WGM Exclusive: 4 Charles is Coming to Miami and Sooooooo Much More
Watson Island is Sold, Gold Standard goes to Sunset Harbor, & the Dolphins Go Down
On My Mind: Miami, Blurred Lines
Miami has always belonged to those who blur the lines. Between work and play. Hustle and pleasure. Discipline and joy. It’s a city where ambition wears linen, where ideas are born over coffee and finished over cocktails, where movement itself becomes a form of mastery. The people who shape this place aren’t chasing balance—they’re chasing a life worth living, wherever the day takes them. And in Miami, that pursuit rarely looks like work.
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Beach Business
4 Charles Poised to Take Over Swan’s Former Home in the Design District
Miami, meet what will be your next great restaurant obsession.
Miami Greenlight’s Sale of Iconic Site for $38M on Watson Island
Miami just approved a controversial $29 million waterfront land sale
The Rent is To High: Coconut Grove Retail Rents Are Going Nuclear
Miami loves shiny new things, but shiny doesn’t pay the rent.
A $500M Live-Local Design District Power Play
Helm just dropped plans for a 36-story, $500M tower in the Design District
What’s Not Good: The Dolphins, Eliminated from Playoff Contention
We did what few teams could in 2025: we made Aaron Rodgers look good.
Hospitality: Local Insider
Bill Spector’s Gold Standard Sushi, relocates to Sunset Harbor
Taking over one of the most beautiful, and cursed, restaurant spaces in Miami.
Real Estate: Luxe Listings We Love
The Major Penthouse lists for $55M, Kitchen Design by Mario Carbone
12,700-square-foot triplex in Edgewater and reads less like a condo, more like a private members club in the sky.
WHAT’S GOOD MIAMI EXCLUSIVE
4 Charles to Take Over Swan’s Former Home in the Design District
Miami, meet what will be your next great restaurant obsession.
Multiple industry sources tell What’s Good Miami that 4 Charles Prime Rib, the legendary restaurant from Brendan Sodikoff, is poised to take over the space that formerly housed Swan in the Miami Design District. Swan — originally created by David Grutman and Pharrell Williams — has since closed, clearing the way for what would be one of the most consequential restaurant moves Miami has seen in years. If all goes according to plan, the opening is targeted for 2026.
For the uninitiated, 4 Charles is less a restaurant and more a cult institution. Born in Chicago, it became famous for doing a few things better than almost anyone in America — most notably a burger widely considered the best in the country and a prime rib that has achieved near-mythic status. No trends. No reinvention. Just relentless precision, indulgence, and atmosphere.
Its legend only grew when the concept expanded to the West Village in New York, where reservations became even more impossible and its reputation reached a new stratosphere. In a city overflowing with hype, 4 Charles stood out by being unapologetically classic, dark rooms, serious martinis, and food that speaks for itself.
If this move materializes, it signals something bigger than a restaurant opening. It marks a seminal moment in Miami’s dining culture, from moment-driven concepts to enduring institutions. The Design District, long known for fashion and flash, may be about to gain one of the most respected dining rooms in the country.
Bravo, Craig Robins. Bravo. You’ve done it again.
BEACH BUSINESS
Waterfront Math: Miami Greenlight’s a $38M Watson Island Deal
Miami just approved a $29 million land sale on Watson Island — and not everyone’s convinced it was a steal for the city.
In a 4–1 vote, the city commission greenlit the sale of a 3.2-acre waterfront parcel to a joint venture between BH3 Management and Merrimac Ventures, with another $9M tagged on for public benefits, bringing the total to $38M. Voters had already approved a minimum $25M price last year, clearing the legal runway.
Here’s where it gets spicy:
A city-ordered appraisal valued the land between $257M and $342M — numbers the developers (and some real estate pros) say are wildly inflated due to a 75-year ground lease that limits the land’s true value.
The project, dubbed Watson Harbour, would bring a hotel, luxury condos, retail, offices, and a revamped public waterfront promenade, while keeping the mega-yacht marina intact.
One commissioner voted no. The rest said let’s move on.
The takeaway: Miami is choosing momentum over perfection — but when waterfront land trades at a fraction of its appraised value, the question isn’t whether something got built… it’s who really won the deal.
The Rent is To High: Coconut Grove Retail Rents Are Going Nuclear
Coconut Grove might be pricing itself out of the room.
At The Real Deal Conference, Sam Nazarian said what everyone’s been whispering: rents are hitting $100+ per square foot, and pretending that’s normal is a fantasy. When rent creeps toward 20% of costs, you’re not running a restaurant — you’re gambling every night.
The fallout? $20M buildouts already giving keys back. Spaces that looked untouchable a year ago are getting flipped to operators who know the math.
Red Farm, Key Club, Planta Queen, Sereia, and Harry’s Pizza and more to come.
Why do restauranteurs from other cities think it makes sense to drop huge on Miami build outs? Either they are laundering money or they are just dumb. It doesn’t make sense.
