Developer Sandor Scher's plan to built a mixed-use project which would include a 22 story tower on Ocean Terrace, a two-block-long, low rise stretch of oceanfront street much like Ocean Drive but in North Beach, has taken a big step forward, reports the Real Deal. The Miami Beach Planning Board has approved increasing the floor-to-area ratio from 2.0 to 3.0 and the allowable height along Ocean Terrace from 75 feet or 8 stories to 250 feet or 22 stories.
This doesn't quite mean that Scher gets his way just yet though. Next the ordinance is sent to the City Commission, which has to approve putting it on the ballot for voters to decide. Whether ultimately good or bad, due to the scale of the change voter approval will be a very 'there goes the neighborhood' sort of moment. The new allowable development could mean the revitalization of a stagnated area, but it will also mean the complete transformation of its historic look and feel. Hopefully voters will know the difference.
· Planning Board Endorses North Beach Mixed-Use Project [Real Deal]