The Queue Wins
WINNER
Best Market-Rate Residential project
The Queue
Bigtime Design Studios
Project address: 817 S.E. Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale 33316
Key Partners
Developer: Urban Street Development
General contractor: Hooper Construction
Architect: MSA Architects
Electrical: Comet Electric
Landscaper: Dias Landscape
Insurance: Travelers
Financing: Mutual of Omaha
Executives with Bigtime Design Studios, a creative brand-centric firm, believe that most developers have a vision that is often difficult to articulate throughout the project. Their unique process starts with a story or script for which all the pieces and players are defined in advance.
“Once we create the ‘What does it smell like, look like and feel like?’ only then do we put pen to paper,” says Callin Fortis, the firm’s creative director. “We are really a conduit for helping developers tell their own unique story.”
With that in mind, the initial brand mission for The Queue was to market to South Florida’s millennials, who often seek out the boutique hotel as a new lifestyle choice for hospitality and food and beverage. So, designers created the catchphrase “boutique residential” for this specific project.
The result is a 314,595-square-foot, multi million dollar property that debuted in February 2017. With the target mission in mind, the exteriors sought to encourage a high-style backyard environment around the pool. The lobby is punctuated by a dramatic “check-in desk” that resembles a vintage writing table. The entrance feature was composed of old railroad ties suspended 15 feet overhead to create a dramatic sense of arrival.
Social gathering spaces were also created to encourage interaction. The signage on the windows was carefully designed to illuminate the name and address of the building on the polished concrete floor.
“To create a boutique atmosphere without the typical amenities was a bit of a challenge. However, the schematic design for the public space was pure Miami, L.A., N.Y. boutique hotel,” Fortis says. “You could put this concept in any major city and it would hold water.”
As reported in the South Florida Business Journal.