Special Report North Beach Part Two: Altos Del Mar & North Bay Village with Ruthie Assouline
Only Beachfront Homes in Miami, North Bay Village, & the Broker Making the Mega Market
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When I talk about “North Beach,” I’m talking about the whole organism, North Beach, Normandy Isles, and North Bay Village. These three zones form the real North Beach Redevelopment, each one playing a role in the neighborhood’s evolution from forgotten to inevitable.
In Part One we talking condos, hotels, and retail, but we left out one of the most hidden and spectacular parts of North Beach, the only beachfront private residential homes in all of Miami Beach (and South of Golden Beach) that exist, Altos Del Mar. Twenty mansions. It’s the Miami equivalent of discovering that Dune Road in Southampton only had 20 houses, no one knew about them, and no new houses could be built anywhere else on the beach in the Hamptons. Altos Del Mar is a different universe, quiet luxury, private homes, in a gated community, with architectural pedigree.
To the west, Normandy Isles is becoming the landing zone for everyone priced out of what they want on Miami Beach proper, but unwilling to give up the dream. A waterfront home in Normandy could be half what a waterfront home on Sunset Islands or Venetian could cost, but not for long. Young families who want to live “on the beach,” have complimentary access to a community country club, bike to the water, and still be part of the Miami Beach lifestyle are moving here. The Town Center will take time to fully evolve, but the early signals are unmistakable: Marc’s Artisanal, Silverlake Bistro, and rising gems like Normandy Gormandy. Normandy is the next chapter of Miami Beach, local, livable, and on the rise.
And then there’s North Bay Village, the true breakout submarket, the Greenpoint to North Beach’s Williamsburg. A little quieter, a little cooler, and perfectly positioned for a full-scale reinvention. This island has everything going for it: 360-degree water views, brand-new mega-developments, and a central location that puts you ten minutes from Miami Beach, Midtown, Design District, or Bal Harbour. What’s coming is nothing short of transformational, new towers, new marinas, new restaurants, a new skyline. When complete North Bay Village will be a modern waterfront with amazing promenades and modern buildings, kind of like Miami’s Battery Park City.
Together, North Beach on the sand, Normandy Isles community center, and North Bay Village a mega development at the center of the causeway, these three zones form the true future North Beach. What’s coming will redefine Miami Beach residential living.
Altos del Mar, the Only Beachfront Homes in Miami or Miami Beach
Altos, this little strip of beachfront paradise almost didn’t exist. Back in the mid-2000s, the City of Miami Beach nearly bought out the entire subdivision to turn it into public beachfront. The crash of 2008 halted those plans and accidentally preserved one of Miami’s most irreplaceable neighborhoods. The irony? What the city almost bulldozed is now becoming the most coveted stretch of residential coastline in the world, with its third $35+ million listing hitting the market last week. When three mega listings hit a neighborhood of 19 homes, that’s not a fluke, that’s a signal flare.
The Only Beachfront Estate for Sale in Miami Beach
The history gives it even more mystique. Originally platted in 1919 by the Tatum Brothers, Miami’s early real-estate visionaries, Altos del Mar stretched from 75th to 83rd Street, with Airoso Way (renamed Atlantic Way in 1929) as its spine. These homes were among the very first oceanfront single-family properties. The Rat Pack famously posted up here in its heyday. Even the name, “Altos del Mar,” meaning “Highlands of the Sea,” hints at its elevated perch over the Atlantic, a rare bit of topography in a town obsessed with sea-level.
By 1987, the area was officially recognized as a historic district, the only historic single-family oceanfront district in all of Miami Beach. Today, it’s a gated, ultra-private enclave with 24-hour security and only 19 homes on the sand. Inventory is microscopic. Demand is global. And the math is getting obvious: there is nothing else like this anywhere in Miami Beach, and there never will be again.
Record sales, like the $37.5M oceanfront compound that closed in 2021, have already set the comp structure. But what’s coming now as North Beach comes alive will be different. A once-sleepy locals-only pocket is becoming is emerging not just as North Beach’s crown jewel, but as one of the most explosive real-estate plays on the entire East Coast. If you know Miami, you know this enclave is about to have its moment.
North Bay Village: The Reimagining of a Waterfront Micro-City
North Bay Village is no longer the in-between. It’s becoming the destination. For decades, these three islands were defined by fragmented zoning, outdated planning, and a patchwork of low-value buildings that never matched the potential of the bay beneath them. But that era is ending fast. Today, North Bay Village is undergoing a full-scale reinvention—one that transforms a once-mismanaged stretch of waterfront into a dense, ambitious, vertical micro-city. Sunbeam’s multi-acre Special Area Plan rewrites the rules. Continuum brings real luxury and walkability. Ritz-Carlton puts NBV on the global map. Pagani makes it collectible. And a wave of mixed-use, marina-front, and lifestyle-led projects fills in the rest. This isn’t incremental growth. It’s the correction of decades of under-zoning, and the birth of a new skyline rising from the middle of the bay.
