Upper East Side Residents Haggle Over MiMo

The city of Miami is addressing community concerns on a proposed height increase in the MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District by proffering somewhat of a compromise, one that’s been met with varying levels of satisfaction.

As reported in last month’s Biscayne Times cover story, city manager Art Noriega applied for a resolution to be passed at the Jan. 9 Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) meeting which would have increased the height limit in the district from 35 to 70 feet, if developers agreed to include parking operated by the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) through a public-private partnership. The city has since amended the resolution to instead allow a smaller increase – from 35 to 55 feet – with the added requirement that such developments take place on at least a one-acre lot, of which there are only three in the district.

The previously deferred item is scheduled to be heard at the March 5, 2024, HEPB meeting.

The amended resolution – along with a rendering for a 49-foot building that would be accommodated by it – was first made public during a Feb. 20 community meeting at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. Developer Avra Jain of the Vagabond Group wants to use the additional height allowance to build a five-story building on an empty lot at 7500 Biscayne Blvd.; it would include two levels of office space and roughly 250 parking spaces in a three-floor garage operated by the MPA.

Jain said the MPA reached out to her in search of a proposed development project that the parking organization could get on board with. Alejandra Argudin, CEO of the MPA, said the MPA has done cost studies to determine the feasibility of purchasing its own land to build a parking garage that fits within the district’s 35-foot limit and have found that the “numbers don’t work.”

Under the proposed project, the MPA would fund the parking garage portion of the development and then rent the spaces to Jain for day use at a rate of $150 a month. The garage would be available to evening dwellers and consumers in the MiMo District after work hours, fulfilling the “bona fide public benefit” required under Noriega’s resolution.

Argudin also pledged to provide a circulator tram to transport visitors from the parking garage, which would be located at the northern end of the district, to their respective destinations on the boulevard.

“If I don’t build this, I’ll build something else ... and I’ll meet the design criteria,” Jain said at the meeting, claiming that a similar project using the existing height limit would not be feasible. “Listen, nobody’s done more thoughtful work on the boulevard over the years.”

Jain is responsible for the renovation of some of the MiMo District’s historic motels, including the Vagabond, the Gold Dust and the South Pacific.

Still, some residents believe the dichotomy between either raising the height limit or doing away with a parking solution entirely is disingenuous. Morningside resident and activist Elvis Cruz suggested shortening the proposed 14-foot office space floors in order to fit within the existing height limit. Others suggested placing the parking underground.

“Once again, they’ve got it backwards,” said Cruz. “Instead of designing a project to fit the law, they want to change the law to fit the project.”

Roughly ten blocks south, Asia Capital Real Estate (ACRE) is requesting a zoning change to build a multifamily residential building with 449 units next to Legion Park. The proposed 85-foot development would include anywhere from 45 to 75 affordable or workforce housing units, 34 to 186 public parking spaces – depending on what's granted by the city – and a public promenade.

The plans were presented at a Feb. 27 community meeting at Adela at MiMo Bay, an apartment building by the same developer located adjacent to the proposed development lot. City Commission Chair Christine King, who hosted the February meetings, joined residents in expressing concern over the traffic resulting from added density on Biscayne Boulevard.

Though there is a minority of both residents and hotel owners that support moving beyond existing height limits in MiMo, many feel it is not the proper solution to the district's longstanding parking woes.

Palm Grove resident Eileen Bottari once again suggested removing the pay-to-park signs between Biscayne Boulevard and surrounding residences so that small business patrons could park for free, rather than opting to leave their cars in front of single-family homes. Angel Diaz, director of operations at the MPA, said such a strategy would likely result in a slew of abandoned vehicles. King said she’d be in support of a one-year pilot program testing the removal of the signs.

Residents and business owners took turns at a Feb. 15 meeting knocking off a list of additional concerns and complaints affecting the Upper East Side, starting with trucks loading and unloading right on Biscayne Boulevard during peak traffic, wonky traffic lights that need to be synchronized, speeders using residential roads as thoroughfares, a lack of public transportation, overdevelopment and inadequate infrastructure.

Though Noriega admitted the city is limited in scope of jurisdiction and power, some solutions that were floated included adding crosswalks adjacent to Morningside K-8 Academy and Legion Park, increasing police presence to deter bad actors on the road and addressing additional obstacles affecting the linear commercial district through the Miami 21 zoning code.

Noriega and King also promised to host future community workshops and meetings with county and state officials, including those from the Florida Department of Transportation, which oversees Biscayne Boulevard and has long prevented proposed parking on the roadway itself.

With so much still to conquer as well as a potential reimagining of the MiMo District at play, many are hesitant to give the city a green light to allow additional height on the boulevard, no matter how small or isolated the change may be.

“I can’t support more feet on the boulevard for this project because I do not trust the city to stop at that,” said Morningside resident Neil Robertson.

Many residents, for instance, asked for clarity as to what constitutes a “bona fide public benefit” under the proposed HEPB resolution, fearful that a developer could come into the district and interpret the legislation quite broadly. King said she and her staff would work on narrowing the definition.

Those looking to stay abreast of the latest MiMo news can head to BiscayneTimes.com for updated coverage of the March 5 HEPB meeting.