The Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board signed off on Tuesday on redevelopment plans for the Bayside Motor Inn, a shuttered hotel in the city’s MiMo neighborhood.
A partnership between the Mattoni Group and Avra Jain plans to convert the property into a mixed-use site with retail, restaurants and offices.
The historic preservation board granted a request by 5101 RE CO LLC, a company owned by Mattoni Group principal Ricardo Caporal, to demolish a 6,430-square-foot building on the northern part of the property at 52nd Street and Biscayne Boulevard. 5101 RE CO wants to replace it with a new three-story building totaling 18,994 square feet that would have ground floor retail and offices on the top two floors. The existing three-story hotel on the southern part of the property at 5101 Biscayne Boulevard will be preserved.
“Having been involved in MiMo, this is an opportunity to create things people have asked for,” Jain told the board members. “We have put down an ambitious project within the constraints of MiMo standards.”
Built in 1952, the Bayside Motor Inn has 40 rooms in a building totaling 13,511 square feet. Under its plan, 5101 RE CO would convert the ground floor into restaurants, enhance the courtyard and keep a small number of hotel rooms on the second floor. The project also includes 60 parking spaces, of which 37 are underground. Jain sold the site to 5101 RE CO for $4.05 million in June of last year.
During the hearing, MiMo Biscayne Association President Deborah Stander questioned whether the demolition of the northern building was really necessary. “Our main concern is really primarily questioning if the demolition was unavoidable,” Stander said. “I believe there is legitimate concern whether that north wing should be demolished.”
Jain told the board that the northern building had sustained significant fire, water and termite damage, necessitating the teardown. “I can tell you without a doubt that the building is not worth saving,” she said.