Well kablooie. Aria on the Bay, a condominium project which I once called the Melo Group’s least hideous tower yet, is very close to being topped off at its full 52 story height, as we can see in new construction photos by Miami’s premiere street architecture photographer Phillip Pessar. I’m happy to say my initial impression of the Arquitectonica-designed tower is proving to be very true.

Here is the first thing I wrote about it back in my Curbed Miami days:

The gap in the middle of the Margaret Pace Park adjacent wall of condo towers is finally being filled by a new offering by Melo Group, called Aria on the Bay. And it ain’t half bad.

Designed by Arquitectonica rather than one of Melo’s usual go-to designers, like Itec Design (who are much maligned, we might add, by entities as varying as the Miami Development Review board and this blog), renderings show a scalloped facade of glass balconies, stonework on the lower floors, and a sweeping circular staircase in the lobby. The building will have multiple pools, including what are called ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ pools (increasingly common these days actually), and a kiddie pool, a game room, a screening room, a barbecue area and various other indoor and outdoor spaces for residents. And, although the brochure that exMiami dug up has renderings of the unit interiors, floor plans are still MIA as well as specifications. Let’s hope they’re nice.