Before I started writing about travel and real estate, I briefly had visions of being a war correspondent.<\/p>\n
In college, I\u2019d idolized photographers like TIME\u2019s James Nachtwey and writers like Outside\u2019s Sebastian Junger whose stories probed the raw edges of the world. The dopamine-deficient part of my genetic make-up also thought I\u2019d like the frontline action. (Fortunately, my mom talked me out of it).<\/p>\n
The waterfront at Continuum 12000 wags off the waterfront of North Miami like the fantail of a massive luxury superyacht<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n
All of which is to say I never ended up being the breaking story kind of writer. The marginal exception to this has been the luxury branded real estate space, which, for some reason I can\u2019t recall now, I began unpacking over a decade ago long before it became the thing that everyone seems to want to write about these days.<\/p>\n
Despite what most people likely imagine, real estate is profoundly unregulated \u2014 especially relative to its gargantuan economic size and reach. Although accounting for roughly 14% of U.S. GDP, there is no governing body that manages it, establishes and enforces basic ground rules (like the SEC, FINRA, or CFPB do for finance), or that can hold the industry or its more theatrical actors to account in any meaningful way. <\/p>\n
The great irony is that while real estate can be wildly resistant to true innovation where it\u2019s actually needed most (low carbon, affordable housing, for example), the booming luxury branded sector is often the only corner where anything audacious actually seems to happen \u2014 because it has to. Developers must keep pushing the edges of architecture and experience farther and faster to keep up with searing demand from buyers who have seen, done, and owned everything.<\/p>\n
Or, at least, that\u2019s the theory.<\/p>\n
Floating yoga and sport platforms, plunge pools, watersports toys will activate the waterfront at Continuum 12000 with “wellness possibility”, says Contunuum Company President, Allie Eichner<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n
Which brings me to a question I never expected to ask in Miami real estate because it just never seemed possible: What if you could actually own the water?<\/p>\n
Not just the view. Not just a marina slip. Not just a water toys rack and a marketing rendering with some happy paddleboarders improbably silhouetted in the sunset on the other side of a solid sea wall. I mean legally own the submerged land directly adjacent to your development \u2014 and, by extension, control and curate the water column above it, effectively like \u2018air rights\u2019.<\/p>\n
When I first heard about it, it sounded like legal jujitsu masquerading as a dodgy sales tactic. Or, at best, a pipe dream that would never be worth the legal costs in the first place. But, as it turns out, it\u2019s neither. It\u2019s happening. <\/p>\n
Father-daughter real estate dynamo, Bruce and Allie Eichner<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n
Continuum 12000 is located on a cherry piece of land directly across Biscayne Bay from Indian Creek Village a.k.a. Billionaire Bunker along 600′ contiguous feet of waterfront that Bruce and Allie Eichner technically “own” all the way down to the submerged land<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n
At Continuum 12000<\/a>, a new 20-story glass tower rising at 12000 North Bayshore Drive in North Miami from the Continuum Company<\/a>, father-daughter duo, Bruce and Allie Eichner, have secured ownership of the submerged land in Biscayne Bay immediately in front of the development including all 600 linear feet of waterfront and 1.5 acres of sea bed, the vestige of a grandfathered historic dock. <\/p>\n In practical terms, that means Continuum 12000 as a new real estate development \u2014 and more importantly, as a lifestyle and experience platform \u2014 doesn\u2019t stop at the rip rap like virtually every other project in Miami that isn\u2019t directly on the beach. It extends out, over, and into one of the most diverse and significant tropical marine ecosystems in the world like a gluttonous superyacht playground moored permanently in paradise.<\/p>\n Floating docks. Plunge pools. Lounge and swim zones buoyed off for private use. Paddleboards, water toys, food and beverage service.<\/p>\n Virtually every real estate development on Biscayne Bay ends at the sea wall. The exclusive waterfront at Continuum 12000 will extend out, over, and into the Bay with The Mermaid Club, founded on a 20-year old grandfathered dock, along with a 20-slip private marina<\/p>\n Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n No one else is doing this, Bruce Eichner tells me, because no one else can. The elder Eichner, who\u2019s also an attorney, founded the family-run real estate firm 35 years ago and among other iconic projects developed the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, one of the most expensive real estate developments ever built in the world. <\/p>\n \u201cThe great irony of Miami is that you\u2019re surrounded by water everywhere, but you can\u2019t get on it.\u201d Eichner pauses, as if to let the obviousness \u2014 and ludicrousness \u2014 of that statement sink in. \u201cA pillar of the Continuum brand is we must physically be on the water. But that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you can activate it. Here at 12000, because of the historic over-water deck and ownership of the submerged land, we can create a series of immersive experiences no other property can achieve. We have succeeded in creating a private waterfront activation in Miami, for a luxury private residential concept, for private residents\u2019 and their guests\u2019 use only.