New Heights for MiMo?

The MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District, home to a string of charming and colorful 1950s-style motels, is the heart of Miami’s Upper East Side. It’s where residents of surrounding neighborhoods, from Belle Meade to Palm Grove to Morningside, can come together to enjoy a cup of coffee or grab a bite outdoors on a breezy day.

There are few things that can spoil a scene as picturesque, but to the affected residents, a city of Miami ordinance attempting to double the height limit allowed in the district is certainly one of them.

Had it been put forth and approved, an item on the city’s Jan. 9, 2024, Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) meeting agenda would have increased the height limit from 35 to 70 feet for new constructions conducted in partnership with the Miami Parking Authority (MPA).

The ordinance nearly came before the board without any public outreach, according to community leaders who say they were not notified as they normally are when such items are proposed. An ounce of luck in the form of a tip from an anonymous neighbor, however, was enough to sound the alarm. Residents reached out to Christine King, the city’s commission chair, who agreed to ask for the item’s deferral.

Now, with all eyes set on the city and a town hall meeting pending, residents are weighing the potential repercussions.

A District Years in the Making

The MiMo district runs on both sides of Biscayne Boulevard from NE 50th Street to NE 77th Street. It received a historic designation in June 2006, with much of the credit due to community activists long grown tired of the blight that had been affecting the area.

“I moved here in 1983, and when I moved into this neighborhood this was a perfect example of urban decay,” said Eileen Bottari, a resident of the historic neighborhood just west of MiMo known as Palm Grove.

Today, the district comprises more than 60 historic structures, some of which have been renovated or rehabilitated for use. There is also a series of mainly one- and two-story commercial buildings riddled throughout the district; these are the noncontributing buildings which would be at risk of demolition if five- to seven-story developments become the allowable norm.

The district is only one lot wide on either side of Biscayne Boulevard. Directly adjacent to those lots are single-family homes.

Evelyn Hernandez Vellez lives in the first property next to a vacant lot located within the district on NE 75th Street.

“If seven-story high buildings go up there where it’s a neighborhood of single-story homes, it’s really going to have a big effect on us,” she said at the Jan. 9 meeting, just before the item was deferred. “We worked really hard many years to make this a historic neighborhood.”

Parking Deficits

MiMo’s historic designation doesn’t make it immune to the typical problems facing just about any other commercial district in Miami, of which parking is one. Spend enough time in the area – or really, just 10 minutes will do it – and you’re sure to notice people parking in front of residential homes before walking over to their business of choice.

Alejandra Argudin, CEO of the MPA, says the proposed ordinance would provide a solution to that issue by increasing public parking and reducing encroachment into the surrounding neighborhoods.

Residents aren’t exactly ready to send thank you letters to the MPA, however.

Bottari says her neighborhood has been infiltrated by the organization, and accuses its staff of installing “PayByPhone” signs in front of residential homes from Biscayne Boulevard west to NE 4th Court, or “No Stopping” signs next to empty lots within the district, essentially creating the very problem they set out to solve.

When she complains about the signs, Bottari says she’s offered a parking decal to park in front of her home – a decal she has to pay for.

“See how every MPA solution makes money for the MPA?” said Elvis Cruz, a community activist who also doubts the MPA’s sincerity.

“The Miami Parking Authority is a greedy empire,” said Cruz, who lives in Morningside. “This is not about providing a public benefit. This is about the MPA wanting to make money for itself.”

To him and Bottari, the real solution would be to build a three-story garage with free public parking under the existing height limits, but Argudin says it’s not possible.

“Parking cannot be free, given the costs associated with building and operating the garage,” she wrote in an email. “Nevertheless, municipal parking rates are typically lower than those private-sector entities.”

While that may be true, there’s nothing cheaper than free parking, and that’s what Cruz and Bottari believe patrons of local businesses will continue to opt for as long as it’s available, even if it means parking in front of someone’s home.

As for signs being posted throughout their neighborhoods, Argudin said the MPA would be willing to meet with residents face-to-face to discuss the issue.

Clearing the Air

Although the MPA’s role is explicitly stated within the ordinance, it may not be the only one. Residents have received already existing development plans which would be made possible by the increased height limit, namely a five-story office space on the lot directly abutting Hernandez Vellez’s house.

The 49-foot building would be developed on 7500 Biscayne Boulevard by the Vagabond Group, led in part by Avra Jain. Jain is credited with renovating some of the MiMo District's historic motels, including the Vagabond Hotel, the Gold Dust and the South Pacific.

City manager Art Noriega, the applicant listed on the HEPB agenda item, did not respond to this publication’s request for comment on what sparked the proposed ordinance. He will, however, be hosting a town hall meeting at the Little Haiti Cultural Center on Feb. 15 to broadly discuss community issues affecting the Upper East Side, including traffic and parking.

Residents have also secured an additional town hall meeting at the same location on Feb. 20 to specifically discuss the ordinance and Vagabond's proposed plan.

Debby Stander – a resident of Belle Meade and former president of the MiMo Biscayne Association – was the first to request a meeting in an email chain with King, other elected officials and roughly 60 residents.

Stander is not opposed to a change in the district’s height limit as long as it is implemented considerately to maintain the character of the neighborhood. The questions posed in her email included whether 70 feet is the right target limit, which properties would be eligible for the height bonus, what the effects on traffic would be, whether the ordinance complies with federal and local historic district design guidelines, and much more.

“Residents need to get legal protections provided in the language of these changes because, unless you spell it all out, we can be in a lot of trouble,” Stander later told the Biscayne Times.

And, unfortunately, she says, residents are finding more and more that the city of Miami can’t always be trusted to do the right thing – especially when it comes to development.

“We’ve absolutely got to find a balance between what we allow here in the business district and how that impacts the neighborhoods behind it,” said Stander.