Dolphins owner wants a taller high-rise at Deauville site. Miami Beach board approves
A proposal from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to build a taller highrise for a luxury complex at the site of the Deauville Beach Resort moved forward after the Miami Beach Planning Board supported it.
Ross, the real estate developer behind Related Companies, is proposing to build a “six-star” hotel and luxury condo tower at 6701 Collins Ave. and has retained architect Frank Gehry to design the building.
Ross proposed new zoning changes for a two-block stretch that would increase the height of any new project on the Deauville site by 87%, from 200 feet to 375 feet tall, and give it 50% more interior square feet.
The zoning changes would need to pass in a voter referendum because of the proposed density increase. The City Commission is scheduled to vote in July on whether to put it on the November ballot.
The 5-1 vote of the Planning Board on Tuesday was advisory and not binding. The commission can still reject the project.
“I’m grateful to the Miami Beach Planning Board for their favorable recommendation to the City Commission on our vision of a transformational project,” Ross said in a statement. “I’m personally committed to working with the community and ensuring that we get this project right for Miami Beach and the future of North Beach.”
A month after announcing the project, neither Ross nor Gehry has offered any renderings of the proposed project. Some residents said that was worrisome.
“We need to see what we’re dealing with,” said Elizabeth Latone, who lives in a nearby condo building.
Ross, who signed a purchase agreement for the property, called into the meeting and said his team would provide renderings and engage with the community about the project.
“What I do know is we will build something that will have tremendous economic-development opportunities,” he said. “We will pay recognition to what the Deauville is, or what it was, I should say.”
The only details of the project released Tuesday came from attorney Neisen Kasdin, a former Miami Beach mayor representing Ross in the deal. Kasdin said it would include about 175 hotel rooms and 150 condo units. It would also
include unspecified public benefits, he said.
Kasdin cited an analysis from a consultant that said the project would generate $6 million per year in incremental property taxes into the newly created North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.
Kasdin asked the board to “take a leap of faith” and said the development team would release renderings by the July commission meeting.
Several residents called in
to support the project, pointing out that voters would ultimately have the final say.
“My whole family and I just wholeheartedly hope that you will push this through to get on ballot,” said Ronnie Issenberg, president of the Biscayne Point Homeowners Association.