Florida's Third District Court of Appeals has ruled that the city of Miami wrongly denied neighboring condo owners the right to participate in a historic preservation proceeding tied to a planned 75-story Nobu-branded tower at 619 Brickell Avenue, ordering a new hearing before the city's preservation board.

What did the appeals court actually decide?

The Third District Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's finding that the city of Miami improperly stripped IconBrickell II condominium owners of legal standing to intervene when the city moved to remove the historic designation from the First Miami Presbyterian Church site — the parcel where developers 13th Floor Investments and Key International plan to build their Nobu-branded tower.

  • The ruling reinstates IconBrickell II owners as parties in the preservation proceeding.
  • Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) must now hold a new hearing on the historic designation question.
  • The appeals court affirmed, rather than reversed, a lower court decision that had already found in the residents' favor.

Does this ruling stop the Nobu tower from being built?

The appeals court ruling does not halt construction of the proposed 321-unit, 75-story tower at 619 Brickell Avenue — developers 13th Floor Investments and Key International maintain the project is an as-of-right development, meaning it does not require discretionary city approval beyond standard permitting.

  • The ruling adds a procedural step: a new HEPB hearing on the historic designation removal.
  • Developers have reported more than $1 billion in unit reservations for the Nobu-branded project.
  • The tower's as-of-right status means the preservation hearing's outcome may not ultimately block construction, though it could complicate the timeline.

Why does the First Miami Presbyterian Church site matter to this case?

The First Miami Presbyterian Church site is the historic property whose preservation designation was removed to accommodate the Nobu tower development at 619 Brickell Avenue, making the legitimacy of that removal the central legal question in the dispute.

  • Neighboring IconBrickell II owners argued they had a direct interest in how the historic designation was handled on an adjacent parcel.
  • Miami city officials had denied those owners formal standing, a decision both the lower court and the appeals court rejected.

What happens next for the Brickell project?

The Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board must now conduct a new, procedurally compliant hearing on the removal of the First Miami Presbyterian Church site's historic designation, with IconBrickell II condo owners granted full standing to participate.

  • 13th Floor Investments and Key International have not indicated they intend to pause the project during additional proceedings.
  • The outcome of the HEPB hearing could influence the legal landscape around the site, even if it does not directly block an as-of-right tower.

Original reporting by The Real Deal Miami.