Global Awards News

LONDON: A 90 storey hospitality, hotel and seniors housing project is about to come off the drawing board.

Major Food Group (MFG) and JDS Development Group (JDS) have revealed the first images of MAJOR, the highly anticipated 90-story residential and hospitality tower, located at 888 Brickell Avenue. MAJOR will feature 259 custom residences conceived as fully hybrid layouts. Each Major Residence is designed to enable the seamless conversions into Major rooms and suites for guests while offering the most robust collection of food and beverage amenities and hospitality of any building in Miami.

A unified vision of four industry titans, Major Food Group, JDS Development, Studio Sofield, and Ken Fulk, MAJOR ushers in an unprecedented chapter of lifestyle-driven hospitality and exceptional residential design for Miami. The first ground-up, hybrid hotel and luxury condominium project from MFG, MAJOR is led by creative forces and Co-Founders Mario Carbone, Jeff Zalaznick, and Rich Torrisi, the team behind some of America’s most celebrated restaurants. The group is partnering with JDS Development Group, led by Chief Executive and Founder Michael Stern, the powerhouse developer and builder responsible for some of the most dynamic new skyscrapers in New York City and Miami.

Rising high above the recent renaissance of development in Brickell, the striking and bold MAJOR will soar to an impressive 1,049 feet tall—marking a new record height for Miami. The tower, designed by William Sofield, features an elegant and restrained façade of ivory travertine and high-gloss steel columns to express enduring weight and substance while giving a defined graphic, vertical appearance, setting it far apart from its glass and stucco neighbors. The notable crown is wrapped with a filigree of gold spheres and punctuated by extraordinary sculptures in the manner of Italian Futurism on each corner.

“MAJOR is remarkable,” stated Michael Stern, Founder & CEO of JDS Development Group. “This is the tallest, the most brilliantly designed, the best-in-class hospitality experience, with the best club, in the best city in the world.”

In a grand architectural gesture of artistry and craft, the porte cochere welcomes with an exuberant Gatsby-level energy and delight. Just off the corner of Brickell Avenue and 10th Street, residents and guests will arrive into a world trimmed in gold leaf and clad in monolithic slabs of travertine, paired with exquisite MFG hospitality and white glove service. Overhead, a grand gold-beaded screen emits a deep, warm glow—a signature beacon for the building. The tower celebrates the optimism of creativity and culture and elevates the inclusive spirit of Miami.

Each of the furnished residences in the condo-hotel, ranging from 1-to 4 bedrooms, is designed with custom furniture by Studio Sofield. The plans enable Major residences to seamlessly transform into rooms and suites for guests. Conceived as fully hybrid layouts, each Major Residence utilizes a “lockout” function, which allows for simple conversions between a private residence, suite, and/or guest room. In addition to this elegant solution for flexible living spaces, the excitement builds in the details and art, reflecting the mood of the city, the light, and the climate. With sophisticated internationalism and fantasy in mind, spaces such as the deep private terraces acknowledge shadow and shade, and still echo the expansive views of water and sky through the reflective sparkle of materials.

“With MAJOR, we honor the cultural heritage of this magnificent city, from the seductive to the sublime,” says tower designer William Sofield of Studio Sofield. “I am creating a tower that identifies with the hope and aspiration of those who live here, distinguished for quality craftmanship, contributing to the beauty of the skyline. I want to celebrate this sexy City with an indulgent swim in the only silver and gold pool in Miami.”

In signature MFG style, the project will offer impeccable service and unapologetically comfortable amenities as part of its creed to Live Major. With Studio Sofield and Fulk, Major Food Group and JDS Development conceived, designed, and programmed every inch of the 115,000 square feet of amenities throughout the property. The Food & Beverage program will include signature MFG brands and hospitality spaces and entirely new concepts exclusive to Major and feature the design of Ken Fulk. Spread over eight floors, Major will also feature amenities focused on entertaining, sports, leisure, wellness and fitness.

“The idea is to just show up, and everything is taken care of,” explains Jeff Zalaznick, MFG Co-Founder. “From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, every whim and desire is anticipated.”

MAJOR Residents will automatically become founding members of the exclusive Club onsite. The Club includes the elegantly designed Pool deck, an 80’ multi-level, terrazzo-clad sun deck and oasis, with private cabanas and poolside service through a signature Major Food Group restaurant.

Major marks a milestone in the evolution of Major Food Group, which currently operates a global portfolio of over thirty restaurants, hotels, and private clubs. MFG established roots in South Florida in 2021 with several smash successes: CARBONE and HaSalon in the South of Fifth neighborhood, Sadelle’s in Coconut Grove, the private membership venue ZZ’s Club in the Miami Design District, and the recently-opened Dirty French Steakhouse in Brickell. MFG will launch a range of additional projects in the region in the coming year, including several outposts of the brunch institution Sadelle’s. MFG will oversee all branding and hospitality programming at Major and operate the hotel.

Fulk, a longtime MFG collaborator, will be responsible for the food, beverage, and hospitality spaces at Major. Fulk has designed such atmospheric spaces as Carbone and ZZ’s Club in Miami and the new Crown Club at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, among other exceptional experiences for the swiftly expanding MFG brand family.

MFG’s sophistication and reputation for unparalleled food and beverage experiences combined with JDS’s track record for confident, monumental design of quality and craftsmanship, sets the stage for a project of perfectly-dialed maximalism. This is JDS Development Group’s fifth supertall skyscraper and a third project in the Brickell neighborhood. Composed of a team of innovators and builders, JDS is no stranger to large-scale urban development and constantly pushes the boundaries of design, gracing the new skyline as often as they add to the fabric of the city. JDS also co-developed the record-breaking Echo Brickell condominium project and recently broke ground on the large-scale mixed-use 1 Southside Park in Brickell.