501 FIRST Residences Downtown Miami: 2026 Pre-Construction Buyer's Guide

501 FIRST Residences is a 40-story, 448-unit condominium at 501 NE 1st Avenue in the Park West section of Downtown Miami, developed by New York- and Miami-based Aria Development Group and designed by Revuelta Architecture International with interiors by Shim Projects. The building received its temporary certificate of occupancy in January 2026 and started welcoming residents that same month.

The pitch is unusual for a Miami tower at this scale: no minimum-stay restrictions. Owners can list units on Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, and dozens of other booking platforms from day one, with no six-month or one-year lease floor. Every residence is delivered fully finished and furnished, with interior curation by Resource Furniture, Smeg appliances, Hansgrohe matte-dark fixtures, and ButterflyMX smart access.

Layouts run from compact studios near 385 square feet up to two-bedroom plans approaching 835 square feet, priced from the mid $300,000s at the entry studios up to roughly $705,000 for the larger two-bedrooms at original pre-construction pricing. Resale and remaining developer inventory have traded higher with the building now delivered.

View the 501 FIRST Residences building page for current pricing, floor plans, and available units.

The Quick Take

Where is 501 FIRST?

The building sits at 501 NE 1st Avenue on the western edge of Downtown Miami, in the part of the grid historically known as Park West. The lot sits across NE 1st Avenue from the rail and roadway corridor that frames the western boundary of downtown.

A few orientation points from the front door:

• MiamiCentral Brightline station is roughly a 5-7 minute walk west, connecting to Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando without a car
• Miami Worldcenter, the 27-acre, $6 billion mixed-use district that held its grand opening in May 2025, sits one block east
• Kaseya Center (home of the Miami Heat) is about half a mile northeast on Biscayne Boulevard
• Bayfront Park and Bayside Marketplace are roughly 10 minutes on foot or a short Metromover ride
• Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and Frost Science Museum sit on the Biscayne Boulevard waterfront about 8-10 minutes away
• Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is a few blocks north on Biscayne Boulevard
• Miami International Airport is about 12-15 minutes west by car

This is a walk-everywhere downtown address, oriented toward the arena, the Brightline, and the Worldcenter retail-and-dining grid rather than the bay. South Beach is about 15 minutes east across the MacArthur Causeway.

Who's Behind 501 FIRST

The developer is Aria Development Group, founded in 2009 by Joshua Benaim with partners David Arditi and Timothy Gordon. The firm runs offices in New York and Miami; David Arditi leads the Miami office. Aria's portfolio crosses adaptive reuse, repositioning, and ground-up construction across New York, Miami, Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Nashville, Kansas City, and Charlotte, with more than $2 billion in institutional-grade multifamily under its belt.

Aria has built a specific niche in short-term-rental-friendly condominium product. Other Miami projects in the family include 600 Miami Worldcenter (606 units inside the Worldcenter master plan) and 2200 Brickell, both designed around the same furnished-delivery, no-minimum-stay rental thesis as 501 FIRST. The 501 FIRST project is structured as a joint venture with Kuwait-based AQARAT.

Revuelta Architecture International handled the architecture; Bernardo Fort-Brescia's name is not on this one (his firm Arquitectonica is busy elsewhere on Downtown towers). Interior design comes from Shim Projects, with the furniture and finishes packaged by Resource Furniture, a New York-based firm known for transforming-furniture small-footprint design.

The Architecture and Design

Revuelta Architecture International is a Miami firm with a deep bench in downtown high-rises. For 501 FIRST, the practice produced a slim 40-story tower with a mid-century-modern lobby vocabulary and a two-story rooftop amenity crown wrapped in glass.

Residences sit behind floor-to-ceiling impact glass with custom window treatments, and every unit comes with a balcony. The footprint runs small by Miami luxury-condo standards -- this is purpose-built for one or two travelers or a couple, not for full-time family living -- and Shim Projects' interior packages and Resource Furniture pieces are built around that scale.

