A partnership between 13th Floor Investments and Tricera Capital got the green light from a city of Miami board to build on a prime 2.2-acre site that borders the MiMo Historic District and Miami’s Morningside neighborhood.
Paseo Miami, a mixed-use apartment building, is planned for 5700 Biscayne Boulevard, the site of a cancelled condo project by Unitas Development Group.
The 448,000-square-foot development, designed by Corwil Architects, would include 294 apartments, about 27,000 square feet of retail/commercial space and 517 parking spaces. The project also features an interior courtyard and a pool deck on the top floor.
The Miami Urban Development Review Board on Wednesday approved Paseo Miami with 10 conditions tweaking the design of the proposed eight-story building. The board’s requested changes include incorporating MiMo elements into the structure, enhancing the southern facade, breaking down the massing of the facade to create a multiform building, and placing Oak trees along the paseo.
The developer, a joint venture between 13th Floor and Tricera called BLVD 57 LP, and its representatives must also meet with residents and address their concerns about Paseo Miami’s scale in relation to the MiMo Historic District and Morningside.
“We agree that this an important piece of property that should be developed responsibly with context to the adjacent neighborhoods,” said Brad Colmer, chairman of the Morningside Civic Association’s Biscayne Boulevard Development Committee and a developer in Sunset Harbour. “There has been zero outreach undertaken by the developer.”
Morningside resident Debbie Stander said even though there are no zoning restrictions preventing the developer from building an eight-story structure, the project would dwarf buildings to the immediate north and south of Biscayne Boulevard.
13th Floor and Tricera purchased the site from Unitas in June 2017 for $19.5 million. The previous owner wanted to build 105 condos and 40,000 square feet of retail in eight stories. At Paseo Miami, the unit mix would be 34 studios, 154 one bedroom apartments, and 106 with two and three bedrooms.