Michael Emilio

Shaquille O’Neal, star basketball player for the NBA champion Miami Heat, has announced the formation of The O’Neal Group, a real estate firm that is joining with MDM Development in the creation of the $600 million dollar Metropolitan Miami project, also known as "Met Miami".

"We’ve scoured the country to find an appropriate venue through which we could launch the O’Neal Group," says O’Neal, "and ultimately we decided that the best place to start was in our own backyard with Metropolitan Miami. This is the largest residential development project in downtown Miami proper, and it sits on the site where the historical Royal Palm Hotel used to be, the property that first launched downtown Miami more than 100 years ago. I am excited about our involvement with The Met and proud to be part of the area’s comeback." O’Neal also plans to incorporate his 24-Hour Fitness/Shaq Ultra Sport fitness facility to the Metropolitan Miami project.

Metropolitan Miami is divided into four separate areas: Met Square, Met 1, Met 2, and Met 3. The project is located in the heart of Downtown Miami, transforming a 6-acre parcel of parking lots into what looks to become a vibrant, diverse mix of residential, retail, cultural and commercial activity unlike anything Miami has ever known.

"Nowhere else in South Florida will you find an opportunity to live, work and play in such fantastic surroundings," says Tim Weller, Vice President of Development for MDM. "Metropolitan Miami is not just a real estate development - it is a brand new, completely dynamic urban neighborhood."

Met Square is a four-story atrium-style entertainment and lifestyle condominium complex that includes a movie theater and a wide roster of stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues on floors 1-3 and on the fourth floor will include a distinctive multi-screen theater featuring stadium seating, advance ticketing and a café. This cinema complex is intended to create a community-oriented theater experience and features an array of independent, art and foreign films, along with a mix of mainstream first-releases. The energy behind Met Square is inspired by New York’s Time Square District and is to be at the forefront of Downtown Miami’s emergence as a true 24-hour social and lifestyle destination. "Met Square will boast a playful and colorful architectural design, beckoning residents of Metropolitan Miami, area locals and tourists alike," Weller says. "As the first center of its kind, Met Square will be the place to shop, eat, enjoy and gather with family and friends."

Met 1 is the project’s first residential tower spanning 40-stories and including 447 luxury condominiums including lofts, tower suites, and penthouses. The curved L-shaped building features unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay and the city of Miami. Amenities include pool, whirlpool, recreation deck, great room exclusively for residents, private clubhouse with lounge and game room, health and fitness center, and men’s and women’s saunas. Met 1’s first and second floors will feature retail and restaurant units that will create a pedestrian-friendly feel, never before enjoyed in the area. Met 1 is set for completion in the summer of 2007.

Met 3 towers over Biscayne Bay at 866 feet above the sidewalk of Miami.The views in the upper levels of this building will be extraordinary: tilt your head to the left to take in the beauty of South Beach - look straight south to Key Biscayne and the Atlantic Ocean - look behind you and see South Florida in the horizon. This 74-story tower is designed by renowned architectural firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates while the interior is designed by RTKL. The 15th floor of the Met 3 will include a sky lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city of Miami. Private high-speed elevators with limited key access whisk you to your room. Includes a Whole Foods market on the first level. Met 3 is set to be completed by 2009.

Met 2, the last of the three mixed-use buildings at Metropolitan Miami, is set to be completed by 2009.

Residences range from 567 to 1,310 square feet with penthouses as large as 3,000 square feet or more. Prices start at the mid $300,000s.

(click to enlarge)

Floor plan of Met 3 penthouse.