MILAN — Miami‘s Arts & Cultural District is home to what will be the first branded residential project for Italian design furniture firm B&B Italia. With Casa Bella by B&B Italia, the northern Italy-based company has become one of the first furniture firms to dip into the buoyant branded real estate market, aiming to meet the demand for high-end homes with five-star hotel amenities and services.
With many of its 319 units, including 10 penthouses, boasting views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami Downtown skyline, the luxury property is expected to be completed by summer 2026, the Novedrate-based firm told WWD on Friday.
Related Articles
Casa Bella by B&B Italia is the first fully branded building by B&B Italia, with interior designs led by Piero Lissoni and his Milan-based firm Lissoni & Partners and Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica. Its developers are Florida-based firms Alta Developers and The Related Group.
You May Also Like
All residences will offer concierge services, such as on-demand housekeeping, pre-arrival grocery deliveries and butler assistance. The property will be equipped with an 11th-floor pool deck, featuring Italian-inspired gardens designed by famed landscape architect Enzo Enea, a luxury spa and 78-foot lap pool with views of Biscayne Bay, along with a poolside bar and Mediterranean café.
Over the last three years, luxury furniture-maker B&B Italia, which was founded by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli in 1966 and which is now part of the Flos B&B Italia Group, has been at the forefront of the rising demand for tailor-made projects for luxury residences, retail and hotels. Among its most recent projects are The Whiteley in London, South Bank Turks and Caicos, Mandarin Oriental Beverly Hills and One Bangkok. It also participated in a landmark U.S. renovation: the Waldorf Astoria Residences New York on Park Avenue, for exclusive turnkey furniture packages within the city.
Miami represents one of the top U.S. markets for luxury design and furniture. The city and Florida’s east coast have become a major hot spot for branded real estate projects. The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami is currently being built by Miami-based firm Swire Properties and is expected to be completed by 2030. Fendi Casa will debut Avenia Interiors by Fendi Casa, a 22-apartment residential complex in nearby Aventura, Fla., by the first half of 2027. In 2024, Armani Group unveiled plans for oceanfront property Armani/Casa Residences on Pompano Beach, which is north of Miami.
A recent report by market research firm Intel Market said the global luxury real estate market was valued at $903.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032, registering a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent over the forecast period 2024-32. Earlier this year, hospitality.net said the branded residences market has grown 176 percent in the last decade. Almost 690 projects are in operation and 617 more are set to launch by 2030.
Furniture and interiors brands are starting to make their foray into real estate, joining fashion and hospitality’s stampede into the market’s boom. Bari, Italy-based firm Natuzzi along with its team of architects, designed a nine-floor residential building in Dubai that is expected to open in 2026. Liaigre Hospitality Ventures — formed by the three shareholders of the French interior design and architecture firm founded by Christian Liaigre in 1985 — said its first branded residence project will be completed in 2027 in Florence. For B&B Italia, the Miami property was a natural step, its chief executive officer Demetrio Apolloni told WWD.
“Just under 60 years of tireless, research-driven innovation have made us capable of shaping the future of living. We are crafting timeless, contemporary environments that extend our design philosophy beyond single objects into unique, holistic paces. This is how we meet the demands of a global audience seeking a truly integrated, eye-catching lifestyle,” Apolloni said.