Photo by Andrew Meade Photography

The Estiatorio Milos restaurant project in Miami Beach was named the "Best Retail/Mixed-Use Project" in this year's Best Projects contest.

Photo by Charles Wilkins

The project transformed a dilapidated warehouse into this high-end Greek restaurant.

Now, instead of a dank, dark warehouse, the interior of the 11,200-sq-ft Estiatorio Milos Greek restaurant features seating for more than 200; a 1,000-bottle, temperature-controlled wine room; an open prep kitchen; and gourmet marketplace.

But serving up the finished product wasn't easy.

First, due to municipal building requirements, the Plaza Construction-led team could not demolish the existing warehouse but instead had to rebuild the entire structure.

To accomplish the rebuild, crews installed a new foundation; replaced the building's existing roof, parapet and walls; constructed a new mechanical and storage mezzanine; and modernized the front entry with hurricane-resistant display windows.

The project's electrical contractor, Hitech Electric, served as a key specialty contractor, according to Plaza. The firm's work started early, beginning with integrating the required MEP systems into the building's new concrete floor slab, and ended an estimated five months later, when the firm finished hanging the restaurant's complex system of light fixtures, which had been fabricated from custom glass and steel.

Interiors include white marble, high-end tile and various custom-stained red oak millwork finishes, such as tongue-and-groove ceilings, custom wood doors and numerous built-ins.

Designers Specialty Millwork handled the custom built-ins, which included display shelving units as well as the facility's wine cooler, which was clad in intricately measured red oak planks. In addition to coordinating its work with the other trades, the millworker assisted with the structural redesign of the restaurant's ceiling.

Additionally, the restaurant features a high-tech security system, a fully integrated audio-visual system and a light fixture control panel/system.

Plaza started work on the project in July 2011 and completed it in five months.

Key Players

Owner: Estiatorio Milos Restaurants, New York

Contractor: Plaza Construction, Miami Beach, Fla.

Designer: STA Architecture, Miami

Interior Design: Jeffrey Beers International, New York

Structural Engineer: De Los Rey Engineering, Miami

Submitted by Plaza Construction