Article
Courtesy of The Miami New Times
By Jessica
Weiss
Published August 7, 2015
It’s one of the last oceanfront development holdouts on
Miami Beach. The historic “Ocean Terrace” sector of North Beach, between
75th and 73rd streets, is known for its laid-back neighborhood vibe and
low-rise buildings.
But that could soon change if the
proposed development of a luxury condo tower passes muster
at a city meeting today. Developer Sandor Scher of Claro
Development wants to construct a mixed-use project that
would include a 22-story retail and residential tower on the
beachfront stretch. Critics and preservationists argue
luxury high-rise development does not fit in North Beach, an
area known for its family-oriented, working-class character.
What’s more, they argue, the sunny beach could soon be
eclipsed by a giant shadow.
"North Beach's calling card is its
welcoming, walkable, friendly beach town feel,” says
Kimberlee Blecha, the Vice President of the North Shore
Neighborhood Board. “We love [our] great little local
businesses. We're not big, flashy condos and that's why
people like us." |
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A proposal currently under review would allow
development of a massive luxury condo tower in North Beach.
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Of course the tower's backers say the project would bring jobs and business
to a sleepy section of the Beach. "This project has great merit and provides
a potential bright future for North Beach," says David Custin, a lobbyist
working with one of the project's developers.
In order to build this new tower, the city and voters would have to pass a
proposed zoning change allowing greater building height and density. The
upzoning would allow for a potential 200,000 square foot development, and
would increase the maximum height allowance in the area from 75 feet (eight
stories) to 250 feet (22 stories).
The Miami Beach Planning Board has already endorsed the proposal, so it now
goes to the Miami Beach City Commission, which will decide whether to
include it as a ballot measure in November. The commission is set to discuss
the proposal today at 4 p.m. at City Hall.
The Miami Design Preservation League compares the development to the 1980s,
“when Ocean Drive in South Beach was planned to be replaced with large
condominiums."
"If placed on the ballot, this would be the first time that upzoning was
submitted to the voters since 1997, when the Save Miami Beach referendum
required any upzoning to first be approved by voters," the MDPL said in a
statement.
Most of the buildings within the proposed development are designated as
contributing historic structures, but the new development would demolish
most of them.
As the public fights back against the plan, accusations have swirled that
Mayor Levine and city commissioners are being influenced by lobbyists with a
stake in the project. Some have accused Custin of bias in the project since
he's running Levine's reelection campaign and also representing Ocean
Terrace Holdings, one of the project's developers.
"There are zero conflicts of interests," Custin says. Custin says the
developers' vision is to create a project that is a "catalyst for the
rebirth of a neglected and derelict area," inspired by the "vibrant
commercial and tourist area that existed in the 50’s and 60's along upper
Collins Avenue and Ocean Terrace and will look to this past in shaping the
future."
Levine and Commissioner Jonah Wolfson openly receive high-dollar donations
from vendors and contractors. Earlier this month, when Commissioner Deede
Weithorn fought to have the Ethics Commission look into whether certain
contributions constituted an ethics violation, Levine refused an official
motion to allow the Ethics Commission to even consider the conflicts of
interest.
But the Ethics Commission is looking into it anyway.
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