Sunny Isles Beach green-lights Château-Fortune site plan

On Thursday, Sunny Isles Beach city commissioners unanimously approved the site plan for a 56-story development proposed by Château Group and Fortune International Group.

The proposal is the latest in a series of high-rise developments in Sunny Isles Beach by Château Group and Fortune International, including the 52-story Ritz-Carlton Residences, which is scheduled to enter the construction phase next year.

The 56-story, mixed-use, two-tower development at 18801 Collins Avenue would have 431 condominium units, 60 hotel rooms and 90 apartment/hotel units.

The project will probably carry the brand of a hotel group, Eduardo Imery, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fortune International, told the city commissioners at the meeting Thursday evening.

“We are planning to bring another hospitality brand to the city,” Imery said. “We hope to do that soon.”

Sunny Isles Beach city commissioners also approved a transfer of development rights to Château Group and Fortune International that increased their project’s total number of units by 120 to 581.

Transfers of development rights, or TDRs, essentially amend the city’s zoning by transferring developmental density from one part of Sunny Isles Beach to another. Château and Fortune will pay $48 million the city for the TDRs.

During a public hearing, seven Sunny Isles residents told the city commission that the Château-Fortune project will add to traffic congestion and construction noise in the city.

Mayor George “Bud” Scholl said Château and Fortune could sell their 4.5-acre project site to other developers and that as many as four buildings could be constructed on the property.

The Château-Fortune project will be less dense than that, and “something is going to get built there eventually,” Scholl said.