From crystal caves to cold plunges, Miami homes focus on longevity

In January, sales launched at the new Coconut Grove residences by wellness lifestyle brand the Well; Compass broker Ivan Chorney was the first through the sales office door. “I bought Day 1,” says Chorney, a longtime resident of Coconut Grove who nabbed a two-bedroom unit at the eight-story, 194-unit project designed by Arquitectonica. “I rushed in there because one of their salespeople wanted the same unit that I wanted. So, I beat him into his own office and bought the unit.” 

Not only does Chorney believe in the site, its developer, Terra, and the neighborhood — he believes that wellness-focused residences are the future of Miami. “Just look around Miami, and one out of four people is wearing a [Polar] Loop or an Oura” health-tracking device, he says.

Longevity has grown into an $85 billion industry, and Miami developers know that many of their buyers now expect their home to function as a fountain of youth. That’s why New York-based the Well is packing its Miami condo building with advanced health tech.

Residents will have access to IV therapy, a cold plunge and caldarium, a hyperbaric chamber, Electrical Muscle Stimulation training, a 13,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Wellness Club and longevity experts. The building will also host a “crystal cave” and perform an “energy-clearing ceremony” at each new residence. Prices start at $1.25 million, and Douglas Elliman is handling sales. 

But the Well has competition.

“I was on a call this morning with a developer who’s going to be launching a project [in Miami] where the entire focus is going to be wellness and longevity,” says Mayi de la Vega, the Miami-located founder and CEO of One Sotheby’s International Realty. “Everybody wants to buy in a place that is going to improve their health and longevity. A lot of buildings are looking at hiring medical directors.”

In nearby Coral Gables, the neighborhood’s first wellness-focused condominium is rising in the Merrick Park district. Dubbed Cora Merrick Park, the 13-story development by Constellation Group and the Boschetti Group was created with European wellness consultancy Lamarca Well. The building will have biophilic architecture and interiors by Arquitectonica and Urban Robot, Well certification, advanced air purification systems, lighting systems that sync with circadian rhythms, cold plunges and red light therapy panels — all constructed out of nontoxic, low-VOC materials. Unit sizes for the 74 residences range from one bedroom to three bedrooms, spanning 678 square feet to 2,651, with prices starting at $970,000. It’s expected to be completed in 2028. 

Elsewhere, buildings that aren’t purely wellness-focused — like Jem Private Residences in Downtown Miami, Gale Miami Residences in Miami World Center and Airbnb’s residential project Twenty Sixth & 2nd in Wynwood — are still stacking their towers with amenities like cold plunges, salt rooms, medical spas and infrared saunas.

“In the last three years, people have been on a massive longevity kick,” says Douglas Elliman’s Dina Goldentayer, who is marketing a four-bed, six-bath at 94 S. Hibiscus Drive on Miami Beach for $24.5 million — thanks in part to a wellness sanctuary with a UV sauna and a cold plunge that is “hyperbaric chamber-ready.”

“Developers are calling me and saying, ‘What’s a must-have for a buyer?’ And I’m now telling them, ‘Install an infrared sauna.’”