33 stories, fully furnished, zero rental restrictions, and prices that started in the $400Ks — The Crosby is the Worldcenter's purpose-built short-term-rental machine.
Key Takeaways
- Fully furnished units with zero rental restrictions — owners can list on Airbnb and Vrbo from day one.
- Developed by Related Group and Merrimac Ventures in the booming $4B+ Miami Worldcenter district.
- The project sold out pre-construction; in 2026 the play is the resale and rental market, where the cash-flow story is now proven.
Some condos are built to live in. The Crosby Miami Worldcenter was built to make money. From the start, this 33-story tower was engineered as a short-term-rental machine — fully furnished, finished, and crucially, with no rental restrictions whatsoever. In a city where most condo boards fight Airbnb tooth and nail, The Crosby openly invites it. The building sold out in pre-construction and is now delivering, which means in 2026 the conversation has shifted from "will this work?" to "here's what it's actually earning." Let me break down why investors care and what the current opportunity looks like.
The Project at a Glance
The Crosby Miami Worldcenter sits at 640 N Miami Avenue, developed by The Related Group and Merrimac Ventures — the same partnership behind several of downtown's most successful investor-focused towers. It's a 33-story building of roughly 450 fully furnished and finished residences, ranging from studios to two-bedrooms, with units between about 350 and 825 square feet. Pricing in pre-construction started in the $400,000s, an accessible entry point that drove the building to a fast sellout.
The defining feature is right there in the design: no rental restrictions. Owners can rent their units out on vacation-rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo with no minimum-stay limits. The building even has a separate check-in/check-out flow for short-term-rental guests, so the lobby and amenity experience for owner-residents stays distinct from the transient-guest traffic. That's a thoughtful, purpose-built detail you don't see in converted buildings.
Why "No Rental Restrictions" Is the Whole Game
This matters more than any granite countertop. In most Miami condo buildings, the association restricts how often you can rent — often to once or twice a year, with long minimum leases. That kills the short-term-rental income model. The Crosby was conceived from the ground up to allow nightly rentals, which unlocks dramatically higher gross income potential than a traditional annual lease, especially in a downtown location with year-round tourism, conventions, and event traffic.
This is the same investor thesis behind buildings I've profiled like "7200 Collins North Beach" and "The Rider at Wynwood" — buy a furnished, rental-ready unit in a building that wants you to rent it, and let it cash-flow. The Crosby's edge is its location: it's embedded in Miami Worldcenter, steps from the action that drives nightly demand.
Miami Worldcenter: The $4 Billion Engine Next Door
Location is what separates a good short-term-rental play from a great one, and The Crosby's location is exceptional. Miami Worldcenter is a 27-acre, multi-billion-dollar master-planned district in the heart of downtown — one of the largest urban developments in the country. It packs retail, restaurants, hotels, and entertainment into a walkable core, and it's anchored by Brightline's MiamiCentral station, putting fast intercity rail to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando minutes away. It's also walking distance to the Kaseya Center (where the Heat play), the Adrienne Arsht Center, and Bayside.
For a short-term-rental guest, that's the dream: walk to a game, a concert, dinner, and the train, with no car needed. For an owner, that constant flow of visitors — sports fans, concertgoers, business travelers, tourists — is the demand engine that keeps occupancy and nightly rates healthy. The district is still filling in, which means the foot traffic and amenity base around The Crosby are only growing.
The 2026 Opportunity: Resale and Proven Income
Here's the honest part. The Crosby sold out in pre-construction and is now delivering, so the original "lock today's price, close at tomorrow's value" pre-construction play has largely run its course. In 2026, the opportunity is twofold. First, the resale market: as initial buyers close and some choose to sell, units come available — and now they come with something pre-construction buyers never had, actual operating history. You can underwrite a purchase against real occupancy and nightly-rate data instead of a developer's projection. That's a meaningfully lower-risk way to buy into a short-term-rental building.
Second, the rental market itself: even if you don't buy, understanding how The Crosby performs tells you a lot about where downtown's short-term-rental economics are heading. For investors building a Miami portfolio, this building is a live case study in the no-restrictions model.
- Miami Market Snapshot — May 2026:
- Median Miami-Dade condo sale price: approximately $437,500 (down ~1.7% year-over-year)
- Active condo inventory: roughly 13.2 months of supply countywide — a buyer's market that can mean better resale entry on investor units
- Average days on market: 81 days in April 2026 (Miami-Dade)
- The quiet detail: furnished, no-restriction units in proven short-term-rental buildings trade on income multiples, not just comps — a different math than a standard condo
The Investor Math, Honestly
The appeal is real, but run the full picture. Short-term-rental income is gross — you subtract HOA (amenity-rich towers aren't cheap), furnishing depreciation, platform fees, cleaning, management (15-25% if you use a professional STR operator), insurance, and seasonal vacancy. Downtown also has competition: The Crosby isn't the only no-restriction building in the area, so nightly rates respond to supply. The buildings that win are the ones with the best location and amenities driving occupancy — which is exactly where The Crosby's Worldcenter address pays off. For a business owner who wants a hands-off, professionally managed cash-flow asset in the heart of downtown, with the flexibility to use it personally when the calendar allows, it's a legitimate portfolio piece.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can you Airbnb a unit at The Crosby Miami Worldcenter? A: Yes. The Crosby was purpose-built with no rental restrictions, so owners can list units on Airbnb, Vrbo, and other platforms with no minimum-stay limits. The building even has a separate check-in/check-out flow for short-term-rental guests, keeping owner and guest experiences distinct.
Q: How much did units at The Crosby Miami Worldcenter cost? A: In pre-construction, prices started in the $400,000s for studios, with units ranging roughly 350 to 825 square feet across studio to two-bedroom layouts, all fully furnished. The building sold out in pre-construction, so 2026 buyers typically purchase through the resale market.
Q: Who developed The Crosby Miami Worldcenter? A: The 33-story tower of roughly 450 furnished residences was developed by The Related Group and Merrimac Ventures, located at 640 N Miami Avenue inside the Miami Worldcenter district, steps from Brightline's MiamiCentral station and Kaseya Center.
Q: Is The Crosby a good short-term-rental investment in 2026? A: It can be, because units now have real operating history you can underwrite against, unlike a pure pre-construction bet. The no-restriction model and prime Worldcenter location support occupancy. Just run net numbers after HOA, management, cleaning, and vacancy, and account for downtown STR competition.
Whether you're buying, selling, or investing — I've got you. If a furnished, no-restriction, cash-flow unit in the heart of downtown fits your strategy, I'll pull the real resale and income numbers for you. Explore the full Crosby Miami Worldcenter project on my website: carloscabalerealtor.com/new-development/the-crosby
Partnership Realty / Partnership Realty Inc / +1 (561) 629-0358 / carloscabalerealtor.com
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