Plans for the development of Biscayne Shores
Village, a $400 million mixed-use project on the single largest
available parcel of contiguous land in the eastern corridor
of Miami-Dade County, continue to move forward.
The Miami-Dade County Planning Advisory Board and the Miami-Dade
County Board of County Commissioners unanimously endorsed
the project and voted to transmit the plans to the State
of Florida's Department of Community Affairs through the
local Regional Planning Council. The South Florida Regional
Planning Council gave its positive endorsement.
The master planned community is proposed on 14.50 acres bordering
Biscayne Boulevard, from 112th to 115th streets on the south
and north, and Biscayne Boulevard to Northeast 14th Avenue,
to the east and west.
The development will include up to 825 residential units,
approximately 190,000 square feet of commercial, retail and
entertainment space, as well as the revitalization of a county-owned
seven-acre park adjacent to the site.
With a master plan conceived by the internationally renowned
firm of Dover, Kohl & Partners, Biscayne Shores Village
is in the midst of completing a land use amendment. After review
from the State of Florida, the application will return to the
Planning Advisory Board and County Commission for final consideration.
"The community support and the positive feedback we have
received from County government has been gratifying," says
Brad Zackson, CEO of the New York-based development company,
The Dynamic Group. "We have conceived a unique project
for this area, one that embraces every aspect of new urbanism,
especially the melding with mass transit, one of the greatest
challenges for such a development."
The development will serve as the epicenter of one of the
County's most diverse neighborhoods, taking an area which has
been deemed as blighted and transforming it into a village
that will compliment the surrounding neighborhoods and serve
their residents.
"Biscayne Shores will be a dynamic, pedestrian-friendly
community, designed to encourage walking and to reduce the
number and length of automobile trips to conserve energy," says
Stephen Nostrand of Codina Realty Services, who serves as the
project manager. "This project will have something for
everyone, with a great mix of housing, dining, charming boutiques,
entertainment and culture, as well as a variety of transit
solutions."
When the developer decided to proceed with this project, the
development team agreed to first hear from the neighbors about
their ideas for the new Village, hence the decision to sponsor
a charrette.
"The idea of a private developer sponsoring a charrette
was somewhat unusual," continues Nostrand, "but the
process of involving hundreds of neighbors in the initial planning
process for our project has been a wonderful experience. We
have listened carefully, and have developed a master plan with
the neighborhood as the focus."
"We have had the opportunity to conduct charrettes in
urban areas all over the world," notes Victor Dover of
Dover, Kohl & Partners. "It is one of the most exciting
processes in which a person could participate, and a crucial
step towards creating the sense of community we all long for
in our neighborhoods. Biscayne Shores Village has achieved
that and more." A number of the ideas proposed by the
community at the charrette were incorporated into the master
plan design by Dover, Kohl & Partners. These include:
- A walkable main street lined with retail connecting Biscayne
Boulevard to the community
- Pedestal construction for the high-rise, with setbacks for
the residential towers
- Maximize the park bordering the north of the development,
creating a Central Park feel
- Shaded, wide and well lit streets
- Restaurants and shops
- A fountain square/plaza
- Controlled traffic due to the wide interconnected streets
- Development of a community transit system
The next step is an architectural charrette. Ten architects
from all around the US will participate in a 3-day, collaborative
design session to share ideas and concepts for Biscayne Shores
Village. Experts in retail, mixed-use, vertical development
and "new communities" are going to gather to provide
alternative design concepts for the development.
The high quality residential component of the project will
include flats, duplexes and town homes that will range from
800-2,100 square feet. Tower residences will include beautiful
panoramic water views of the Bay, Miami Beach and downtown
Miami. The village will include an Early Childhood Education
Center, a civic building, a great Main Street, an arts promenade
and several mini-parks. The county-owned 7-acre park immediately
adjacent will serve as the neighborhood and Village recreational
center, and the project's adjacent street will be lined with
restaurants.
There will be approximately 135,000 square feet of retail
and 55,000 square feet of office and civic space. "The
retail space will serve the residents of Biscayne Shores Village
and the surrounding neighborhood," explained Nostrand. "We
have existing luxury high rise communities right across the
street that are expanding and beautiful single family home
communities to the south and east that need neighborhood retail
conveniences closer to where they live. In the retail world
it is all about counting rooftops. We have a lot of roofs to
serve that currently have to travel a long way for their shopping
needs, and there are hundreds of new residences about to be
built in the neighborhood whose retail needs we can also serve."
Adds Nostrand: "We have had many inquiries from prospective
equity investor partners in the Biscayne Shores Village. "One
of the obvious questions raised by many of those inquiries
has had to do with the potential downturn or 'bubble bursting'
in what is considered to be one of the most active condominium
markets in the Country. The answer is simple. With most of
the projects planned or underway, there is a heavy percentage
of speculative/investor condominium buyers. Biscayne Shores
Village is an integrated community (not a project) for residents
who are going to work in the area, commute to the nearby employment
centers and desire the lifestyle and convenience of an urban
village. We are not a place for speculators. In addition, the
cost of the land for the development and the value that has
already been created provides a wonderful upside for the development
group. We will continue to respond to requests for information
from potential equity investors and speak with those who have
the same vision as the development team and wish to be a part
of one of the landmark urban renaissance developments in the
Miami area."
