Village affordable housing development, the City of Doral's Doral Government Center, and the Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

To learn more, please visit www.1450Brickell.com. For leasing information, contact Tere Blanca or Danet Linares of Blanca Commercial Real Estate at (305) 577-8850.

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