Bristol Tower
Bristol Tower is the rotunda, the cylindrical glass tower at 2127 Brickell Avenue that started everything. When Ugo Colombo completed it in 1993, Brickell Avenue was still a canyon of office buildings and aging apartments, and Bristol's curved form, with wraparound balconies delivering about 270 degrees of view from many residences and a domed penthouse on top, announced that the avenue could hold true luxury housing. South Florida Business and Wealth credits the tower with igniting the luxury residential boom on Brickell Avenue, and three decades later it remains the connoisseur's Brickell address, only 146 residences, each one...
Bristol Tower
Bristol Tower is the rotunda, the cylindrical glass tower at 2127 Brickell Avenue that started everything. When Ugo Colombo completed it in 1993, Brickell Avenue was still a canyon of office buildings and aging apartments, and Bristol's curved form, with wraparound balconies delivering about 270 degrees of view from many residences and a domed penthouse on top, announced that the avenue could hold true luxury housing. South Florida Business and Wealth credits the tower with igniting the luxury residential boom on Brickell Avenue, and three decades later it remains the connoisseur's Brickell address, only 146 residences, each one large, in a building where the penthouse was once home to Pharrell Williams.
Colombo's CMC Group developed Bristol Tower, and his follow through tells the story of Brickell itself, Santa Maria in 1996, the EPIC residences and hotel downtown, and eventually Brickell Flatiron, his return to the avenue in 2019. The architects were Revuelta Vega Leon with Fullerton Diaz, and the design has aged remarkably well, a white cylindrical shaft of glass balconies that reads as sculpture from the bay. Williams bought the full floor triplex penthouse from Colombo himself in 2007 for $12,525,000, a 9,000 square foot home with a rooftop pool and full circle views, and sold it in 2016 for $9,250,000, one of the most reported celebrity sales in Brickell history.
Bristol residences are grand by modern standards, from one bedroom homes of about 1,210 square feet up through the 9,080 square foot penthouse level, across 40 stories. The market is correspondingly exclusive. Roughly ten residences are currently for sale, starting at $1,198,000 and reaching $7,200,000, while rentals are rare in the building and price accordingly, with the few recent offerings starting near $12,800 a month. Amenities match the scale, a bayfront pool, tennis courts, a fitness center and marina access on one of the last true waterfront sites on the avenue.
The avenue around Bristol has filled in with money. Chateau ZZ's, Major Food Group's Mexican flagship at 1500 Brickell Avenue, serves its wagyu and truffle tostada a short walk north. Caviar Russe, inside the Four Seasons tower at 1441 Brickell, runs one of the most expensive tasting menus in the city, and LPM on Brickell Bay Drive is the bankers' lunch institution. Bristol Tower residents were living this version of Brickell before any of it arrived, which is rather the point of the building.
Facts and Details
- Address: 2127 Brickell Avenue, Miami, FL 33129
- Developer: CMC Group, Ugo Colombo
- Architects: Revuelta Vega Leon and Fullerton Diaz Architects
- Stories: 40
- Residences: 146
- Sizes: approximately 1,210 to 9,080 square feet, the top figure being the triplex penthouse
- Completed: 1993
- Most known for: its cylindrical rotunda form and its role igniting the Brickell luxury boom, plus the Pharrell Williams penthouse years
- Market: resales starting at $1,198,000, rentals rare and recently from about $12,800 a month
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to buy at Bristol Tower?
Current resales at Bristol Tower start at $1,198,000 and reach $7,200,000, with about ten homes on the market. Residences are large, starting near 1,210 square feet, so even the entry homes here are bigger than the typical new Brickell condominium.
Did Pharrell Williams live at Bristol Tower?
Yes. Pharrell Williams bought the full floor triplex penthouse at Bristol Tower from developer Ugo Colombo in 2007 for $12,525,000. The roughly 9,000 square foot home has a rooftop pool and 360 degree views. He sold it in 2016 for $9,250,000 after first asking $16.8 million.
Can you rent at Bristol Tower?
Rarely. Bristol Tower is an ownership building and few homes are ever offered for lease. The most recent listings started near $12,800 a month and ran to about $16,500, so renters should expect scarcity and top of market pricing when a residence does appear.
Who built Bristol Tower and why does it matter?
CMC Group, led by Ugo Colombo, built Bristol Tower in 1993 to designs by Revuelta Vega Leon and Fullerton Diaz. The tower is credited with igniting the luxury residential boom on Brickell Avenue, and Colombo went on to build Santa Maria, EPIC and Brickell Flatiron.
What expensive dining is near Bristol Tower?
Chateau ZZ's, Major Food Group's Brickell flagship known for its wagyu and truffle tostada, is at 1500 Brickell Avenue. Caviar Russe inside the Four Seasons tower and LPM Restaurant and Bar on Brickell Bay Drive are also close, giving Bristol one of the strongest dining rows in Miami at its door.
