The property owner, North Bay Owner, LLC, is 100% owned by Sternlicht. The plans, submitted to the Miami Beach Planning Board for approval, include a 144,430 square foot “mixed-use structure containing Class A office space with ground level and second story retail and potential restaurant or food service uses,” according to the application.
Earlier this year, The Real Deal quoted an internal memo stating Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group planned to develop a new headquarters in Miami Beach in anticipation of the lease on their current space at 1601 Washington Avenue expiring in 2021. A spokesman for Starwood said they did not have any comment at this time on their potential use for the space.
Attorney Carter McDowell of Bilzin Sumberg writes in the application, “[T]he Project will serve as an important connection for the surrounding urban fabric and new pedestrian corridors. A 25-foot wide pedestrian paseo on the south side provides a landscaped through-block connection between Collins Avenue and Liberty Avenue with entries to the building. Restaurant and retail offerings are located on a raised platform level three feet above the street along Collins Avenue and the internal paseo.”
McDowell continues with a description of what he calls “a first on Miami Beach,” the creation of 135,000 square feet of “truly Class A office facilities.”
“The addition of office space in this location will diversify uses and create new and important high quality employment opportunities within the neighborhood and the City,” he wrote.
“Five uniquely shaped, Class A office floors are stacked over the raised retail plinth screening the parking garage levels from the street. The upper three office levels divide into two separate buildings, each with their own circulation cores, creating a three-story open breezeway over the retail base. The office floors are proposed at 13-foot structural heights to allow for the clear ceiling heights required in the marketplace for Class A office space,” according to the application.
In order to achieve the 13-foot ceiling heights, North Bay Owner, LLC is seeking approval of a three-foot height variance.
The development includes “cantilevered walkways offering both shared and private outdoor gathering areas for informal meetings and collaboration. Tenant spaces are designed to allow for outdoor terraces, extending interior work spaces to the exterior. Vegetated roofs surround central screened mechanical equipment areas completing the stack,” the filing states.
The building will be both resilient and sustainable with a goal of achieving LEED Platinum and Wellness certification. The design utilizes the maximum five feet of freeboard allowed in the City’s code for future flood conditions. “The ground floor, driveway, and garage ramping are adaptable should the public right-of-way be raised,” according to the application. In addition, the project includes passive water features and native plants.
“The rooftop of the Project will also provide flexible, passive outdoor working space for the use and enjoyment of the penthouse office tenants,” according to the application. The rooftop will not be open to the general public.
The filing continues, “The Project will include primarily office uses, which will operate during normal business hours. Expected retail uses will operate at least five days and possibly seven days a week to maintain ground level activation during normal retail operating hours. Potential restaurant or food service operations will operate during hours typical for Miami Beach restaurants and will close no later than 2:00 am.”
The project provides 305 parking spaces but through the use of mechanical lifts minimizes the footprint of the parking garage allowing office uses and other activated ground level space to line the garage. “This design conceals the parking garage, reducing the mass and visual impact of the structure,” the application states.
“[T]his Project will advance the City’s vision of transforming this area into a walkable and connected urban realm,” the filing claims, noting “[T]he Project will incorporate the recently adopted alternative parking incentives including bicycle parking, carpool and van parking, drop-off and loading zones, scooter and moped parking, and showers for cyclists and pedestrians.”
The proposed development is bordered by the eight-story Gates Hotel to the north, a two-story commercial structure to the south, the 17-story One Hotel to the East across Collins Avenue, and a Florida Power & Light utility facility to the west across Liberty Avenue.
The loading areas are proposed on the westside of the project across from the FP&L facility. “Valet drop-off and pick-up are located on the second level inside the parking garage, creating no impact on Liberty Avenue traffic. Specific drop-off areas for ridesharing services are incorporated along the curb-side on Liberty,” according to the application.
While the tenant mix was unknown at the time of the application, it indicates that the Avis Rent-A-Car office will be incorporated in the project.
Gensler is the project architect. Planning Board filings with all the details are here.
Planning Board meeting
Tuesday, November 27, 1:00 pm
City Hall, Commission Chambers
Renderings: Gensler
