You recycle, you love nature, you care for the environment, AND you're lucky enough to call South Florida’s beautiful landscapes home. Indeed, being able to do your part, even in the slightest of ways can be very gratifying, so why not live in a green building too?

In this blog, we’ll cover all you need to know about Miami’s eco-friendly projects, from the specifics about LEED certification – in case you’re looking to buy a LEED-certified condo in Miami, as well as a comprehensive list of buildings to choose from. Let’s go!

This article was last updated on September 5, 2023.

— First, What's LEED Certification?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and it has become the world's most popular green building rating system. Led by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council, the voluntary program rates a project's design and construction on using fewer resources, reducing negative impacts on the environment, decreasing lifecycle costs, and maximizing residents' health and well-being.

LEED uses a simple 110-point system based on factors like energy efficiency, water usage, indoor-outdoor air quality, choice of building materials, emissions, responsible land use, and/or access to public transportation systems. Based on the results, LEED certifications can be:

• Platinum: 80+ points 
• Gold: 60-79 points
• Silver: 50-59 points 
• Basic: 40-49 points

Famous LEED-certified buildings around the world include Willis Tower in Chicago, Taipei 101 in China, and the Empire State Building in New York. Neighborhoods can also be LEED-certified as proven by Miami’s own Design District! As you can see, living in a LEED-certified residence does its part for the environment without sacrificing any of the luxury. 

Among the 605 LEED-certified buildings that exist in Miami and Miami Beach, we’ve rounded up a comprehensive list of LEED-certified luxury condos in Miami so you can choose from the best of the best.

— Gold LEED-Certified Condos in Miami

Reach Brickell City Center

68 SE 6th Street, Brickell

LEED Score: 64

Miami's Reach Brickell City Center and its sister tower Rise (see below) are Miami's greenest condo buildings, scoring a Gold certification. The design team at Arquitectonica went the extra mile to protect and restore the building's natural surroundings and also created beautiful, open green spaces. The project uses recycled contents, regionally available materials, and certified wood only, and it also scores for water efficiency with a 40% reduction in usage and measures to preserve the purity of the natural water bed.

Rise Brickell City Center

88 SW 7th Street, Brickell

LEED Score: 64

Twinning on the ratings achieved by its sister tower, Rise shares the same level of eco-friendliness as Reach, with Arquitectonica using the same guidelines to replicate the Gold rating on this 43-story luxury tower. Like Reach, Rise residents can also breathe easy knowing the building has superior indoor air quality, ventilation systems, and the most emission-friendly construction products (paints, agrifiber products, etc.). The forward-thinking project is ozone-friendly, reducing its impact on climate change. Both towers also scored extra points because they're close to public transportation systems like Miami's Metromover and Metrobus.

57 Ocean 

5775 Collins Avenue, Mid Miami Beach

LEED Score: 60

Located in the LEED-certified city of Miami Beach and built in 2021, 57 Ocean is one of the most sustainable buildings in Miami, having achieved Gold status after scoring high marks for green energy innovation and optimized energy efficiency and performance for the building. It’s also a highly sustainable site, scoring well for things like rainwater management, light pollution reduction, and heat island management. It’s also a water-sensitive site, and the developers took many measures to maximize water efficiency for the entire building.

Grove at Grand Bay

2669 S. Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove

LEED Score: 60

Grove at Grand Bay's design partners restored and protected the building's lush natural environment and added extensive landscaping to create a park-like feel of greenery. Grove at Grand Bay was built with recycled products and regionally available materials, along with resourcefully managing construction waste. 

On the energy front, 35% of the building’s power is met from renewable energy sources, and it is also designed to deliver at least 40% water savings. Inside, air quality is top-notch, since low-emitting paints, coats, adhesives, etc. have been used throughout. Finally, its proximity to public transportation options and on-site bicycle storage facilities encourages residents to reduce their use of carbon-emitting cars.

The Crimson

601 NE 27th Street, Edgewater

LEED Score: 56

The Crimson impeccably balances modern comforts and environmental responsibility. Consciously engineered, the building features Nordic architecture and is LEED Gold certified, thanks to its high rankings in development density and community connectivity, its access to public transportation, and its use of recycled content and regional materials. The award-winning IDEA architects also use a Japanese climate control system known as VRTFM, which adjusts the flow of refrigerant air to cool interior spaces, optimizing energy efficiency. The Crimson also ranked highly for its reduction of water consumption and electric car charging stations.

— Silver LEED-Certified Condos in Miami

Paramount Miami Worldcenter

108 NE 9th Street, Downtown Miami

LEED Score: 54

The building’s innovative design by Elkus Manfredi Architects garnered it a great ranking, as well as the team’s use of recycled content and efficient construction waste management, efficient stormwater design, low-emitting materials, and maximization of open space. The building’s excellent walkability score and community connectivity, access to public transportation, and support for eco-friendly vehicles also enhance the livability of its residents.

Brickell Ten

1010 SW 2nd Ave., Brickell

LEED Score: 53

Silver LEED-certified, Brickell Ten's design team sourced regional materials, used recycled contents, and maximized open spaces for enhanced green areas. The team also made sure to use low-emitting paints and coatings for better indoor air quality. Living in this 22-story building will save you a commendable 24% in energy costs compared to regular condos. It's also designed to emit low to no ozone-depleting refrigerants, significantly reducing its contribution to climate change. Using water-saving strategies, the 155-unit building reduces its overall water consumption by 40%. Finally, residents have easy access to public transportation systems such as the Metromover, Metrobus, and even Tri-rail.

