Wynwood board approves three new office developments

A Chicago developer that lured global conglomerates to the Windy City’s trendy West Loop neighborhood is looking to replicate its success in Wynwood.

Sterling Bay Projects is proposing a 10-story mixed-use office building on the west side of Wynwood on Northwest Fifth Avenue between 26th and 27th streets. The new development, 545 Wyn, was among three projects to receive favorable recommendations from the Wynwood Design Review Committee on Tuesday.

According to Sterling Bay’s letter of intent, 545 Wyn’s nine-story office component would sit atop a parking garage with about 28,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. About 200,000 square feet of office space would have 14-foot floor-to-ceiling heights and floor plates ranging from 18,800 square feet to 34,500 square feet. The office tower would feature expansive open-air balconies and an indoor/outdoor amenity deck.

The parking decks will be designed to accommodate murals and mosaics that would be visible from the street. The west facade of the office tower would serve as canvas for artist murals or tenant branding and signage. The development would also have a paseo on the east side of the property that runs north to south to connect 26th and 27th streets.

As part of its applications, Sterling Bay is seeking permission from the city to have two loading berths instead of one, reduce the number of required parking spaces from 652 to 475 and increasing the height of the elevator and mechanical enclosure by 22 feet.

In Chicago’s West Loop, Sterling Bay developed buildings that now serve as the global headquarters for McDonald’s, the Midwest headquarters for Google and the corporate office of Hillshire Brands. The company has also built projects in the city’s Fulton Market District, another trendy neighborhood undergoing a similar revival.

“This office project, with its large floor plate and high ceilings, will bring in the type of employers and tenants Miami’s urban core lacks,” said Steven Wernick, Sterling Bay’s attorney.

The committee also recommended approvals for Printhouse, a redevelopment project by Link Real Estate and Jameson Equities, and 2722 Northwest 2nd Avenue, a commercial and office development by Thor Equities.

Plans for Printhouse call for converting a property at 2509 North Miami Avenue built in 1925 and that once housed a printing plant into a commercial building with ground floor retail and offices on the second and third floors. The design of the renovated structure shows the front facade would resemble newspaper print and feature strong black accents. The developers are also proposing to install about 20,950 square feet of aluminum storefronts for pop-up shops on the ground level.

As a condition of approval, the committee requested that Link and Jameson reduce the size of the proposed windows on the building’s front facade to a size similar to the original structure’s windows. The developers paid $5.4 million for the property in December via 2509 NMA LLC.

Thor won design approval for its 30,400-square-foot project on a 0.7-acre site at 2724 Northwest Second Avenue, 208 Northwest 28th Street, and 229 to 245 Northwest 27th Terrace. Thor retained Oppenheim Architecture to design a one-story building with nearly 7,900 square feet of commercial space on the east side of the property. The west side would have a two-story building with about 10,500 square feet of commercial space and 8,300 square feet of office space, plus a second-floor terrace. Like 545 Wyn, the Thor project also features a paseo.

The projects all add to a handful of new office buildings in the pipeline in Wynwood, including the Wynwood 25 Annex and Cube Wynwyd.