Sunbeam Properties: Isle of Dreams (Channel 7 Site Transformation)
One-Line: A skyline-defining 39-story tower that initiates Sunbeam’s multi-acre reinvention of North Bay Village.
Location: 1400 79th Street Causeway
Developer: Sunbeam Properties (Andy Ansin)
Unit Count: 246 residences
Architect: Arquitectonica
Features: Nearly 100,000 SF of amenities; 23,000+ SF retail + dining; 3 waterfront restaurants; new bayfront pedestrian path
Status: In planning; shoreline review underway; groundbreaking expected ~2027
Community Benefit: New public waterfront access, major infrastructure investment, and the catalytic anchor for the island’s transformation
Our Take: This is the project that resets the scale, ambition, and identity of North Bay Village. The new baseline. Everything else gets compared to this.
The Bigger Picture: In a landmark 2022 approval, Sunbeam secured a Special Area Plan allowing up to 7.3 million square feet of long-term development across approximately 14 acres, including nearly 1,900 residential units, 300 hotel keys, and major office and retail components. Heights on the island can now reach 450–650 feet, unlocking a true skyline. Sunbeam also committed to public benefits such as open space, infrastructure upgrades, bayfront access, and temporary facilities to support municipal services during redevelopment.
The Ansin philosophy is long-view: while condos would offer quicker returns, the family is oriented toward building generational assets, focusing heavily on apartments, recurring income, and lasting neighborhood value.
Continuum North Bay Village: Continuum Waterfront District
One-Line: A branded luxury residential district reshaping Kennedy Causeway.
Status: Early planning (Phase One under construction)
Developer: Continuum Company
Community Benefit: A walkable, bayfront lifestyle district
Our Take: Just like the Eichners did in South of Fifth decades ago, Continuum entering NBV is a validation moment, real luxury finally arrives. They will also be taking out the Palm Tree Club, the former Shuckers, so no more overpriced chicken finger towers.
Continuum Company has unveiled the Continuum Waterfront District, a multi-phase mixed-use neighborhood across three acres of bayfront. Recently approved unanimously by the Commission, the plan transforms Kennedy Causeway into a pedestrian-friendly environment with two Continuum Club towers, a boutique hotel, new restaurants and bars, a revitalized marina, and activated wellness-driven public spaces.
Phase One, Continuum Club & Residences, is already rising and nearly 50% sold. Over 60,000 SF of amenities includes a waterfront pool deck, longevity and wellness center, marina, yacht and beach club membership perks, and even a built-in Dorsia dining membership.
Ritz Carlton: Related & Macklowe, 8000 East Drive
One-Line: Ultra-luxury twin-tower landmark signaling NBV’s leap into true high-end living.
Status: Approved; two 43-story towers planned.
Developers: Related Group & Macklowe Properties
Unit Count: 364 residences across two towers, averaging over 2,100 SF per unit.
Community Benefit: New waterfront park, a 42-slip marina, improved infrastructure, and a massive long-term economic lift.
Our Take: A market-defining project. This is the scale and pedigree that permanently shifts NBV into the luxury tier.
Pagani Residences: A Super Car Branded Ultra Luxury Building
One-Line: A boutique branded tower infused with Pagani’s supercar design language.
Status: Pre-construction; targeting 2027 delivery.
Developer: Riviera Horizons (Mikael Hamaoui) in partnership with Pagani Arte
Unit Count: 70 residences, including two ultra-luxury penthouse duplexes.
Our Take: Pure emotional luxury. A design-driven statement piece that finally gives the island a true halo product.
And by the way the Penthouse Comes With a Supercar
Pagani isn’t building a condo, they’re building a collectible. True to the brand’s supercar DNA, the tower’s two penthouse duplexes come with something unattainable: a bespoke Pagani hypercar, engineered exclusively for the buyer and matched to the residence’s design palette.
The homes themselves are just as outrageous—ultra-limited, museum-grade interiors inspired by Horacio Pagani’s obsession with detail, sculptural stairs, carbon-fiber elements, and panoramic bayfront glass meant to feel like the cockpit of a Huayra.
This isn’t real estate. This is a drivable art piece with a penthouse attached.
MG Developer x Prosper Group
One-Line: 147 luxury condos + retail and restaurants across two waterfront parcels.