Biscayne Beach

2900 NE 7th Ave., Edgewater

LEED Score: 52

Biscayne Beach reused and redeveloped land that was previously brownfield. The team of WHLS Architects and celebrity designer Thom Filicia found luxury, regionally sourced materials, reduced water usage throughout by 35%, and selected only low-emitting adhesives, paints, flooring systems, composite wood, etc., making for healthier indoor air quality. The 399-unit tower is built to deliver 16% cost savings in consumption and power 35% of its electricity needs from renewable sources. With low to no ozone-depleting emissions and maximized open spaces for enhanced green cover, this luxury high-rise is as eco-conscious as it is amenity-rich.

The Surf Club

9011 Collins Avenue, Surfside

LEED Score: 52

The innovative design by architect Richard Meier as well as the site’s sustainability made it one of the newest and most luxurious LEED-certified buildings in Miami. It garnered additional points for its use of low-emitting, regional materials, eco-friendly construction, waste management, and maximization of open space. Residents throughout the Surf Club complex enjoy the 20-30% energy savings that come with living in a beachfront LEED-certified home, as well as a 35% reduction in water consumption.

1 Hotel and Homes

102 24th Street, South Beach

LEED Score: 51

Another beachfront LEED-certified luxury condos in Miami, one of the most significant feats the design team here achieved was reusing 75% of the 1970s building's walls, floors, and roofs. The team also maintained almost 50% of its nonstructural elements such as interior walls, doors, ceiling systems, etc. This helped reduce construction waste and conserve resources. On the energy front, the 16-story condo hotel provides 12-16% cost savings and a 35% reduction in water consumption due to the property's inherent efficiency. The design team has further made sure that the building's refrigerant emissions bear zero to no impact on the ozone layer, and indoor plants and greenery abound.

26 Edgewater

321 NE 26th Street, Edgewater

LEED Score: 50

A boutique Miami condo, 26 Edgewater is only 10 stories tall, so the fact that it is Silver LEED-certified shows the environmental commitment of the team of Modus Architects and Epicoutu Design to sustainable architecture. The project uses 35% less water, 35% of the electricity comes from renewable energy sources, and the building's emissions are not harmful to the ozone. Besides this, the design team used regionally sourced materials, recycled contents, and certified wood throughout, as well as low-emitting adhesives, paints, and coats, for better indoor air quality.

Broadstone at Brickell

255 SW 11th Street, Brickell 

LEED Score: 50

Built in 2016, this boutique condo has a walkability score of 92, a bikeable score of 84, and also meets the criteria for a Silver LEED certification thanks to the sustainability of the site, its community connectivity and access to public transportation, and the building’s support for the use of low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles. Residents at Broadstone can feel good about the 40% reduction in water consumption that the facility offers in comparison to other condo buildings. It also uses low-emitting paints and coatings and has ample daylight views to reduce energy usage and optimize the environment of the building’s interior areas.

Oceana Bal Harbour

10201 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour 

Score: 50 

Finished in 2017 to replace the famous Bal Harbour Club, this building by Arquitectonica gets most of its points because of its sustainable site, its community connectivity, easy access to public transportation, and support of alternate vehicles. It also reduces water usage and was commended for its innovative design.

The Residences at Miami Beach Edition

2901 Collins Avenue, Mid Miami Beach  

Score: 46

Part of the famed Edition hotel brand, The Residences at Miami Beach Edition features a Silver certification thanks to the sustainability of the site. Initially built in the 1950s, the restored structure was designed by architect John Pawson and scores high on the LEED scale thanks to its development density and community connectivity, as well as its access to public transport systems, and support of low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles.

Besides the aforementioned buildings, One Park Grove, located in Coconut Grove, and Paramount Bay, located in Downtown Miami, are in the process of acquiring their LEED certification.

— Miami's Most Eco-friendly Pre-Construction Condos & New Developments

While most new Miami condos must now have at least basic LEED certification, some pre-construction projects in Miami are going the extra mile to be leaders in eco-friendly and sustainable design. Here are some new Miami projects that definitely stand out.

The Residences at 1428 Brickell

1428 Brickell Ave, Brickell 

Expected Completion: 2026

Developer Ytech brings Miami its FIRST solar-powered condo tower! Lining the tower’s west-facing façade will be 500 photovoltaic-integrated panels – bringing to life 20,000 square feet of clean-energy-producing glass. The world’s first luxury high-rise to harness solar energy at such an intense scale, the bayfront tower will boast a significant reduction in its carbon footprint. Future residents can look forward to 170,000 kilowatts of clean energy per year from the installation – all used to power common areas. Take a look inside The Residences at 1428 Brickell with us!

Aman Residences Miami Beach

3425 Collins Avenue, Mid Miami Beach 

Expected Completion: 2024

The beachfront Aman Residences will incorporate the sustainable, eco-friendly restoration of the iconic Versailles Hotel, dating back to 1940, into a two-building resort-style residence and hotel project. Bearing a Sanskrit-derived name that means simply ‘peace’ the Aman brand is known for restoring UNESCO heritage sites while preserving the original beauty and significance of these historic buildings.

Diesel Wynwood

121 NW 28th Street, Wynwood

Completion: 2024

Designed by the world-renowned Zyschovich Architects, the 8-story, LEED-certified Diesel tower will house 159 loft-style condos, with Diesel Living furnishings in common areas and more Italian features. The project, the first of its kind in Miami to earn both LEED and WELL certification, will emphasize a healthy and sustainable living environment.

If any of these projects piqued your interest and you’re looking to buy a LEED-certified condo in Miami, don’t hesitate to contact us! Our experts will be happy to help you find an eco-friendly and sustainable building that satisfies all your needs.