Private Marinas in Miami & Coconut Grove: Condos Where Boaters Dock at Home
Quick Summary
- Miami condos with private resident marinas
- Coconut Grove island and boutique dockage
- Brickell and Downtown towers with yacht slips
- Edgewater bayfront living for active boaters
- Key questions for buyers comparing marina condos
Private marinas and the new Miami waterfront lifestyle
For many of Miami’s most discerning residents, time on the water is not a weekend hobby but the organizing principle of daily life. Biscayne Bay, the Miami River and the Intracoastal create a rare urban archipelago where business meetings, school runs and dinner reservations can all be bracketed by a sunrise cruise or a twilight crossing to Fisher Island. As inventories of true waterfront estates tighten, a new generation of condominiums has begun to answer a simple question: what if the yacht could live as close to the sky residence as the car?
The result is a quiet but powerful shift in what "trophy property" means in the city. Private marinas and controlled access dockage, once the preserve of yacht clubs and single family compounds, are now being built directly into Miami’s most ambitious residential towers. For owners, this is less about spectacle than about logistics: direct water access, secured slips, professional staff and the ability to lock up both apartment and vessel with equal ease.
MILLION Luxury has been closely tracking this evolution. Nowhere is it more visible than in the neighborhoods that define high end bayfront living: Coconut Grove, Brickell, Downtown and Edgewater. Across these districts, a select group of buildings has elevated dockage from an afterthought to a defining amenity, turning the idea of a home marina into a new benchmark for South Florida luxury.
Coconut Grove: island marinas and boutique dockage
Coconut Grove has long been the spiritual home of sailing in Miami, with yacht clubs, regattas and informal racing shaping the culture long before the skyline arrived. Within the broader Coconut Grove submarket, sometimes even stylized as Coconut-grove in planning briefs, the demand from boat owners has shifted from simply being near Dinner Key Marina to securing a private berth directly under their residence.
On a private twenty one acre island just offshore, Vita at Grove Isle distills that wish list into a single address. With only sixty five residences arranged to frame wide Biscayne Bay panoramas, the development’s deep water marina is conceived as an extension of the great room rather than a separate facility. Slips are anticipated to handle yachts in the sixty to one hundred ten foot range, with generous beam, meaningful draft and a clear run to open water. For owners, that translates into leaving the apartment, crossing a landscaped arrival court and stepping onto a crewed vessel within minutes.
Beyond capacity, the way Vita at Grove Isle is programmed speaks directly to how serious boaters actually live. A dedicated dockmaster, concierge style support for provisioning and maintenance, and the absence of fixed bridges between the island and the Atlantic work together to make last minute runs to the Keys or the Bahamas genuinely practical. Tennis, padel and resort level pool decks complete the island narrative, but for many residents the defining luxury is simply having their yacht in sight, protected and ready.
At a more intimate scale on the mainland shoreline, The Fairchild Coconut Grove has become a favorite among owners who prefer a boutique building but still expect meaningful dockage. With just twenty six residences and a warm modernist aesthetic by architect Max Strang, the property offers a compact residents only marina where slips are tightly held and occasionally available for purchase. Larger motor yachts may share the dock with center consoles and sailboats, while a floating platform makes it easy to launch kayaks and paddleboards directly into Biscayne Bay. For owners who split their time between multiple homes, the ability to keep both residence and boat under one highly attentive staff is often the deciding factor.
Brickell and Downtown: skyline towers with true yacht facilities
If Coconut Grove is defined by sailing culture, Brickell is Miami’s answer to a vertical Monaco. Yet along this corridor of finance towers and glittering condominiums, very few properties offer genuine marina infrastructure. Those that do have become magnets for buyers whose professional lives demand a global city but whose lifestyle starts at the helm.
On the southern edge of the district, Una Residences Brickell expresses its nautical inspiration in both silhouette and amenity programming. The tower’s sculpted profile, conceived to echo classic Italian yacht design, frames a curated collection of bayfront slips dedicated to residents. While configurations vary, the intention is to cater to sport cruisers and mid size yachts, allowing owners to move seamlessly from sky residence to captain’s chair. Combined with a private Key Biscayne beach club and a full wellness program, Una creates a rare hybrid of resort, city apartment and yacht club.
Further north along the bayfront, St. Regis Residences Brickell brings the hospitality DNA of the St. Regis brand to a purely residential setting, including an owners marina conceived as an extension of its butler led service. While details on the exact number and size of slips remain closely controlled, the principle is clear: residents should be able to reserve dockage in much the same way they reserve a private dining salon, with staff coordinating everything from refueling to onboard entertaining.
Where the Miami River meets Biscayne Bay, Baccarat Residences Brickell is redefining what a city marina can be. A substantial stretch of private riverfront dockage is envisioned, complemented by a residents only yacht and water taxi service operated under the Baccarat lifestyle umbrella. For an owner, that might mean using a personal vessel one day and the building’s house yacht the next, all without navigating public marinas. It is waterfront mobility curated with the same precision as the tower’s interiors.