\u201d<\/p>\n Think about it: All this luxury “waterfront” property, and no one actually has access to the water. \u201cThe great irony of Miami is that you\u2019re surrounded by water everywhere, but you can\u2019t get on it,” says Continuum Company’s Bruce Eichner<\/p>\n getty<\/p>\n Metaphorically and legally, the exclusive oasis that is Continuum 12000 doesn’t end at the edge of Biscayne Bay. It continues out over the water with the 1.5 acre Mermaid Club\u2122<\/p>\n Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n Bruce and Allie, who is President of Continuum Company, call this pioneering concept an \u201cactivated waterfront\u201d. The building\u2019s residents will call it The Mermaid Club\u2122.<\/p>\n The name sounds quirky, in a retro Splash-y kind of way. But the implications are not. In a city where developers are locked in an amenity arms race that long ago reached peak escalation, The Mermaid Club emerges as something categorically different because it\u2019s not just another room or floor in the building competing for residents\u2019 already stretched attention. It\u2019s piece of a lifestyle that every other developer talks about having in Miami, but can\u2019t actually offer because they don\u2019t actually own it the way the Eichners do.<\/p>\n When I get a look at the renderings for Continuum 12000, I immediately get that superyacht-deck feeling. Full disclosure I\u2019ve only been on one. It\u2019s hard to articulate, but you absolutely know when you\u2019re feeling it. I tell Allie as much.<\/p>\n \u201cAn unexplainable feeling of exclusivity is precisely the superyacht lifestyle,\u201d she says, laughing, clearly knowing a little more about what it feels like than I do. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the primary emotional reaction we envisioned. What we\u2019re building isn\u2019t just real estate. It\u2019s wellness possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Private, en suite sauna, anyone?<\/p>\n Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n Wellness possibility.<\/p>\n If that phrase sounds distinctly Miami right about now, it should. Miami has always had its own interpretation of well-being. In the early 1900s, Belle Isle was a world-renowned sunlight-therapy and hydrotherapy haven. Mid-century Miami Beach\u2019s mineral baths helped set the tone for modern spa culture. Today, it\u2019s all cold plunges, contrast therapy, paddle sprints at sunrise, and green juice after pickleball. It\u2019s less Sedona crystal healing and more sweat and serotonin.<\/p>\n \u201cContinuum 12000 doesn\u2019t adhere to the traditional or stereotypical definition of wellness,\u201d Allie tells me. \u201cWe\u2019re not spiritual or woo woo. Wellness isn\u2019t an appointment you make. The goal is to help people be healthier and happier, and that means making it easy.\u201d<\/p>\n At 12000, that ease begins with water \u2014 as all things do in Miami, of course \u2014 and radiates outward.<\/p>\n The Mermaid Club\u2122 will encompasses 150,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor sport, social, and waterfront space along with swimming zones marked by buoys, yoga platforms, and water valets to make the entire experience frictionless. Inspired by the South of France and Bodrum, Allie described watching people swim off their yachts and thinking, why should this be reserved only for yacht owners? So, at Continuum 12000, she was determined to help residents access the superyacht feeling and experience and engage directly with the water without the cost and complexities associated with actually owning a multi-million dollar boat with a crew.<\/p>\n Step back inside Continuum 12000 and the wellness-through-movement narrative continues with a 4,200-square-foot fitness center, indoor pickleball and multi-sport courts, golf and multi-sport simulator suites, putting greens, and an owners\u2019 sports screening lounge. There\u2019s also a longevity spa with contrast rituals, infrared saunas, cold plunges, treatment rooms, and a lounge dedicated to recovery and rejuvenation.<\/p>\n The Continuum Company brand is based on being directly on the water. Now it owns it<\/p>\n Courtesy of Continuum Company<\/p>\n Every residence at Continuum 12000 \u2014 262 in total, ranging from one- to three-bedroom homes to waterfront villas and penthouses \u2014 also leans just enough wellness-forward to be meaningful and measurable without feeling overbearing including little details like NSF-certified water filtration systems and private cedar saunas which are yet another nod to wellness as a lifestyle and culture not just a thing to be bought and used. <\/p>\n \u201cFor decades, luxury was defined by scale and finishes,\u201d Allie said. \u201cToday, the ultimate symbol of luxury is how you look and feel. So, we asked a simple question: How do we remove friction between people and the things that make them feel better?\u201d<\/p>\n The answer, of course, begins with water and removing the boundaries between residents and ability to access and enjoy it.