Daniel Kodsi of Miami-based Royal Palm Companies (RPC; Miami, Fla.) and health and wellness expert Stephen Watson, chief strategic officer at RPC, wanted to create a model for how condo/hotels can be designed to stay open and operational during future health pandemics while providing a preventative healthcare space for patients, hotel guests, condo owners, and health club members.
That vision is a $60 million medical and wellness center planned for Legacy Hotel & Residences, a mixed-use downtown development. The 100,000-square-foot Center for Health + Performance (CH+P), will sit on the ground floor of the Legacy Hotel & Residences (Miami, Fla.), a luxury lifestyle condo/hotel that is planned to have 274 condo units and 256 hotel rooms.
Slated to open in 2023, the project will feature the eight-floor CH+P that will include a dedicated number of medically equipped hotel rooms for post-surgical patients; a diagnostic testing suite for preemptive testing and health evaluations; surgery rooms, primarily for elective surgery; MRI, CT, mammography, X-ray, and ultrasound capabilities; on-site pharmacy and dispensary; on-site laboratory; and on-site and on-call doctors, nurses, and nutritionists. The condo and hotel rooms will occupy the remaining 42 floors above the CH+P.
When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the buildout was reconsidered to make the building as ‘infectious disease proof’ as possible, including tapping into a medical architect (and other specialists) to ensure the entire condo/hotel meets hospital-level design qualifications. The owners opted to upgrade the air quality standard of the hotel to medical grade code. Now, the entire building will have the sterile air systems that were originally selected for the medical center to meet codes. The mixed-use development will be a completely touch-less experience throughout all amenities including the CH+P, hotel, and residences through facial recognition and smart phone technology. Medical/hospital sanitation methods will also be found in the hotel rooms such as UV light features and robots to sterilize spaces, including elevators.
The CH+P will also operate as a health club for members as well as owners of the property’s condo residences. Members also will have access to a health portal that tracks their entire health history in one place, as well as access to the medical center’s spa and advanced training programs.
Architecture firm Perkins&Will (Chicago), healthcare consulting firm Coker Group (Georgia), tech-driven design firm Cactus (New York), and construction company Vilar-Hoynack (Kendall, Fla.) also collaborated on the project to ensure the entire property meets medical building and design standards that are above and beyond a traditional hotel.
Project details:
Facility name: Legacy Hotel & Residences Center for Health + Performance
Location: Miami, Fla.
Expected completion date: 2023
Owner: Dan Kodsi of Royal Palm Companies and Stephen Watson
Total building area: 100,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $60 million
Cost/sq. ft.: $600/sq. ft.
Architecture firm: Perkins&Will
Interior design: Coker Group
Technology & design: Cactus
General contractor: Vilar-Hoynack
