Winston Towers, Sunny Isles Beach: What Buyers Should Check

Winston Towers is the biggest condo community in Sunny Isles Beach — seven towers along NE 174th Street, built in phases from 1970 to 1981, with about 2,850 residences between them, the largest residential complex in the city. It is not oceanfront: the towers stand on the Intracoastal side of Collins Avenue, two blocks from the beach across from Sunny Isles Beach Park, and the trade for giving up direct sand is the lowest-priced way into a full-service high-rise on the island — studios from about $210,000 and one-bedrooms from the mid-$200,000s, with pools, fitness centers, a marina and boat docks, 24-hour security, and valet in most towers. The towers were designed by Gerber & Pancani. The single most important thing about Winston Towers is that it is not one building with one set of rules: each tower has its own association, its own dues, and — critically — its own rental and pet rules, and they differ sharply. Tower 500 prohibits renting outright in its own written rules. Tower 600 is a no-pet building. Tower 200 allows rentals only after two years of ownership and allows no pets. Towers 600 and 700 allow renting immediately. A buyer who shops "Winston Towers" without naming the tower is shopping seven different buildings, and the tower number decides whether the plan works at all.

The facts

Address: 250, 251, 230, 231, 301, 210 & 290 NE 174th St, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160.
Completed: in phases, 1970–1981 (see per-tower detail).
Stories: 22–24 per tower (sources differ by a floor on several towers).
Residences: about 2,850 in total (per-tower counts below sum to about 2,853).
Developer: not verified in any public source checked.
Architect: Gerber & Pancani (verified for Towers 200, 600, and 700).
Unit mix: studios to three- and four-bedroom residences, about 595–2,400 sq ft.
Waterfront: bayfront/Intracoastal side, west of Collins Avenue; two blocks to the beach, across from Sunny Isles Beach Park; marina and community boat dock with ocean access (subject to availability and association rules).
Parking: garage parking in each tower; assigned spaces through the association.
Associations: each tower has its own condominium association — seven separate associations. Tower 600's published contact is Winston Towers 600 Condominium Association, Inc., 210 174th St, (305) 932-4755. The other towers' association contacts were not verified.

Per-tower detail:

Tower 100 — 250 NE 174th St — built 1970 — 22–23 stories — 408 residences.
Tower 200 — 251 NE 174th St — built 1971 — 23 stories — 407–408 residences.
Tower 300 — 230 NE 174th St — built 1973 — 23–24 stories — 416–417 residences.
Tower 400 — 231 NE 174th St — built 1974 — 23–24 stories — 420 residences.
Tower 500 — 301 NE 174th St — built 1976 — 23 stories — 420 residences.
Tower 600 — 210 NE 174th St — built 1981 — 23 stories — 391 residences.
Tower 700 — 290 NE 174th St — built 1980–81 — 22 stories — 391–392 residences.

Amenities and day-to-day living

Amenities vary by tower, since each runs its own association, but the shared pattern is a heated pool, fitness center, sauna, game room and card room, 24-hour security and lobby attendant, valet, laundry facilities, a fenced complex, garage parking, and a marina with community boat dock access. Tower 100 listings add tennis and a pool with Intracoastal views; Tower 300 has washers and dryers on each floor. The market is the most active in the city by sheer volume: more than 100 residences were listed for sale across the seven towers in one broker count, with prices from about $210,000 for a studio to about $925,000 for a three-bedroom. Recent examples at Tower 100: a 595 sq ft studio at $210,000 (November 2026), a 943 sq ft one-bedroom at $358,000, and 1,890 sq ft three-bedrooms at $789,000–$849,000. Tower 300 recent sales include #814 at $650,000, #2404 at $689,000, and #911 at $339,000. The buildings sit two blocks from the beach, a short walk to Sunny Isles Beach Park, the Norman S. Edelcup K-8 school, shops, and restaurants, and about ten minutes from Aventura Mall.