<\/p>\n Location is the other half of the equation. And here the Eichners have once again demonstrated the value of what Bruce calls being a buyer of \u201cgood dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n Positioned directly across Biscayne Bay from Indian Creek Village \u2014 Miami\u2019s \u201cBillionaire Bunker\u201d which is home to Julio Iglesias, Tom Brady, and most recently, Meta\u2019s Mark Zuckerberg \u2014 and just minutes from Bal Harbour and Surfside, two of the beaches\u2019 most exclusive and sophisticated communities, Continuum 12000 sits on a quiet, private, tree-lined stretch of North Bayshore Drive. It feels local, almost family-oriented \u2014 yet it\u2019s blocks from U.S. 1 and the causeway across the Bay. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very selective,\u201d Bruce tells me. \u201cWe only acquire a small number of large-scale projects. I like to say I\u2019m a buyer of good dirt. We\u2019re not attracted to downtown because it\u2019s too congested. The beach is nice but it\u2019s too expensive. We acquired 12000 for its spectacular location, and more importantly, for the opportunity and vision of what we could create with the waterfront. Whether you\u2019re a resident or investor, pairing prime real estate with waterfront and wellness, you can\u2019t get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n Located directly across Biscayne Bay from Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos on Indian Creek island, Continuum 12000 has good neighbors<\/p>\n getty<\/p>\n The architecture for Continuum 12000 itself, by Kobi Karp with interiors by Paul Duesing Partners \u2014 the same creative force behind Continuum Company\u2019s original Continuum South Beach project \u2014 leans into transparency and light with the two glass towers reading like sunlight reflecting off the Bay with long, fluid terrace lines, and a silhouette that feels more sculpted than stacked. <\/p>\n Landscaping by Urban Robot softens the edges of the building at the base with palms and layered greenery, blurring the threshold between built and natural environments right at the interface between land and water where on this project it all comes together on the waterfront, complete with an actual private 20-slip superyacht marina. <\/p>\n Another unique aspect to this project is that, unlike so many developments in South Florida chasing the next co-branded luxury label, the Eichners are doubling down on their own name.<\/p>\n \u201cFor more than 20 years, I\u2019ve been approached by brands,\u201d Bruce tells me. \u201cWe never really had an interest. We\u2019ve enjoyed unparalleled success at Continuum South Beach. It is arguably the most coveted address in Miami. Now we intend to expand and build our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n That original Continuum South Beach, developed on twelve oceanfront acres at Miami Beach\u2019s southern tip, set the standard for 5-star resort style, luxury living at the beach. And yet, Continuum 12000 feels like its next evolutionary leap: less about 2000s beachfront glamour and more about 2020s immersive experiences; less spectacle, more sustained vitality.<\/p>\n The Eichners’ original Continuum South Beach, which set Miami’s standard for 5-star, resort style living two decades ago<\/p>\n getty<\/p>\n So, what does it actually mean to \u201cown the water\u201d in Miami if you\u2019re a buyer?<\/p>\n It means your backyard doesn\u2019t end at a railing. And as Miami continues to get denser in the coming years, that extra space that\u2019s exclusively yours is going to matter increasingly more. It also means competitive insulation. In a market where dozens of towers are vying for the same global buyer, having a waterfront that no one else can replicate is not just a lifestyle advantage. It\u2019s a financially strategic one.<\/p>\n Luxury real estate has always sold aspiration: \u201cWhat If?\u201d. But every so often, after a while in the wilderness, it stumbles back onto something much more fundamental \u2014 a shift not just in finishes or floor plans, again, or giving new names to concepts we\u2019ve used successfully for centuries, but in how we intrinsically inhabit place as humans and make ourselves at home.<\/p>\n At Continuum 12000, that primal shift backwards is happening over water. And for once, it\u2019s not just another view. It\u2019s a deed. <\/p>\n When I ask Bruce and Allie about the big picture potential for all of this, for other more specialized (and, most likely, expensive) activations, like an underwater restaurant or floating padel courts, Bruce pauses then responds in his infamous dead-pan that says everything, but reveals nothing. <\/p>\n \u201cThe potential of the waterfront is fully realized with Continuum 12000. This is a private waterfront activation for a luxury private residential concept. There is no commercial use by anyone else allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n Allie smiles. In Continuum speak, that pretty much means the water column\u2019s the limit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before I started writing about travel and real estate, I briefly had visions of being a war correspondent.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[80713,28,1508,80712,123,1642,125,124,31048,480,807,20994],"class_list":{"0":"post-169529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-continuum","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-luxury","11":"tag-mansion","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-beach","14":"tag-miami-headlines","15":"tag-miami-news","16":"tag-penthouse","17":"tag-real-estate","18":"tag-south-florida","19":"tag-waterfront"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}