What to know as preparations underway for Mandarin Oriental implosion on Brickell Key

The Mandarin Oriental on Brickell Key is set to come down on Sunday as crews prepare for its implosion.

The implosion is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., and residents on Brickell Key will have to leave the island by 7 a.m. on implosion day. 

After 26 years, residents and locals are saying goodbye to one of Miami’s hottest spots.

History of the Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel opened its doors in 2000 and was a place where celebrities stayed, and foodies flocked to restaurants such as La Mar and Azul. Now it’s coming down, just 26 years after it was built. 

Implosion

The island will be shut down from 7:30 a.m. until roughly 1:30 p.m., depending on how soon the dust dissipates. No one is allowed onto or off the island, but the fire department is ready for any emergencies.

There are no restrictions on the mainland; anyone can watch the implosion safely from vantage points across the water. 

Anyone who lives within 800 feet of the building, in what they call the exclusion zone, is being asked to stay inside their apartments with windows and doors closed to protect their hearing during the blast. 

“We’ll be here on scene, we’re gonna have eight units, we’re also gonna have our fireboat on the water so in the event we do have a medical emergency, and we need to transport a patient, we’ll be able to use our fireboat in case we need to so there’s no delays in the transport,” said Lt. Pete Sanchez of Miami Fire-Rescue.

What’s replacing the Mandarin Oriental

After the hotel is demolished, it will make way for The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, which will be a two-tower, ultra-luxury residential and hospitality development.

The new development will feature a 66-story South Tower with 228 private residences and a 34-story North Tower with 70 private residences, 28 turnkey Hotel Collection residences, and 121 hotel guestrooms.