Status: Planning (Groundbreaking 2027; Delivery 2029)
Developers: MG Developer & Prosper Group
Community Benefit: Active waterfront + new community hub
Our Take: A smart, timely play that adds density and character right as the market hits its inflection point.
Shoma Bay
One-Line: A 333-unit mixed-use community with hotel, retail, and marina-oriented living.
Status: Under development; vertical construction now moving after multiple schedule negotiations.
Developer: Shoma Group
Community Benefit: Adds a long-awaited grocery anchor (Publix), significant retail, and improved causeway walkability.
Our Take: A major lifestyle anchor that will shape how people actually live and shop in NBV, though it’s been a journey to get it off the ground. The developer negotiated multiple extensions with the village to solidify permits. As part of the deal, Shoma committed significant financial contributions to North Bay Village for public improvements. Rumor has it that the Publix family is getting tired of the delays.
Ruthie Assouline, the Woman Behind Miami’s Most Discreet Mega Listings
When you talk about record-setting real estate in Miami and New York, one name shows up again and again: Ruthie Assouline. She has quietly, and consistently, been behind some of the most expensive and culturally significant trades in both cities, from Manhattan townhomes to Miami beachfront trophy estates. But nowhere is her impact more visible right now than in Altos del Mar, the crown jewel of North Beach and the only enclave of true beachfront mansions anywhere in Miami Beach south of Golden Beach.
Ruthie has personally closed the two biggest sales in the history of this ultra-rare strip, $37.5M and $36.5M, and now she has brought to market the most expensive listing North Beach has ever seen: a $40 million oceanfront estate, the only true single-family home directly on the sand currently available in all of Miami Beach.
The Only Beachfront Estate for Sale in Miami Beach
This is the kind of scarcity that defines generational value. Adjacent to Indian Creek, surrounded by billions of dollars of wealth, and sitting on land that will never be recreated, this is more than a listing—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime asset.
And there’s no one better to unpack where North Beach is heading, what buyers are thinking, and why this moment feels different than Ruthie Assouline. Here is our conversation.
What is your name and what do you do?
Ruthie Assouline, Real Estate Advisor at Douglas Elliman
How long have you lived in Miami?
I was born and raised in Miami, then lived in Zurich and New York City for nearly 15 years before moving back.
Where do you live?
In Miami, but I go back and forth to NYC.
What’s your morning routine?
Check my phone, have a coffee and put out any fires before starting the day.
How do you take your coffee?
I LOVE instant coffee with a splash of milk.
What’s a hidden gem in Miami that more people should know about?
Altos Del Mar
What do you love most about Miami?
The international and Latin flair. The incredible restaurants, vibrant culture, great shopping, warm weather, safe streets, business-friendly environment, and the perfect balance of life.
How do you share your creativity?
Through unique listings that stand out from the rest.
What personal experience has shaped your creative journey the most?
The sale of Madonna’s former mansion for $29 million that was owned by a millionaire dog.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
Start sooner and don’t be afraid to shoot for the moon. Go after it all!
How do you define your success?
When your name becomes synonymous with results and you’re the go-to for luxury properties. Real success, once you’ve achieved that, is being able to direct your life in a way that’s humble, simple, and happy.
What do you believe?
That the basics of life and the Ten Commandments are fundamental principles to live by - and that it all comes down to simply being a good person.
What’s your happy place?
Home.
Do you have a favorite quote?
Think good and it will be good.
The Next Miami, On Our Terms
In a way, what’s happening in North Beach was always inevitable. You can’t have this much ocean, this much location, and this much connective tissue between billion-dollar neighborhoods and expect it to stay forgotten. The capital was always going to come. The cranes were always going to arrive. The only real question was how.
It could have been more of the same, another over-programmed, over-branded slice of Miami Beach where locals feel like tourists in their own city. But that’s not what North Beach wants to be, and it’s not what it’s becoming. This place still feels more genuine than South Beach, more residential, more human. It’s where people actually live, raise kids, walk their dogs, play tennis, argue about schools, and know the guy who runs the café on the corner.
North Beach and its orbit, Altos del Mar, Normandy Isles, North Bay Village, are shaping up to be the bridge between old Miami Beach and whatever comes next. A place where you can still find a neighborhood croissant, a $5 cortado, and a $40 million house on the sand within a few blocks of each other. A place where billion-dollar projects share a ZIP code with 30-year institutions and new family-run spots, and somehow it all makes sense.
That’s the opportunity right now: to let this inevitable wave of development build something better, not just something bigger. To create a version of Miami that doesn’t erase what was here, but layers on top of it. The next generation of our great city is coming right through North Beach, only this time, it happens on our terms.
Keep your SPF high and your standards higher.
See you at the beach.
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