Ice Box Cafe and Panther Coffee are open for business

Panther Coffee in Sunset Harbour

In case you were wondering….both Ice Box Cafe and Panther Coffee were open and doing a nice lunchtime business in Sunset Harbour on Tuesday…..

The neighborhood should be hopping this weekend!

 

Get answers to your questions about SunPass and the Venetian Causeway

The folks at Miami-Dade County’s Causeway Division have been talking about converting the toll collection system on the Venetian Causeway to SunPass for two-plus  years now.

And for just as long, residents from Belle Isle to Biscayne Island have worried that the system — though more efficient — will mean more cars and higher speed on the residential causeway that serves as a haven to runners, cyclists and residents.

In using SunPass instead of the current C-Pass transponders, island residents still would buy a $24 annual pass for the causeway, with a SunPass coded for the use. Other drivers would not longer have to pay by cash.

The most recent prediction from causeway chief Mike Bauman in January was the conversion — once anticipated in fall 2012, will happen at the end of this year.

On Tuesday, May 21, at 7 p.m., county representatives will answer questions at a forum hosted by the Venetian Way Neighborhood Alliance and sponsored jointly with the Belle Island Residents Association and Venetian Island Homeowners Association.

The meeting happens in the community room at 1000 Venetian Way on Biscayne Island, in view of the toll plaza. Among the discussion points on the table:

• Lowering the speed limit on the causeway from 30 miles
• The installation of speed feedback machines along causeway
• Toll lane narrowing
• Maintaining toll “arms”
• Higher tolls for non-residents and/or commuters
• Increased security (cameras, police, etc.)

The city of Miami Beach last week approved tag scanners and cameras for the Miami Beach portion of the causeway. The toll booth is in the city of Miami.

Sunrise in Sunset Harbour: Panther Coffee, Tequitzlan Mexican and Ice Box may open this week

Panther Coffee is almost ready to brew in Sunset Harbour.

There was a barista behind the gleaming expresso machine at the new Panther Coffee in Sunset Harbour on Saturday, but the coffee house won’t be open until some time later this week.

Management is waiting on a certificate of occupancy from the city of Miami Beach, and it’s a day-to-day thing.  But the space, facing the Sunset Harbour condos, looks great. They won’t be roasting beans here, as they do in Wynwood, but the space seems bigger, with more seating.

A sneak peak into Ice Box.

A couple of shops down at 1855 Purdy Ave., workers labored Saturday at the new Ice Box Cafe location.

The Miami Beach favorite closed its tiny just-off Lincoln Road (on Michigan Avenue ) location on Sunday, and plans to open in Sunset Harbour as soon as Mother’s Day. The new space dwarfs the tiny Lincoln Road location, and features a full bar and lots of table space.

By the way, while traveling last weekend, Belle Isle Blog stumbled upon an Ice Box that opened in Concourse A at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (near Gate A9, to be specific).

At DFW Airport.

The DFW shop is desserts only, unlike the spot in Miami International, which features a wide range of takeout sandwiches and salads.

Meanwhile, on the Bay Road side of the Shoppes at Sunset Harbour, Tequitzlan Mexican Restaurant and Tequila bar is racing toward an opening day.

Tequitzlan Mexican readies for opening.

The spacious spot features some unique lighting fixtures, and a large bar. The staff on site Saturday said they hope to be open for customers on Thursday.

The restaurants will join the Shoppes pioneers, starting with Juan Plasencia’s Sunset Clothing Co., and Frankie’s Boutique, both of which opened in November.

Last month, ice cream eatery Emack & Bolio opened up, featuring great ice creams and frozen yogurts.

Wondering what Miami Beach plans for Memorial Day traffic and security? How to find out

The Miami Beach Police Department has scheduled something  called a “Memorial Day Symposium” to discuss traffic, security and crowd management preparations for the annual Urban Weekend.

The meeting happens at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8 at the Miami Beach Police Department Community Room, 1100 Washington Ave.

Last year, Miami Beach police had officers on nearly every corner of the Venetian Causeway islands, with signs posted warning drivers the causeways was for locals only.

A traffic control strategy squeezed eastbound traffic from Miami to Miami Beach from three lanes to one at certain times on the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle causeways, and license tag scanners were used to check for drivers with outstanding arrest warrants.

Police used DUI checkpoints as well.

We’ll see if the plan for 2013 is as aggressive.

“The primary goal of the Police Department during this weekend is to maintain public safety for residents and visitors and to proactively address issues….to reduce potential future problems,” according to the city email announcing Wednesday’s meeting.

Planning board considers 17th Street hotel at 5 p.m.; expect a crowd

Rendering of the hotel from the Collins Canal.

The Miami Beach Planning Board has scheduled a 5 p.m.  hearing on the proposed Marriott Residence Inn on 17th Street and West Avenue.

Expect a big crowd and a lengthy discussion.

The Finvarb Group wants to build a 116-room hotel on the property. It’s a sleek five-story hotel designed by architect Kobi Karp, with 66 parking spaces.

The property, owned by the Miami Beach Housing Authority, is tight, tucked between 17th Street and the Collins Canal, west of the apartment building that houses the Vespa store and other retail, and the Boston Market on Alton Road.

A coalition of neighborhood groups — including the Belle Isle Residents Association, the West Avenue Corridor Neighborhood Association, Venetian Causeway Homeowners Association and six more — are asking the Planning Board to delay approval until the city can better study its impact on traffic. They have also suggested the property should be preserved as green space.

They are urging their members to show up at the meeting wearing red.

