Partners Group and Empira Bring Breitling to Brickell with $220M Condo Tower

• The 70-story Arquitectonica-designed building will include penthouses with double-height living spaces and private pools, a 45,000-square-foot two-level private B Social Club, rooftop pools, and a private gym. Renderings show floor-to-ceiling glass wrapped in a gold-colored frame.
• Partners Group, publicly traded in Switzerland with more than $185 billion in assets under management, holds a controlling stake in Breitling and acquired Empira in 2024, making B Residences an in-house effort across developer, brand, and capital.
• Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2028, with delivery targeted for 2031. The exact site address has not been disclosed.

Partners Group and Empira Take Breitling Into Real Estate

Partners Group and Empira Group are bringing Breitling to Brickell. The two Swiss firms announced plans for B Residences, a $220 million, 70-story condo tower with more than 300 units planned for a one-acre-plus parcel in Miami's Brickell Financial District. Designed by Arquitectonica, the building will feature a gold-framed all-glass exterior, double-height penthouse living spaces with private pools, and a 45,000-square-foot, two-level B Social Club reserved for residents. Groundbreaking is targeted for late 2028, with delivery in 2031.

The project marks Breitling's first residential venture. The Swiss watchmaker, founded in 1884, is majority-owned by Partners Group, which significantly increased its stake in 2022. Partners, listed on the Swiss stock exchange, manages more than $185 billion globally across real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and private credit. It acquired Empira in 2024, making B Residences a vertically integrated effort: one holding company controls the developer, the brand, and the capital behind the deal.

A Developer Already Active in Brickell

Empira brings direct Miami experience to the project. The Switzerland-based firm entered the market in 2022 and set up its North America headquarters at 200 South Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami in early 2024. Its 26-story, 310-unit Perrin rental tower at 244 Southwest Ninth Street in Brickell topped out in May 2026, backed by a $111.3 million Goldman Sachs construction loan, and is on track for 2027 delivery. B Residences, at 70 stories and a $220 million budget, would be Empira's largest Miami development by a significant margin and its first condo project in the market.

Lahcen Knapp founded Empira in 2014 and chairs its board. Marcus Bartenstein is CEO. Breitling CEO Georges Kern is part of the official announcement, signaling active brand involvement rather than a licensing arrangement. Alfred Gantner, a co-founder of Partners Group, called B Residences "a highly differentiated branded residences strategy," citing Breitling's ability to translate "more than a century of Swiss mechanical precision, knowhow, and heritage into the built environment."

Breitling is also expanding its physical footprint in New York, where it plans to open B Social New York, a four-story loft-style club in Williamsburg with dining, lounges, bars, and co-working spaces.

Entering a Crowded Pipeline

B Residences lands in a Brickell-branded condo market already running deep. Miami had 48 completed branded condo projects and 55 more planned as of late 2025, per Savills, which ranks South Florida second only to Dubai in the global branded residence pipeline. That figure has grown since. Roughly 60 percent of Miami's active new construction pipeline now carries a hospitality or luxury brand name.

Competition in Brickell is direct. OKO Group's Vlad Doronin and Oak Row Equities, led by Erik Rutter and David Weitz, are planning a branded residential component as part of their redevelopment of a 4.3-acre bayfront site acquired for a record $520 million in December 2025. SIRO Brickell, a Kerzner International concept, is targeting 350 branded residences on a one-acre site nearby. Mandarin Oriental, St. Regis, Baccarat, and Cipriani are all active in the greater downtown corridor.

Industry observers have begun drawing a line between hospitality brands, which bring managed rental programs and operational infrastructure, and non-hospitality names entering residential for the first time. Breitling bets that 140 years of Swiss watchmaking heritage closes that gap. Sales timing has not been announced. Construction begins late 2028.