Mango’s owner proposes selling South Beach club and nearby property to build complex
The owner of Mango’s Tropical Cafe is under contract to buy three adjoining properties behind the iconic Ocean Drive club for the development of a mixed-use complex that may include luxury residences and retail space.
David Wallack, 72, whose family has owned the property at 900 Ocean Dr., since the 1950s, told the Miami Herald that he has secured an option to purchase the properties just west of Mango’s — at 909, 919 and 929 Collins Ave. — with the idea of selling his club and the other lots to a developer.
Wallack and his son, Mango’s COO Joshua Wallack, want to project a new vision for the 29-year-old club and the broader South Beach cabaret district. The club has remained closed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Wallacks have spent that time brainstorming how their business could evolve to complement the proposed reinvention of South Beach — from party scene to serene — that Miami Beach city commissioners have pushed.
“It may be time now, and the right time, for everybody to gather around a new vision,” David Wallack said.
Neither knows for sure whether Mango’s will be part of that vision. Joshua
Wallack said it would be “presumptuous” to think about someday demolishing the club. David Wallack said Mango’s may be a tenant in the new development, but its business model would likely change dramatically to focus more on fine dining and less on late-night gatherings.
He said the project may include residential or hotel uses, but the father-son team said they are open to any proposals they receive. They plan to discuss future plans with residents during a community meeting.
The proposed project site is at about 0.8 acres.
“We don’t have a plan, we don’t have any kind of development,” Joshua Wallack said. “We’re looking for the best and the brightest, we’re looking for the highest level of quality.”
Commissioners, who said they are fed up with South Beach’s reputation as an “anything goes” party hub, are considering policy measures to revamp the entertainment district, which is broadly defined as Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue from Fifth to 16th streets. Earlier this month, they held their first vote on a legislative package proposed by Mayor Dan Gelber to reform the area.
At their Dec. 4 meeting, the board gave preliminary approval to a proposal that would restrict loud music beginning at 2 a.m. at popular Ocean Drive businesses between Ninth and 11th streets.
Commissioners also voted to more harshly punish sidewalk cafe operators who violate city laws prohibiting the hawking, or verbally soliciting of customers on the public right of way.
One commission proposal that may affect the Mango’s project, a zoning change to allow multi-story additions and a 25-foot height increase for buildings on Collins Avenue, won’t be heard by the commission until January at the earliest. The commission has also signaled support for maintaining Ocean Drive as a pedestrian boardwalk, as it has been for several months.
“The call for change has been a catalyst for us,” Joshua Wallack said.
The Wallacks tapped the real estate firm CBRE to hunt for proposals to buy the assemblage of lots and redevelop it.
Mango’s has been renting the 919 Collins Ave. property as office space since 2012.
The request for proposals went out Dec. 9. The firm created a dedicated website to market the project, known as “Evolution of Ocean Drive,” and produced a sleek video to match. The unified development would cross over the Ocean Court alley to connect Ocean Drive and Collins Ave.
David Wallack is not bound to purchase the lots, but while his option to purchase remains in effect, the current owners are not allowed to sell them to anyone else.
While there is no rendering or definitive plan for what the new project may look like, Joshua Wallack did share a conceptual drawing by architect Chris Ritter that shows a multistory complex at the Mango’s site and a pedestriansonly Ocean Drive.
“We really felt like this was a critical-mass, cathartic vision to evoke the kind of things that the commissioners are saying,” he said.
They expect to begin receiving proposals in early 2021. In the meantime, they plan to reopen Mango’s when the COVID situation improves — perhaps in March for its 30year anniversary.
“Regardless of what we do, it’s going to take time to do it,” David Wallack said. “I’m hoping certainly that Mango’s will still be a shining light for the near future.”