Publix is planning yet another grocery store/condo tower combo, their second such proposal in a little over a month, in Sunny Isles Beach. This time, instead of placing a condo tower directly on top of one of its stores, as Publix is planning to do in Coral Gables, the tower is going next door. The 21-story, 357 unit residential tower will be designed by Kobi Karp, reports exMiami, and is undoubtedly more modern than its Coral Gables counterpart, with sleek and subtly-curved floor plates, wrap-around balconies, and waterfront views. The existing 32-year old store would be replaced by a 54,000 square foot shopping center with rooftop parking protected by a hatch-patterned metal trellis. The design for the store itself is relatively simple, with a few protruding forms emphasizing the entry, minimal diagonal scoring patterns, and (hopefully) lots of lush landscaping.
The Sunny Isles Beach City Commission is scheduled to hear the application on July 17th. This is a fresh application after a 2 year litigation battle between Publix and the City over alleged fraud voided a previous application in 2006. If approved, the project would be the latest addition to a total of 14 new condos with 1800+ units in Sunny Isles.—Margina Demmer
· Renderings of Publix condo building in Sunny Isles Beach [exMiami]
· This is the new Publix Tower going up in the Gables [Curbed Miami]