The materials package per the development team includes:

• Italian cabinetry in the kitchens
• Smeg appliance package including speed oven, integrated refrigerator with custom panels, and dishwasher
• Hansgrohe fixtures in a matte dark finish
• ButterflyMX smart-access intercom and door entry
• Built-out closets in every residence
• In-unit washer and dryer

The combination of full furnishing and matched finishes is the operational asset: an owner can take title and be on Airbnb the next week without ordering a single piece of furniture or hiring a designer.

Residences at 501 FIRST

Verified specifications:

• 448 condominium residences across 40 stories
• Studios starting around 385 square feet
• One-bedroom layouts in the middle of the stack
• Two-bedroom plans up to roughly 835 square feet
• Fully finished and fully furnished delivery
• Floor-to-ceiling impact glass with custom treatments
• Private balconies in every residence

Original pre-construction pricing started in the mid $300,000s for studios and reached approximately $705,000 for the high-end two-bedrooms. Current resale and remaining-developer pricing should be verified directly with the sales team or your broker -- the building delivered in early 2026 and the post-TCO market is still settling.

The Short-Term Rental Thesis

The structural pitch behind 501 FIRST is the rental program. Most Miami condominium buildings restrict short-term rentals -- six-month minimums, twelve-month minimums, or limits on how many times per year an owner can lease. 501 FIRST was engineered around the opposite: rentals with a minimum of one day, listed on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, Expedia, and dozens of other platforms. The development team describes the building as the first Downtown Miami condo without a hotel component to allow this rental structure.

What that means operationally:

• Owners can self-manage on platforms or enroll in the building's management program
• The building's furnished delivery means a turn-key listing on day one
• Smart access via ButterflyMX is designed to handle guest check-ins without a front desk
• The 24/7 valet and Luxer One package room handle deliveries and arrivals around the clock

Whether the financials work depends on Downtown Miami's nightly-rate environment, the building's HOA dues, platform fees, and management percentages. Marketing claims of 5-8% annual yields are developer-side projections and should be stress-tested with your own pro forma rather than taken as a baseline.

Amenities

501 FIRST programs more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space across a two-story, double-height rooftop deck with 360-degree views.

Rooftop level

• 75-foot resort-style lap pool
• Hot hydrotherapy bath and cold plunge
• Rooftop sunset theater (north-facing)
• Sunrise terrace

Fitness and wellness

• Fitness center designed by HOMAGE Fitness
• Private training rooms
• Yoga and meditation area

Social and work

• Greenhouse garden lounge
• Private club suite and media room
• Co-working lounges with private boardroom
• Summer kitchen
• Chef's kitchen and game room

Building services

• Ground-floor food and beverage concept by GPG Hospitality (New York-based)
• 24/7 valet
• Luxer One package room
• Pet lounge
• Bicycle storage
• Concierge

The amenity stack is built to make the building work for both owner-occupants and guests -- nothing here requires a front-desk attendant to operate, and the rooftop is the marketing centerpiece for the rental program.

How 501 FIRST Compares to Other Downtown Miami Pre-Construction

Park West and the Worldcenter corridor are crowded with new product. A quick frame of how 501 FIRST slots in:

The 501 FIRST distinctions:

• Smallest entry-price tickets in the Park West short-term rental cohort
• First building delivered by the wave of STR-focused condo product in Downtown
• Smallest floor plates -- this is studio-and-one-bedroom-heavy by design
• Fully furnished delivery is a contractual feature, not an add-on

If you want larger floor plans, full-time-residence finishes, or bay views, this is not the building. If you want a turnkey rental at the lowest entry price in a fast-rising Downtown sub-district, it is the most direct option on the board.

