Bentley Residences Sunny Isles vs. Mercedes-Benz Places Brickell: Automotive Towers - Beach vs. City
Quick Summary
- Bentley: ultra-low-density oceanfront living with in-unit sky garages
- Mercedes-Benz Places: 67-story Brickell campus with 791 residences
- Compare beyond branding: privacy, arrival, amenities, and daily rhythm
- Pricing is marketed from ~$550K to $5.6M+ depending on the project
The new branded-residence divide: resort seclusion vs. urban immersion
South Florida’s branded-residence movement has moved well beyond logos in the lobby. Today’s buyers are evaluating how a brand is expressed through density, arrival, amenities, and the daily choreography of living. Few matchups make that shift as clear as Bentley Residences in Sunny Isles Beach and Mercedes-Benz Places Miami in Brickell.
Bentley Residences is planned as a 62-story oceanfront tower at 18401 Collins Ave, Sunny Isles Beach, with 216 residences and a notably low four residences per floor. Its identity is both literal and experiential: cars travel via the Dezervator vehicle elevator system to private in-unit “sky garages,” and terraces are promoted with private pools as a standard feature.
The choice isn’t simply “which is better?” It’s between two definitions of luxury: the controlled calm of an oceanfront retreat and the energized convenience of a vertical neighborhood.
At-a-glance: what each project is, in plain terms
Bentley Residences Sunny Isles is engineered around privacy and ritual. The building’s design team includes Sieger Suarez Architects in collaboration with Bentley Motors’ design team. Residences are branded with Bentley model names such as Arnage, Azure, Bacalar, and Bentayga, reinforcing the automotive narrative throughout the ownership experience. Pricing is currently marketed from around $5.6M, with penthouse pricing exceeding $20M, subject to change.
Mercedes-Benz Places Miami reads more like a lifestyle district than a single-purpose residential tower. The design team includes SHoP Architects for architecture, with ODP Architecture & Design involved locally and Woods Bagot on interiors. Preconstruction listings commonly cite pricing starting around ~$550K for studios up to ~$4M for three-bedroom residences, subject to change.
Both projects are widely marketed with late-decade delivery targets, often cited around 2027, with timing varying by outlet and construction progress.
Location lens: Sunny Isles Beach vs. Brickell, and why it matters
Sunny Isles Beach trades on a specific kind of luxury: oceanfront immediacy, resort cadence, and the ability to disengage. If you already collect experiences across the coast, the appeal is its simplicity-arrive, exhale, and let the Atlantic set the tempo. Buyers cross-shopping newer coastal product often also look at Jade Signature Sunny Isles Beach for its modern, design-forward positioning and at Turnberry Ocean Club Sunny Isles for a club-oriented take on oceanfront living.
Brickell is different. It’s about proximity to dining, finance, and the city’s daily velocity. Mercedes-Benz Places underscores that emphasis by leaning into an urban lifestyle and tying its positioning to park integration and adjacency. If your Miami is meetings, galleries, and dinners that start late and end later, Brickell isn’t a compromise. It’s the point.
A useful litmus test is your default commute. In Sunny Isles, the day is planned around driving north-south. In Brickell, the day is planned around being already there.
Arrival and privacy: the most decisive differentiator
Bentley Residences makes the arrival sequence part of the product. The Dezervator vehicle elevator system is designed to bring cars up to private in-unit sky garages. For many buyers, that isn’t a novelty-it’s a privacy strategy: fewer touchpoints, fewer shared corridors, and an ownership experience that begins the moment you leave street level.
The tower’s ultra-low-density plan, promoted at four residences per floor, reinforces the point. Low density typically translates to calmer elevator banks, more controlled common areas, and a quieter social footprint. In a market where many luxury towers are increasingly amenitized and active, Bentley’s concept reads as deliberately insular.
Mercedes-Benz Places aims for a different kind of arrival: brand-forward, highly programmed, and integrated into a mixed-use environment. With 791 residences, it is inherently more communal. Privacy comes from design and management, not scarcity. For some buyers, that’s a feature rather than a drawback-a larger community can support deeper amenity programming and a more energetic residential culture.
Residences and lifestyle programming: what you are really buying
Bentley Residences’ interior narrative is built around personal space. Public materials highlight an extensive amenity and hospitality-style program, but the headline remains the residence itself: private pools on terraces promoted as standard, plus the visceral luxury of having your car as part of the home. The unit plan branding with Bentley model names reinforces a curated, theme-consistent experience.
The project also announced a resident-only restaurant concept, Proper English, led by chef Todd English. At its best, that kind of private dining becomes more than convenience-it becomes a social anchor that feels exclusive because it is, by design, for residents.
