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.

17th Street hotel developer to meet with Belle Isle Residents Association

The developers of a Marriott Residence Inn proposed to be built on a sliver of land between 17th Street and the Collins Canal will present plans to members of the Belle Isle Residents Association on Thursday, April 4.

The 116-room hotel is proposed by the Finvarb Group, developer and owner of at least seven Marriott properties across the country, included the Marriott Courtyard on Washington Avenue in South Beach.

The land where the hotel would be built, north of 17th Street between Alton Road and West Avenue, is owned by the Miami Beach Housing Authority. Finvarb has negotiated to buy it, assuming the hotel project is approved by the city.

On March 13, the Miami Beach City Commission relaxed parking requirements for small hotels in the city’s historic district, and added the 17th Street parking to the the more generous rules. That controversial decision was opposed by the Belle Isle Residents Association and the West Avenue Corridor Neighborhood Association.

At the meeting BIRA representatives complained that the city Parking and Transportation Committee was not asked to review the parking policy change, and the hotel project had not been presented to Belle Isle homeowners. Michael Larkin, the lawyer representing Finvarb, said there had been a meeting scheduled with Belle Isle but it was cancelled because of a death in the Finvarb family.

The project still must be approved by the Miami Beach Planning Board.

Time machine: a Belle Isle mansion at a bargain price

The Adams estate made way for Belle Towers, Belle Plaza and Costa Brava.

Ever plumb through the historical magazines and newspapers at the Sunday Lincoln Road market?

One of our neighbors from Belle Towers found a gem Sunday.

“I walked up to talk to the magazine lady at the flea market and this guy asked about this house. He lives in Belle Meade and thought this was a mistake! I said no its where I live. He was buying it. I said can I buy it? Lol. He said no. So I took a picture at least.”

You can click on the photo to read the description, but the highlights are: The main house had 11 bedrooms, eight baths, a 75×35 foot music room with a Aeolian pipe organ, and an eight car garage. Oh, and 650 feet of water frontage. All for $350,000. Such as deal!

The Adams estate on the southeast end of Belle Isle.

Joseph Adams owned a big chunk of Belle Isle back in the day. His sprawling estate covered the property where developers built Belle Tower (16 Island Ave., in 1958, Belle Plaza (20 Island Ave., 1962, and Costa Brava (11 Island Ave., 1972).

Adams was a millionaire who came to Florida in 1924. He was an author and inventor who developed something known as the “oil-cracking process,” a way of making larger volumes of gasoline from crude oil by applying continuous heat and pressure. In 1919 and 1920, he obtained patents for the process and machinery that were sold to the Texas Oil Company (which became Texaco) and Standard Oil. He later had a $1 million tax battle with the IRS over income from the patents.

He was one of the founders of the University of Miami, and the boathouse on his Belle Isle estate was the first location of UM’s Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. He willed it to UM in his estate (he died in 1941 at age 74).

This photo shows the Adams and Penney estates

When President-elect Herbert Hoover stayed at the J.C. Penney estate (now 9 Island Avenue) for four weeks starting on Jan. 22, 1929, some 30 staffers and journalists stayed at the adjacent Adams estate, thanks to an agreement between Penney and Adams.

Hoover stayed on Belle Isle before his inauguration (back then, presidential inaugurations were in March), and went fishing on Adams yacht, the Amitie.

The house briefly served as the home of Miami Beach’s first Episcopal Church (All Souls, now on Pine Tree Drive), which was allowed to hold services in the massive music room after Adams death in 1941.

 

Congrats to Belle Isle volunteers; the folks who give our neighborhood its voice

Belle Isle Blog is overdue in recognizing the newly elected Belle Isle Residents Association board, which plays a crucial role as our neighborhood advocate on key issues at Miami Beach City Hall and with Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Transportation.

They are active (in their day jobs) in areas from architecture to real estate, and many have key roles in other volunteer quality of life ventures — from Miami Beach committees to civic groups.

The association’s president, Scott Diffenderfer (Belle Plaza), is a local Realtor and a member of Miami Beach’s Transportation Committee.

