The former Mandarin Oriental, Miami on Brickell Key is set to come down Sunday in a controlled implosion that officials say will mark the largest demolition of its kind in Miami in more than a decade. Demolition experts are scheduled to trigger the blast at 8:30 a.m. on the 23-story hotel.
The building opened 25 years ago on Brickell Key, the human-made island at the mouth of the Miami River across from downtown Miami, and its removal clears the way for The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami. The new project is planned as a two-tower ultraluxury hotel and residential development due for completion in 2030.
Swire Properties said the demolition follows nearly two years of planning and coordination with specialized contractors and the city. Developers said implosion was chosen as the safest and most efficient way to keep the project on schedule while limiting disruption and protecting the Brickell Key community.
That makes Sunday’s blast more than a symbolic goodbye to a longtime waterfront hotel. It is the point where a planned replacement stops being a rendering and becomes a pile of debris, with the site immediately moving into the next phase of one of Miami’s most closely watched luxury developments.
For residents and visitors on and around Brickell Key, the morning will bring a sharply timed end to a building that has anchored the island for a generation. For Swire, the real test comes after the dust settles, as the company tries to turn the cleared site into a two-tower project by 2030.