Just across the channel, Aston Martin Residences Downtown Miami has already established itself as a landmark for those operating at true superyacht scale. A deep water marina running the length of the site offers significant linear dockage and draft, positioned to handle notably larger vessels than most residential projects can contemplate. Security, crew services and concierge level coordination are woven into the same service culture that defines the Aston Martin name, allowing an owner to treat a two hundred foot yacht with the same ease as a grand tourer in the porte cochere.
Edgewater and beyond: the bayfront revival for boat owners
North of Downtown, the neighborhood of Edgewater has transformed from low rise warehouses into a string of glass towers that read like a continuous balcony over Biscayne Bay. Here, the projects that stand out to experienced boaters are the few that treat the water as more than a backdrop. The Edgewater shoreline is relatively protected, which makes it especially attractive for residents who run smaller yachts, day boats and water toys.
Aria Reserve Miami, a pair of slender towers billed as among the tallest waterfront twins in the country, uses its expansive bay frontage to great advantage. A residents marina and water sports dock give owners the option to keep a personal boat directly on the property while also having building supplied paddleboards, kayaks and inflatables ready on demand. For residents in high floor sky homes, the ability to look down at their own slip and plan an impromptu crossing before lunch is a quiet but potent luxury.
A few blocks away, Villa Miami takes the opposite approach to scale, with a deliberately limited number of residences and an equally discreet private dock. Here, the focus is on creating a true bayfront villa experience translated into a vertical format. A small number of carefully allocated slips serve owners who value privacy and predictability over a bustling marina scene. For a buyer used to captaining a sleek forty foot cruiser, having a single dedicated berth at the base of the tower often matters more than shared amenities.
These Miami addresses sit within a broader regional movement. Across the Intracoastal in Aventura and Hallandale, in Bay Harbor Islands and at private island enclaves such as Prive at Island Estates, developers are integrating marinas, yacht clubs and water sports platforms directly into residential master plans. Newer branded projects, from Pagani Residences in North Bay Village to resort style compounds anchored by championship golf and yacht facilities, are all effectively converging on the same insight: for the modern South Florida buyer, land and sea should function as a single, continuous home.
FAQs
What defines a true private marina in a Miami condominium context?
For most buyers at this level, a true private marina means controlled access slips reserved primarily or exclusively for residents, with professional dock staff, security protocols and thoughtful circulation between residences and berths. Some buildings, such as Vita at Grove Isle and Aria Reserve Miami, focus on owner operated yachts and water toys, while others, including Aston Martin Residences Downtown Miami, are engineered to accommodate significantly larger vessels with deep water drafts and generous linear frontage.
How large a yacht can I realistically dock at these properties?
Capacities vary widely by site. Boutique projects may be designed for boats in the thirty five to sixty foot range, while larger islands and riverfront sites can often handle yachts approaching or exceeding one hundred feet. Select addresses, notably Aston Martin Residences Downtown Miami, cater to substantially larger superyacht profiles with deep water conditions. Exact parameters change over time, so serious buyers typically request updated marina schematics and consult captains or marine surveyors before committing.
Are slips at these marinas deeded, leased or assigned by the association?
Structures differ from building to building. Some projects offer a limited number of deeded slips that can trade alongside residences, others structure dockage as long term licenses, and a few maintain association controlled marinas where slips are assigned based on residence type and availability. Understanding the legal framework, priority rules and ongoing assessments for dock infrastructure is as important as reviewing the condo documents themselves.
What due diligence should a boater perform before purchasing in a marina building?
Beyond evaluating the residence, experienced owners review tidal ranges, channel depths, bridge clearances, wake patterns and hurricane protocols for the marina. It is also wise to understand staffing levels, fuel and pump out options, security coverage and how visiting friends’ boats are handled. For buyers comparing Brickell, Coconut Grove and Edgewater addresses, the conversation often comes down to how quickly a captain can reach open water from the slip and how resilient the infrastructure is during storm season.
How can I identify the right marina equipped building for my family and fleet?
Matching vessel, lifestyle and neighborhood is a highly individual exercise. Some families prioritize Coconut-grove sailing heritage, others prefer Brickell global business connectivity or Edgewater creative energy. A specialist advisor who lives in this world daily can map slip sizes, depths and amenity programs against the needs of your specific yacht or fleet. For a confidential, strategy led discussion of current opportunities, connect with MILLION Luxury for tailored guidance.
Million Luxury
Million Luxury
Welcome to MILLION, an exclusive luxury real estate boutique nestled in the heart of South Florida’s most desirable locations. Specializing in high-end properties, we provide a sanctuary for discerning clients including top Fortune 500 executives, affluent families, celebrities, and professional athletes from across the globe. At MILLION, we understand the unique demands of our elite clientele and offer a seamless blend of confidentiality and personalized attention. Our commitment to privacy is unwavering; we ensure that every transaction and interaction is handled with the utmost discretion and according to stringent confidentiality protocols. Our concierge service embodies the pinnacle of white-glove care, offering tailored assistance that transcends traditional real estate support.
