Aria On The Bay

Aria on the Bay Miami is a 53-story condominium tower on Biscayne Bay, recorded by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser at 488 NE 18th Street, Miami, FL 33132, in the Edgewater neighborhood. Developed by Melo Group and designed by Arquitectonica, which also handled its interiors and landscape, it was completed in 2018 next to Margaret Pace Park and holds 648 residences, from one-bedroom homes to triplex penthouses.

A note on the address: press coverage of the launch and Wikipedia give it as 1770 North Bayshore Drive, but county records list all 652 units, residential and commercial, at 488 NE 18th Street. When you search listings or public records, use 488 NE 18th Street.

Aria on the Bay Miami in numbers

• Address: 488 NE 18th Street, Miami, FL 33132
• Construction: began in May 2015, topped off in March 2017 and completed in 2018
• Height: 53 floors; Wikipedia gives a roof height of 535 feet
• Residences: 648, plus 4 commercial units, according to county records
• Mix recorded by the county: 301 one-bedroom, 212 two-bedroom and 133 three-bedroom units, plus 2 penthouses recorded without a bedroom count
• Living area: about 706 to 4,238 sq ft
• Architect: Arquitectonica. Developer: Melo Group
• Price range on Flor Alba's portal directory as of September 2026: $495K to $2.4M

The unit count, mix and sizes were tallied from the 652 folios the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser lists at this address, checked on October 9, 2026. At launch the building was promoted with one- to four-bedroom residences; county records show none with four bedrooms, so confirm how any layout is configured. The price range is a snapshot of the portal, not a live market figure.

Amenities

Coverage of the building's completion in 2018 described these amenities:

• A 14th-floor amenity deck with two swimming pools and a Jacuzzi
• Private spa
• Fitness center and yoga studio
• Indoor and outdoor bar and entertainment lounge
• Screening and game room
• Library and business center

Residences were delivered with floor-to-ceiling windows, private elevator access, open-plan living areas, custom cabinetry and terraces facing the bay, and the triplex penthouses occupy the top three stories. Arquitectonica's Bernardo Fort-Brescia has said the staggered semicircular balconies refer to the boxes of classic opera houses. About 10,000 square feet of commercial space sits on the lower floors.

Living in Edgewater

Aria sits beside Margaret Pace Park, an 8-acre bayfront park. The park has jogging paths, bike trails, tennis and basketball courts and playground areas. Along North Bayshore Drive, Aria shares the park frontage with Opera Tower, Bay Parc, 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay.

The tower is two blocks north of the Adrienne Arsht Center, with the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Frost Museum of Science a few blocks farther south in Museum Park.

Who the building suits

Aria is the newest of the large towers facing the park and leans toward larger homes: more than half of its residences have two or three bedrooms in county records, and the penthouses exceed 4,000 sq ft. On Flor Alba's portal, prices ran from $495K to $2.4M in September 2026. That profile tends to suit families, move-up buyers and anyone who prefers newer construction; the one-bedrooms remain an option for investors.

If you plan to rent the unit out, ask for the association's current rules before making an offer; lease minimums, approvals and fees can change.

Ownership costs and the milestone inspection

Beyond the purchase price, budget for monthly association fees, property taxes and insurance. Florida law also sets two structural obligations for condominium buildings of three or more stories. Under section 553.899 of the Florida Statutes, a building needs a milestone structural inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30, counted from its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that; the local building official may lower the threshold to 25 years for conditions such as proximity to salt water. Under section 718.112, the association must complete a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years, and for budgets adopted after December 31, 2024 it can no longer waive the reserves that study calls for.

With 2018 as the year built in county records, Aria's first 30-year milestone would fall around 2048. The reserve study requirement already applies. Before signing, ask for the latest reserve study, the current budget and any pending special assessments.

For how the recertification process works in the City of Miami, see Flor Alba's guide to the 40-year recertification: https://www.floralbanunez.com/story/40-year-recertification-in-the-city-of-miami-buyer-guide

How Flor Alba can help

Flor Alba Núñez is a Broker Associate with Related-ISG International Realty and works with clients in English and Spanish. She can pull current listings and recent sales at Aria on the Bay, request the association's documents and rules, and walk you through the numbers before you make an offer or sign a lease.