UPDATED, June 20, 3:20 p.m.: Blue Road won approval to replace an office building with Capri, a new 16-story condo tower on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach.
The Bay Harbor Islands-based company, led by Argentine real estate developers Jorge Savloff and Marcelo Tenenbaum, intends to replace the 61-year-old Senator Building at 13899 Biscayne Boulevard with a 259-unit project that will include seven townhomes along Highland Drive.
A variance unanimously approved by the North Miami Beach City Commission on Tuesday will enable Blue Road to construct a 15-foot-high fifth-floor amenity deck with garden space, a pool and two spas. North Miami Beach code normally allows a height of only 12 feet per story above the ground floor.
Markus Frankel, Capri’s architect, told the commission that Blue Road plans to launch sales at $400 per square foot to $500 per square foot “for the more prominent apartments” as early as next week and break ground by June 2020. Capri’s units will range from 609-square-foot studios to 1,901-square-foot townhouses. It’ll also have a multipurpose tech center, a rooftop observation deck, a private children’s park, a first-floor bar lounge, and a 399-space garage.
The project will be built on a 1.7-acre site that Blue Road is in the process of purchasing, according to a company spokesperson. The property was last purchased for $4 million in January 2015.
North Miami Beach’s elected officials complimented the design, but said they worried that the project didn’t have enough parking spaces, especially for guests. Frankel pointed out that Capri would provide each unit with 1.6 spaces, which exceeded the city code of one space per unit. Blue Road’s attorney, John Dellagloria, agreed to use valet parking for guest parking.
Near Capri, Blue Road is also building the Highlands, a 60-unit, seven-story condo that has received EB-5 funding.
“The Capri and the Highlands will be the catalyst to encourage more development in that district,” Frankel said.
Not far away, SoLē Mia, a 184-acre community in North Miami, is under development in phases by Aventura-based Turnberry Associates and LeFrak of New York City.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Marcelo Tenenbaum as Marco Tenenbaum.