Former INS building razed for mixed-use hotel, apartments

Development of a new mixed-use hotel, apartment and retail project — replacing the former U.S. Immigration Naturalization Service building on Biscayne Boulevard — is underway, ADD Inc. announced on Tuesday.

The Triton Center, at 7880 Biscayne Boulevard, will convert the 12-story building into a 139-key hotel, 324-unit apartment building and 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Florida Fullview Immigration Building LLC is the developer behind the project, which will also include 576 parking spaces. ADD Inc., now with Stantec, is the architecture and design firm for the development, which is applying for LEED Silver certification.

“We are very excited to lend our expertise and vision to one of Miami’s most well-known and symbolic buildings,” Jonathan Cardello, ADD Inc. senior principal, said in a statement. “We believe the Triton Center will be the cornerstone of a true renaissance in the Upper Biscayne Boulevard area.”

Florida Fullview paid $12.5 million for the 2.7-acre block in 2013, according to Miami-Dade property records.

When completed, Triton will include a pedestrian passageway between the condo and hotel components. Each building will feature a pool and gym.

The building was originally constructed in the 1960s as the Gulf American. It featured anodized aluminum sunscreens and transparent glass curtain walls. INS was a tenant from 1983 to 2008, according to a press release. The building has been razed. – Katherine Kallergis