Florida is not known for high-rises, but the city of Miami wants to break that pattern in a big way by constructing the state’s tallest building鈥攁nd letting visitors jump off it. The bobby-pin-shaped will rise 1,000 feet above downtown and feature experiences inspired by BASE jumping and skydiving.
Miami voters last Tuesday, approving construction of a building that will rise over the state’s current tallest structure by more than 200 feet. SkyRise will feature a nightclub, a ballroom, a movie theater that has a “motion-based simulator” so guests can enjoy “the thrill of flight,” and SkyPlunge, an amusement-park-style ride that mimics a bungee jump.
But the building’s most curious feature is SkyRise Drop, which will allow visitors to free-fall from the building. The SkyRise website describes the experience as “just like parachuting out of an airplane 鈥 the thrill of a free-fall followed by the jolt of extremely rapid deceleration.”
SkyRise skeptics note that the tower will be built on public land and that a casino could be added in the future. Architect Charles Corda that SkyRise’s developer, Jeff Berkowitz, needs to be more transparent about the amount of money the project could generate. Corda points out that Berkowitz’s estimate of 3.2 million visitors a year seems ambitious; for comparison, the Statue of Liberty sees only 4.2 million a year.
Berkowitz is investing $30 million of his own funds into the estimated $430 million project. “Miami is a world-class city. And I think an iconic structure downtown will firmly cement Miami on the global stage,” Berkowitz . “It’s going to be Miami’s Eiffel Tower.”