Planning board slams proposed Miami Beach hotel

The city planning board bashed plans to draw large crowds to a proposed resort four blocks south of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, citing noise, traffic and parking issues. 

“You could conceivably have upwards of 1,200 people descending on this location at the same time with no place to park their cars,” said Frank Kruszewski, vice chairman of the board. “This is a destination. It’s going to be a place that people are going to want to come to. If people come either by taxi or by car, there’s going to be more traffic. And if they come by car, where are you going to put them?”

The criticism came after the owners of the former Crown Hotel, located at 4041 Collins Avenue, unveiled plans to open a new Thompson Hotels brand venue, according to the Daily Business Review.

The property sold to an investment group in November  2012 for $85 million. The new owners hope to transform the 174-unit apartment building into a 380-unit hotel.

The hotel ownership argued that the 1.5-acre block was large enough to hold several outdoor restaurants and a lounge with a maximum occupancy of 1,590 people.

But board members, such as Jeff Feldman, mostly shook their heads.

“I feel like your project may have to change,” Feldman said. [DBR] — Christopher Cameron