Controversial proposals to build offices in Miami Beach near the city’s famous Lincoln Road passed another hurdle on Wednesday.
The Miami Beach City Commission voted 5-1 to approve a slew of items needed for the proposals to proceed. Vice Mayor Kristen Rosen Gonzalez cast the sole dissenting vote after hours of heated debate with the rest of the elected officials.
Two development groups – one led by Don Peebles and the other by Integra Investments and including Barry Sternlicht as a co-developer – want to build separate projects on city-owned parking lots roughly between 17th Street and Lincoln Road, and Meridian Avenue and Alton Road.
Wednesday’s vote approved a slew of development regulation changes for the property, after commissioners preliminary approved the tweaks in May.
The vote also gave a preliminary OK to development agreements and ground leases between the city and the development groups, with another vote expected on July 20.
The final decision lies in the hands of city voters who will cast ballots on the proposals at a Nov. 8 referendum.
The plans have pitted Rosen Gonzalez against most of the rest of the commission, and caused a divide among some residents. Proponents envision the Class A office space as attracting financial and technology firms that have homed in on South Florida, to help Miami Beach shake its party image and allow the city to turn into a true live-work place. But opponents push back with concerns over increased traffic and say the city will be shortchanged by the developers’ planned lease payments. They also question the feasibility of building offices at a time when the future of workspace remains unknown because of the work-from-home shift.
“Witnessing all of this, and I hate to use this metaphor, is like witnessing a rape,” Rosen Gonzalez said during the commission meeting. “I say to all of my colleagues, ‘Somebody is getting raped, and they are screaming’ and no one is coming to help, and I can’t do anything about it.”
Others on the dais took issue with that. “It’s a shame for anyone to liken this deal to a violent, illegal act,” commissioner David Richardson responded. “I have never heard anyone do that before.”
Lidia Dinkova, TheRealDeal
