FAA approves Met Square’s lofty height

Met Square rendering
Met Square rendering

The Federal Aviation Administration has given its final approval to MDM Development’s planned Met Square condo project, saying the tower does not pose a hazard to air navigation.

Met Square in downtown Miami was one of four proposed Miami-Dade County projects that recently received interim advisories from the FAA, entitled “Notice of Presumed Hazard.” The letters stated that initial findings showed that the structures “exceed obstruction standards” and/or would create a problem for air navigation. The FAA said that if the towers were reduced to 463 feet above ground level they be allowed.

The FAA further said the notices show that an initial study has been completed and are an interim step in the process, geared to notify developers and begin negotiations on possible mitigations.

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Met Square’s developers received approval for the 545-foot Met Square on Thursday. But a search of the FAA’s website shows that the three other lofty local projects are still awaiting final determination: Swire Properties’ 1,049-foot-tall tower at Brickell City Centre, Florida East Coast Realty’s 1,010-foot-skyscraper and Melo Group’s 540-foot condo building.

“We continue to work towards beginning construction on Met Square, the culminating component of the multi-billion dollar, master-planned Metropolitan Miami project,”  said Ian Swanson of MDM Development in a statement.