Bay Harbor Islands council OKs Monarch Hotel plan

The Bay Harbor Islands Town Council signed off on the Monarch Hotel project.

The 96-unit, six-story hotel at 9540-9550 West Bay Harbor Drive will include a ground-floor restaurant and outdoor bar. Council member Kelly Reid suggested converting the site back to the residential if the hotel were to fail. A condominium building was originally on the site before it was torn down.

The council allowed the restaurant to be open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The deck will close at 9 p.m. every night. [Miami Herald] — Mark Maurer