In a letter to Planning Board members, BIRA President Scott Diffenderfer said the impact of the planned West Avenue bridge, which will form the west boundary of the hotel property, needs to be considered in the plan, along with the expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Planning Board members also will hear from supporters of the project, many of whom posted comments during the weekend on BelleIsleBlog. Several praised the design and said a hotel like a Residence Inn — which caters to business travelers and longer stays — would be an amenity to residents who have friends and family visiting. They also argue that the hotel would have less impact on traffic than other businesses that could be built on the property, like a fast food restaurant or a drug store.

In its analysis of the proposal, city of Miami Beach planners recommended approving it, subject to many conditions. The on-site restaurant must be for hotel guests only. The roof-top pool must close by 11 p.m. The hotel has to provide a shuttle for employees who park off-site. And more.

The project still must be scrutinized by the Miami Beach Design Review Board.

Urban flood advisory for Miami Beach

If the rains of the last two days weren’t enough — and they left water standing in Sunset Harbour — the National Weather Service just posted an urban flood advisory for Miami Beach with today’s deluge.

By noon, three to four inches of rain had been recorded along the Tuttle Causeway, and about three inches on Miami Beach.  More thunderstorms are expected this afternoon.

 

Belle Isle gets glimpse of proposed 17th Street hotel

Rendering includes proposed West Ave. bridge.

The developer of the proposed Marriott Residence Inn on 17th Street and West Avenue gave Belle Isle residents a presentation of plans for the 116-room hotel on Thursday.

The project is scheduled for a Planning Board review on April 30.

Here are the vital statistics:

Rendering of the hotel from the Collins Canal.

– It’s a five-story building, the same height as the retail apartment building immediately to the east that houses the Vespa store on the corner of 17th Street and Alton Road. It would have 66 parking spaces in a mechanical lot.

– The development site is tiny, about 25,000 square feet north of 17th Street, east of the planned West Avenue Bridge, and south of the Collins Canal, which parallels Dade Boulevard.

– Residence Inns feature studios and suites with small kitchens tailored toward business travelers and families. It will have a ground floor restaurant for guests only (these hotels provide free breakfasts), a small conference room and a rooftop pool to serve hotel guests only (11 p.m. close). There will be no outdoor bar counter on the roof, and the owner has proposed to agree not to hold any events on the rooftop.

– The developer is the Finvarb Group, headed by Robert Finvarb. The company has a number of Marriott properties in Florida and elsewhere, including the Courtyard Inn on Washington Avenue at 16th Street.  The architect is renowned Kobi Karp.

Belle Isle Residents Association members at Thursday night’s meeting at the Belle Plaza condo had lots of questions about how the hotel would accommodate deliveries, the expected traffic impact, and when employees would come and go.

Traffic planner Richard Garcia said his impact study showed the hotel would generate less than half the traffic of some other uses that could be allowed on the property, such as a pharmacy, dry cleaner or fast food restaurant. He projected the busiest hour for traffic to be 5-6 p.m., when about 33 trips would be made in and out of the property.

The project’s land-use lawyer, Michael Larkin, projected that no more than 12 employees would be working at the hotel at any given time, but that did not include parking valets.

So, what do you think?

Sunday triathalon could snarl morning traffic on causeways, Alton Road

Bike and running routes Sunday

The folks behind the Nautica South Beach Triathlon warn that the bike course could cause delays between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The bike course starts on Ocean Drive at Fifth Street, goes south to Biscayne Street and north on Alton Road and east across the MacArthur Causeway. It returns to the beach on the Julia Tuttle Causeway before heading south on Alton road to Michigan Avenue and then Dade Boulevard. Then the course heads back up to Alton, west across the Tuttle, south to the MacArthur Causeway and back across the causeway to Miami Beach to finish near the start.

The MacArthur and Tuttle causeways will remain open, but with restricted lanes, so traffic is expected to be slow on both — and with extra pressure on the Venetian Causeway. Traffic also will be detoured around Alton Road at 17th Street.

So be safe out there.

West Avenue neighborhood group meets Thursday

WAVNA — the West Avenue Neighborhood Corridor Neighborhood Association — holds its March meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens with a host of issues on the agenda:

– An update on the long-awaited (and somewhat dreaded) Alton Road reconstruction project, which is scheduled to start Monday — April Fools Day.

– The status of the 600 Alton Road project, which would put retail, restaurants and a 440-unit apartment complete between West Avenue and Alton Road north of Fifth Street. The project includes the South Shore Hospital site.

– Efforts to combat neighborhood nuisances, including the Bikini Hostel, the party-themed youth hostel at 12th Street and West Avenue.

The Botanical Gardens, 2000 Convention Center Dr., is a cool venue, and the meeting kicks off with a little social. The association would appreciate an RSVP.

 

The next 600 Alton Road reveal: the traffic plan

Crescent Heights development, which owns the abandoned South Shore Hospital and surrounding properties between Alton Road and West Avenue, has scheduled another session with West Avenue residents — this time to outline  the traffic plans for the proposed apartment/retail complex it calls 600 Alton Road.

The meeting happens Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Miami Beach Golf Course clubhouse. The West Avenue Neighborhood Association asks that you RSVP if you plan to attend.

At a meeting in January, Crescent Heights showed a proposal for a sleek complex that included 440 rental apartments above 60,000-square feet of retail space and parking for 1073 cars.

The configuration of the retail at street level included open air walkways under the building, and green space (described as a mini-park) facing Fifth Street. Parking was underground, an interesting challenge given the frequency of street flooding in the area.

There were many questions about traffic impact during that meeting, and Crescent Heights promised to follow up with a session with the traffic plan — and this is it.

Meanwhile, Crescent Heights is scheduled to appear at the Planning Board on Feb. 26 and the Design Review Board on March 5.