The Neighborhood: Park West and Worldcenter

The block around 501 NE 1st Avenue has changed faster in the last five years than almost anywhere in Miami. A working tour of what is now within walking distance:

Miami Worldcenter (immediate east)

• Apple, Sephora, Lululemon, Ray-Ban, Free People, The Container Store
• Maple & Ash, Sixty Vines, Earls Kitchen + Bar, Brasserie Laurel, El Vecino Cigar & Cocktail Bar
• citizenM Hotel
• ~300,000 square feet of retail across the 27-acre master plan

Transit

• Brightline at MiamiCentral -- intercity rail to Aventura, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando
• MiamiCentral Tri-Rail and Metrorail -- regional and county-wide commuter rail
• Metromover -- free downtown circulator (Park West, Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr., and Freedom Tower stations all within a few minutes)

Sports and culture

• Kaseya Center -- Miami Heat home arena
• Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
• Perez Art Museum Miami
• Frost Museum of Science

Bay and waterfront

• Bayfront Park -- 32-acre public park on Biscayne Bay
• Bayside Marketplace
• Maurice A. Ferre Park

This is the demand pipeline that the rental program leans on. The Worldcenter grand opening, the arena, and Brightline collectively put a steady flow of overnight visitors into a 10-minute walk of the building.

FAQ

Is 501 FIRST Residences finished?

Yes. The building received its temporary certificate of occupancy in January 2026 and started welcoming residents that month. Final closings, punch-list work, and amenity ramp-up have continued through 2026.

Can I Airbnb my unit at 501 FIRST?

Yes. 501 FIRST was designed around the short-term rental thesis, with no minimum-stay restrictions. Owners can list units on Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, HomeAway, and dozens of other platforms, with rentals as short as one night allowed. The building offers an in-house management program for owners who prefer not to self-manage.

Who developed 501 FIRST?

Aria Development Group, founded in 2009 by Joshua Benaim with partners David Arditi (who leads the Miami office) and Timothy Gordon, in a joint venture with Kuwait-based AQARAT. Aria's other Miami short-term-rental projects include 600 Miami Worldcenter and 2200 Brickell.

Who is the architect of 501 FIRST?

Revuelta Architecture International, a Miami firm. Interiors are by Shim Projects with furniture packages by Resource Furniture.

How much do 501 FIRST residences cost?

Original pre-construction pricing started around $304,000 for entry studios and reached roughly $705,000 for high-end two-bedrooms. Current resale and remaining-developer inventory should be checked directly with the sales team or your broker, since the building is now post-TCO.

How many units does 501 FIRST have?

448 condominium residences across 40 stories, with layouts from studios (~385 sf) through two-bedrooms (~835 sf).

Is 501 FIRST waterfront?

No. The building sits on 501 NE 1st Avenue in Park West, one block from Miami Worldcenter and several blocks west of Biscayne Boulevard. Bay views from upper floors exist, but this is not a bayfront tower. Bayfront Park is about a 10-minute walk east.

What's included with each unit?

Every residence is delivered fully finished and furnished, with Italian cabinetry, a Smeg appliance package (speed oven, integrated refrigerator, dishwasher), Hansgrohe matte-dark fixtures, ButterflyMX smart access, built-out closets, in-unit washer/dryer, and a balcony.

Bottom Line

501 FIRST is the first delivered building in the new Park West-Worldcenter short-term-rental cohort, with a 40-story Revuelta tower, 448 fully furnished units, a 75-foot rooftop pool, and a rental structure that allows one-night stays from day one. For investors looking for the lowest entry-ticket turnkey Airbnb-eligible condo in Downtown Miami, it is the most direct option on the board. For end-users looking for full-time-residence floor plans, oceanfront views, or quiet, this is not the building.

Want a Data-Driven Read on 501 FIRST?

If you are evaluating a 501 FIRST purchase -- pricing, floor selection, rental pro forma, or comp analysis against the rest of the Downtown Miami short-term-rental pipeline -- reach out to Kyle Benjamin, REHub Miami.

View the 501 FIRST building page | Browse Downtown Miami condos | Contact us

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Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes. Pricing, floor plans, finish packages, amenity specifications, and rental program details can change between launch and delivery and after closing. Always verify directly with the official sales team and developer materials before making any reservation or purchase decision. Rental yield projections are not guarantees.