What to check before you buy

Monthly cost — verify the dues per tower; the ranges are wide and they conflict. One source gives $400–$800 a month for Tower 100 (its own page also shows $455–$863 and a $685 figure), $510–$977 for Tower 200, and $400–$700 for Tower 300. Listing examples: a 595 sq ft studio at Tower 100 carried $575 a month, and a 1,890 sq ft three-bedroom at Tower 100 carried $1,050 a month — about $0.56 to $0.97 per square foot. Dues cover different lists per tower. Confirm the dues for the specific unit against that tower's adopted budget, including whether any special assessment is running.
Milestone inspections — all seven towers are deep into the 10-year cycle; ask for the latest reports. Built 1970–1981, every tower's first milestone inspection (40-year recertification) fell between 2010 and 2021, and each is now on the 10-year cycle — derived dates, not confirmed. Two are documented: Tower 100 passed its 40-year certification (per a listing), and Tower 200 passed both its 40- and 50-year recertifications. Ask the specific tower's association for its most recent completed milestone report and its Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS). No verified milestone report, reserve figure, or assessment history was found in public sources for any tower.
Subsidence — not on the study's list, which is a real positive. Winston Towers does not appear on the published list of 35 barrier-island buildings the University of Miami's 2024 InSAR study found settling between 2 and 8 centimeters from 2016 to 2023. The study's authors said no building was found unsafe, and the absence of Winston Towers from the list is a point in its favour, not a guarantee: ask the association whether any engineering review or monitoring has been done, and whether the milestone reports address settlement at all, since heavy construction has continued all around the island.
Reserves and assessments — unverified. No building-wide reserve figure or assessment history was found in public sources for any of the seven towers. Given the buildings' age and the milestone timing, the reserve study and the last three years of board minutes for the specific tower are essential reading.
Owner-occupancy — unverified. No owner-occupancy ratio was found in public sources for any tower. If you are financing, your lender will check it — confirm it before you are under contract, not after.
Rentals — the rules differ by tower, and two towers prohibit renting entirely. This is the decisive diligence item at Winston Towers, and the sources are a mix of broker write-ups and two association documents — rules change, so confirm the current written rule for the specific tower:

Tower 100: rentals allowed after purchase with a $1,000 fee to the association (one broker source, 2019); a second broker post says after two years of ownership — the two conflict.
Tower 200: rentals allowed after 2 years of ownership.
Tower 300: rentals allowed after 1 year of ownership.
Tower 400: no rentals at all (broker buyer guide — the weakest sourcing of the seven; verify).
Tower 500: renting is prohibited — stated in the tower's own Rules and Regulations (approved April 18, 2017).
Tower 600: rent immediately; tenant approval takes about a week.
Tower 700: rent immediately; tenant approval takes two to four weeks. Do not buy any Winston Towers unit for rental income without the current written rule for that exact tower.

Pets — the rules differ by tower, from pet-friendly to a written no-pet policy. Again, confirm for the specific tower:

Tower 100: size limit and breed restrictions; "Pets OK for owners, Large Pets not allowed."
Tower 200: no pets allowed.
Tower 300: pet friendly.
Tower 400: not verified.
Tower 500: pet friendly within limits — one small dog, small cat, or caged bird; no dog over 20 lbs; $50 dog registration (association Rules and Regulations, 2017).
Tower 600: no-pet policy building — only already-established residents with a documented medical need may keep a support pet, one dog or cat under 20 lbs, transported in a carrier, never walked in common areas (association application packet).
Tower 700: not verified.

Who this building suits

Winston Towers suits a buyer who wants the lowest-priced way into a full-service Sunny Isles Beach high-rise — a studio or one-bedroom from the low $200,000s, with a pool, gym, marina, and 24-hour security, two blocks from the beach — and who is willing to do tower-by-tower diligence, because the tower number decides the rental rules, the pet rules, the dues, and the amenities. It is a poor fit for a buyer who wants direct oceanfront, a newer tower, a single set of rules, or a firm rental answer without reading the documents — the towers are 1970–1981 with milestone cycles long underway, two towers prohibit or heavily restrict renting, and the pet rules run from friendly to a written no-pet policy. If you are choosing between this and another tower, send Mike the buildings — and the tower numbers — you are comparing and he will walk through the finances with you, building by building.

Next step

If Winston Towers is on your shortlist, start with the free Sunny Isles Beach Buyer's Building Guide. It walks through the checks that matter before you sign — milestone inspections, reserves, assessments, owner-occupancy, and the questions to ask any association.

Download the free guide

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Lux South Florida Real Estate