Is the Grove still worth the numbers… or are we about to see a lot more keys on landlords’ desks?
A $500M Live-Local Design District Power Play
Helm Equities just dropped plans for The Helm, a 36-story, $500M tower in the Design District mixing 162 luxury condos with 116 workforce rentals, all powered by Florida’s Live Local Act.
The hack: by making 40% of units workforce housing, Helm unlocks density bonuses and faster approvals in one of Miami’s priciest neighborhoods. Luxury meets policy jiu-jitsu.
Designed by Cube3, the project adds office + retail to the mix, pushing the Design District deeper into true mixed-use territory.
Why it matters:
This could become the blueprint — high-end towers leveraging Live Local to blend stable, incentive-backed rentals with premium condo sales.
Miami’s next era? Hybrid buildings where affordability and luxury coexist — by design.
What’s Not Good: The Dolphins, Eliminated from Playoff Contention
We did what few teams can still pull off in 2025: we made Aaron Rodgers look good.
That’s how this miserable season ends — not with hope, not with growth, but with a national reminder that the Dolphins are stuck in football purgatory. Bad coaching. Injured stars. Soft moments when it mattered. All of it wrapped in the same familiar disappointment.
This team wasn’t unlucky.
It was poorly led.
The offense never evolved. The adjustments never came. And when things got hard — cold weather, pressure, real opponents — the Dolphins folded exactly on schedule. Again.
At this point, honesty is kindness: pay Tua to leave, fire McDaniel, and stop pretending tweaks will fix a broken foundation. This franchise needs a real leader — a Riley-esque, culture-setting, adult-in-the-room type who can build something that actually lasts.
Enough vibes.
Enough slogans.
Enough “next year.”
The takeaway: This wasn’t a disappointing ending — it was a necessary one. Burn it down, reset the standards, and try building something meaningful for once. Because whatever this was… was pathetic.
HOSPITALITY: LOCAL INSIDER
Bill Spector’s Gold Standard Sushi, relocates to Sunset Harbor
Bill Spector and Zach Mars have moved Gold Standard Sushi from The Bath Club to Sunset Harbor, quietly taking over one of the most beautiful, and most cursed, restaurant spaces in Miami.
The property formerly known as Le Basilic (and several other concepts before it) has now been split in three. Spector has claimed the jewel box: the stunning former private dining room, transforming it into an intimate omakase living room, warm, intentional, and exactly the kind of space great sushi deserves.
Outside, the garden has lived a parallel life as a Caracas Bakery pop-up since Art Basel, operating during the days on the weekends. Inside what remains, Le Basilic continues operating its middling French-Italian café.
But here’s the thing: Spector has good karma. And if anyone can exorcise the ghosts of this space, it’s him, armed with serious fish, thoughtful hospitality, and the kind of community driven concept Miami dining needs more of.
As for what happens to the rest of this wildly undervalued property? Still one of the biggest unanswered questions in Sunset Harbor.
REAL ESTATE: LUXE LISTINGS WE LOVE
Villa Miami Penthouse lists for $55M, Kitchen Design by Carbone?
For $55 million, I might ask Picasso Baby to design my kitchen and have Jony Ive sketch me a boat while we’re at it — but to each their own. This is Miami, and as we say, taste is not for sale.
That said, a $55M trophy penthouse just hit the market at Villa Miami, and it’s not pretending to be subtle.
The 12,700-square-foot triplex crowns the new Terra + One Thousand Group tower in Edgewater and reads less like a condo, more like a private members club in the sky. Interiors are by Charles & Co., led by former Soho House design chief Vicky Charles, with a kitchen designed by Mario Carbone — yes, that Carbone.
This is luxury built for hosting: a chef-grade show kitchen, hidden prep kitchen, wine cellar, marble bars, multiple terraces, and a bayfront infinity pool on the top level. Add marina access, helipad lounge privileges, spa-level amenities, and concierge service, and the message is clear: this isn’t about square footage, it’s about signal.
Zoom out and it matters. Miami’s ultra-luxury market isn’t just selling views anymore. It’s selling hospitality, brand, and lifestyle, borrowed straight from private clubs, five-star hotels, and celebrity dining.
At $55M, Villa Miami isn’t testing demand.
It’s betting the buyer already exists.
The takeaway: Miami’s top-end condos aren’t homes, they’re status assets, and Edgewater is officially in the big leagues.
Closing Thoughts: The Art of Living
When your labor feeds your leisure. When learning feels like play. When mind and body move in sync with the city’s rhythm. From the outside, it might look effortless, or indulgent. But those who know understand: this is what mastery looks like.
Always building. Always enjoying. Always doing both at once.
See you at the beach.
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For much less than the cost of your morning matcha, subscribe to get full access to the intel that matters. Cement your status as an insider and support your community. We love you Miami.
PS. You can write off your subscription, it’s a cost of doing business in the MIA.