HOMAGE Fitness Designed the Gym at 2200 Brickell for the 500th Workout, Not the First

Most residential gyms are designed for the sales tour. Ryan Johnson spent years as a personal trainer before co-founding HOMAGE Fitness, and he designs them for the people who actually use them.

"I'm always thinking about what someone's 500th workout in the space looks like, not just their first impression when they walk through the door," he said.

At 2200 Brickell, that thinking went all the way up to the roof. The five-story, 103-residence building on Brickell Avenue, developed by Aria Development Group, has a nearly one-acre rooftop — and HOMAGE built a good share of it for training.

The outdoor space, called the Oasis, uses equipment from NOORD, including a pull-up bar, suspension trainers, battle ropes, and a GHD. Two turf areas were left open on purpose so residents can use them for yoga, Pilates, martial arts, or conditioning. A quarter-mile track circles the roof. Indoors, the Vitality Club covers strength and cardio — so someone can lift inside and finish the session outside.

On why so much of it lives outdoors, Johnson said: "Especially in Miami, where outdoor living is such a significant part of the lifestyle, it would have been a missed opportunity to treat fitness as something that only happens inside four walls."

It's a smaller-scale building making a deliberate bet on how people here actually want to live.