Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins and the Related Companies real estate firm, has poured over $1 million into promoting a Miami Beach ballot referendum that would pave the way for him to build a new hotel and condo tower at the former Deauville Hotel site, campaign finance reports show. A report issued Friday shows that an entity affiliated with Related contributed $1.05 million between Sept. 9 and Oct. 7 to “YES For A Safe and Strong Future,” a political committee that has flooded Miami Beach voters with mailers, text messages and video ads in recent weeks seeking support for the Nov. 8 ballot question. The entity, listed as “TRCLP – NY DEVELOPMENT,” is a Related affiliate based in New York, where the firm is headquartered. The ballot question asks voters whether to approve a substantial increase in floor-area ratio — a method of regulating building size — to let Ross move ahead with plans for a 125-unit luxury condo tower and a 175-room hotel at the site of the shuttered historic hotel at 6701 Collins Ave. Ross is proposing a 375-foot high condo tower in an area with a current 200-foot height limit. Further details of the project, which is being designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, have not yet been released or approved by the city, which will negotiate with the developers if voters approve the referendum zoning measure. If approved, the ballot question would require the developers to provide an unspecified “public recreational facility” and access to the beach. With demolition of the Deauville underway, some activists and historic preservationists say the city and developers need to do more to save the character of a local gem that fell into disrepair. Others say it’s time for a fresh start and that the project will help spruce up the North Beach neighborhood.
Aaron Leibowitz, MiamiHerald
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