Welp, there she blows. The City of Miami Commission has almost entirely put the kibosh, killed, vanquished, vamoosed, "don't let the screen door hit you on the way out"-ed the Miami Innovation Tower, that so-called 'giant LED billboard' that would be the centerpiece of the high-tech Miami Innovation District which developer Michael Simkins is (was?) planning for Overtown.
According to the Miami Herald:
Miami commissioners on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a measure that would strike a section of the Miami 21 zoning code that allows for "media towers" in the Park West and Overtown redevelopment area. The law has been on the books in different variations for about 13 years, and was used by developer Michael Simkins in planning and designing his 633-foot Miami Innovation Tower as the centerpiece of a proposed 10-acre technology district. Basically, the Miami 21 zoning code said that gigantic media towers, with huge digital displays that would show public art and, yes, advertising (probably mostly advertising) were perfectly A-Okay in the particular part of Overtown where the tower was planned. Now, in response to popular uproar, they may no longer be so. The commission still has to return for a final vote on the matter. If the billboard law is repealed Simkins' lawyers will (of course) argue that the repeal shouldn't and won't affect his project because it's "grandfathered in," even though the repeal of the law is totally aimed directly at his project. Simkins is also arguing that this will be the death blow to the entire rest of his Miami Innovation District project because it's the "critical revenue generator for the entire project." If only the city could kill SkyRise Miami as easily.
· Uncertainty surrounds Miami Innovation Tower [Miami Herald]
· Miami Innovation Tower coverage [Curbed Miami]
Loading comments...