Here’s Why That Weird Brickell CVS Has a Pool

It is a Sunday, and a Brickell resident is running their daily errands. They go to Publix to buy groceries for the week before heading to their local CVS pharmacy to pick up their SSRI refill.

But as they walk into the CVS at 1201 Brickell Ave. between Southwest 12th Street and Southeast 12th Terrace, they make a strange discovery. As if an amenity for those awaiting their amoxicillin or vaccination appointment, a small pool sits on the corner, just a few feet from the pharmacy entrance.

Utterly confused, they notice the local Facebook group has been discussing the mysterious pool for the past few years.

New Times needed to step in. The investigation was long overdue.

On a sunny Wednesday morning, New Times traveled to the CVS and its mysterious pool. Unfortunately, we did not bring our bathing suits or towels. This was a business trip. We walked into the CVS with a notepad, pen, and our trademark curiosity to learn more.

A CVS employee, appearing in his 20s, explained that we weren’t the only ones with questions – many a customer had sauntered through the building’s double doors to inquire about the adjacent rectangular body of water. Through conversations with his colleagues, he says he learned that the pool is for “some Airbnbs nearby.” Though he wasn’t exactly sure which building it’s intended for, he believes the project is under construction and the pool is still being cleaned. 

He hasn’t noticed any pedestrians going for a dip so far, but says he thinks the pool will be “great for business” once it’s open, as, naturally, its patrons will require drinks and chips from the CVS next door.

New Times, however, was not satisfied. A phone call and emails to Commissioner Damian Pardo’s office have so far gone unanswered.

While awaiting word from the commissioner’s office, we used our unparalleled research skills to scour the internet for answers about the peculiar pool. Sure enough, a four-year-old Miami Herald article provided some clues. 

According to then-Herald reporter Rebecca San Juan, in May 2021, World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki would turn the Colonnade Plaza office building near the CVS into a boutique hotel.

The pool makes its dazzling appearance in the story’s fourth paragraph.

“The hotel will house a total of 95 rooms and an outdoor pool on the ground floor of the building, according to plans submitted to the city and conversations with construction workers on site,” the article reads.

The architects must not have noticed that Miami prefers its pools on rooftops.

It’s still unclear exactly when the pool will be bustling with waxed and vaxed guests, but it will always be a Brickell landmark.