Mercedes-Benz Places leans into urban utility: pools, fitness and wellness, co-working or library-style spaces, and brand experiences geared to a live-work-play cadence. The mixed-use framework matters here. When a development also includes office space and a hotel component, the energy and service expectations often shift toward a campus-like, hospitality-adjacent standard.
For buyers who want a quieter, home-centric lifestyle, Bentley’s product narrative is direct. For buyers who want their building to function as a micro-neighborhood, Mercedes-Benz Places is designed to deliver.
Pricing posture and buyer profile: reading the range correctly
The marketed pricing gap is significant. Bentley Residences is positioned in the ultra-luxury band, with pricing starting around $5.6M and penthouses exceeding $20M, subject to change. That implies a buyer prioritizing trophy attributes, privacy, and statement features-and willing to pay for rarity in an oceanfront corridor.
Mercedes-Benz Places is marketed across a broader spectrum, with commonly cited entry pricing around ~$550K for studios and up to ~$4M for three bedrooms, subject to change. This creates multiple buyer archetypes under one roof: end users who want Brickell convenience, pied-a-terre buyers, and those seeking a more approachable on-ramp to a globally recognized brand in a new-build format.
Neither posture is inherently superior. It simply means your “risk” and “reward” logic should align with the pricing structure. A rarer, higher-ticket building can feel more insulated from day-to-day market noise, while a larger, more accessible building can support liquidity through a broader future buyer pool.
Brand credibility in Miami: precedent and positioning
Miami has already validated the automotive-branded tower concept through Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach, a precedent frequently referenced in the conversation around newer branded high-rises. Bentley Residences fits that lineage through a similarly car-centric ownership ritual and developer association widely tied to that earlier model.
Mercedes-Benz Places, meanwhile, works from a different premise: the brand as a design system applied at district scale. It’s less about the vehicle as an extension of the home and more about modernism, materials, and a forward-leaning lifestyle narrative embedded in an urban plan.
If you want an easy mental comparison inside Brickell’s premium pipeline, it can be helpful to consider how other luxury developments frame the neighborhood’s identity, such as Una Residences Brickell for a bayfront, design-led approach and The Residences at 1428 Brickell for a more rarefied, high-end residential stance.
How to choose: a buyer’s decision framework
Start with these four questions.
First, do you want your home to be the destination, or the launchpad? Bentley Residences is built for the former: oceanfront, private, and ritualized. Mercedes-Benz Places is built for the latter: central, connected, and layered with daily-use amenities.
Second, what kind of privacy do you actually mean? If it means fewer neighbors and fewer shared moments, a low-density tower with four residences per floor is a tangible advantage. If it means controlled access within a larger community, Brickell’s mixed-use model can still feel private-just differently.
Third, how important is the arrival sequence? If the idea of bringing your car into your home changes your definition of comfort, Bentley’s Dezervator and sky garages aren’t a gimmick. They are the product. If your arrival is more about being steps from work, dining, and park-adjacent public space, Mercedes-Benz Places aligns with that priority.
Fourth, how do you intend to use the residence? A primary residence demands a predictable daily rhythm, while a second home often optimizes for ease and escape. Sunny Isles Beach tends to reward the latter. Brickell often rewards the former.
FAQs
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Where is Bentley Residences located? It is planned at 18401 Collins Ave in Sunny Isles Beach, directly on the oceanfront.
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How tall is Bentley Residences and how many homes are planned? The plan calls for a 62-story tower with 216 residences.
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What is the “Dezervator” at Bentley Residences? It is a vehicle elevator system designed to bring cars up to private in-unit sky garages.
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Are private pools limited to penthouses at Bentley Residences? No. Private pools on terraces are promoted as a standard feature for residences.
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What is Mercedes-Benz Places Miami and where is it planned? It is a Mercedes-Benz Places branded mixed-use project planned in Brickell, Miami.
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How tall is Mercedes-Benz Places Miami and how many residences are planned? It is publicly described as a 67-story development with 791 residences.
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Who is on the design team for Mercedes-Benz Places Miami? The team includes SHoP Architects, with ODP involved locally and Woods Bagot on interiors.
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How do the marketed starting prices compare? Mercedes-Benz Places is commonly marketed from about ~$550K, while Bentley is marketed from about $5.6M, both subject to change.
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Do both projects target similar delivery timeframes? Both are widely marketed with late-decade delivery targets, often cited around 2027, subject to change.
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Which project suits a quieter, more private lifestyle? Bentley Residences is designed around low density and a private arrival experience, while Mercedes-Benz Places is designed as a larger urban community.
When you're ready to tour or underwrite the options, connect with MILLION Luxury.
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