A condo project may be headed for single-family neighborhood in North Miami

The North Miami Planning Commission gave its nod to the development of a 67-unit, six-story condominium at its Wednesday meeting, paving the way for multifamily projects in a single-family neighborhood on Northeast 130th Street near West Dixie Highway.

Turkish developer OZ and BF, LLC, led by Ozkan Ozcelik and Serhat Karakaya, will be developing the condominium at 840 Northeast 130th Street as its first project in South Florida, according to Cemil Akbas, owner of PSN Contracting, the general contractor for the project and representative for the owner.

Records show the Turkish firm paid $815,000 for the land last June. The seller was Land Trust Service Corp, TRS.

The proposed development, if approved by the city council, will be one of the first projects of its kind in the single-family area of North Miami.

Neighbors objected to the development during the meeting, but Joseph Geller, an attorney for the developer, said his client will work with the neighbors to make the project more palatable.

The current R2 zoning only allows five units per acre. But because the site is in a designated “neighborhood redevelopment overlay,” the developer can build up to 90 units per acre. Instead, it plans to build 67.

Yet planning commission members and neighbors said parking will be insufficient and they fear overflow parking will be a nuisance for neighboring North Miami homes.

“We actually exceed the required parking, although they’d like us to have even more,” Geller said. The city code is 1.5 spots per unit, allowing for reductions based on certain amenities like bike racks and spots for electric vehicles, which are planned for the project. He said the current plan is for 96 spaces, including guest spaces and handicapped parking.

Parking will be a surface lot, because Patrick Valent, the architect on the project, said a parking structure would make the building three stories taller and more obtrusive in the neighborhood.

Other issues up for debate included the pool, which is currently planned for the second floor, which would put it “in the neighbor’s back yard,” said commissioner Kenny Each. Valent and Geller agreed to change it to a rooftop pool.

Commissioners and neighbors also expressed fears that the condominium would turn into a rental. While the city can’t prohibit individual unit owners from renting out their units, an existing ordinance prohibits short-term rentals in a residential area. Geller agreed to also put the exclusion into the condo documents.