Vice President Charlie Urstadt lives in Belle Towers, and last month was selected as chair of the city of Miami Beach Planning Board. Urstadt also serves as chair of the Miami Beach Design Preservation League, a director of Friends of Miami Marine Stadium and is managing director of Urstadt Real Estate, a consulting firm.

Jean Francois-Lejeune (Belle Plaza) is a professor of architecture (and director of graduate studies) at the University of Miami, author and a Miami Beach Planning Board member.

Nancy Liebman (9 Island Avenue) is a former Miami Beach City Commissioner, and along with long-time board member Herb Frank, one of the founders  of the activist group Miami Beach United. Frank is active with Scenic Miami.

At the risk of leaving anyone out, here’s a complete list of board members as of the latest Belle Island Association election, from the association website:

• Scott Diffenderfer (20 Island Avenue) [President]
• Josh Fisher (9 Island Avenue)
• Herb Frank (10 Venetian Way) [Treasurer]
• Garry Korr (11 Island Avenue)
• Sandra Money (3 Island Avenue)
• Barbara Frank (10 Venetian Way)
• Nancy Liebman (9 Island Avenue)
• David Leeds (20 Island Avenue)
• Monica Tracy (5 Island Avenue) [Secretary)

Directors Elected 2012 (Terms expire January, 2014)

• Nancy Beckham (20 Island Avenue)
• Jean-Francois Lejeune with wife Astrid Rotemberg as Sub (20 Island Avenue)
• Elaine Solomon (1 Century Lane) [Elected January 2013]
• Charles Urstadt (16 Island Avenue)  [Vice-President]

 

Secretary Monica Tracey (5 Island Ave.) is an active area real estate agent.

West Avenue Corridor group to hold first-ever annual meeting

The West Avenue Corridor Neighborhood Association — a  community group that’s been extremely active on issues from bicycle and pedestrian safety to zoning and flooding issues — holds its first annual meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19 at the Mirador 1200 condominium.

With leadership from co-chairs Christine Florez and Gayle Durham, the WAVNA community group has drawn serious attention from Miami Beach officials and developers who want to do business in the area. Florez, by the way, recently filed papers to run for the Miami Beach City Commission.

Key items on the West Avenue agenda this year:

–How the city and the Florida Department of Transportation handle the reconstruction of Alton Road and new pumping stations to reduce flooding;

– The proposal from Crescent Heights to replace South Shore Hospital with a large new rental/retail complex called 600 Alton Road. The proposal goes to the Miami Beach Planning Board on Feb. 26, and the Design Review Board on March 6.

– How Miami Beach deals with valet parking and neighborhood concerns associated with the renovation of Southgate Towers on the east side of West Avenue and 10th Street and plans to open a 200-seat restaurant with outdoor seating and valet parking on that property.

– The efforts of the Bikini Hostel, 1255 West Ave., to acquire a liquor license. The association launched a petition drive to try and block the granting of the liquor license.

On Saturday, go for a South Beach bike ride — or avoid getting caught in one

The monthly Miami Beach Community Bike Ride happens Saturday morning between 9 and 11:30 a.m.

It’s a fun event for participants — and a wise thing to plan around for errand-running South Beach residents.

For Belle Isle and other Venetian Causeway dwellers, it’s important to know that the last leg of the ride takes riders down Alton Road from Middle Beach and then east at 20th Street to Dade Boulevard and the Convention Center area.

The ride starts at Fifth Street and Washington Avenue. Here’s the general route, for planning purposes:

• Fifth Street from Washington Avenue to Ocean Drive
• Ocean Drive from Fifth to 15 streets
• 15 Street from Ocean Drive to Collins Avenue
• Collins Avenue from 15 Street to 87 Street
• 87 Terrace between Collins Avenue and Harding Avenue
• Harding Avenue from 87 Terrace (to Indian Creek) to 63 Street
• 63 Street from Indian Creek to North Bay Road
• North Bay Road south from 63 Street to 45 Street/Alton Road
• Alton Road from 45 Street to 20 Street
• Dade Boulevard from 20 Street to Convention Center Drive
• Convention Center Drive
• 17 Street from Convention Center Drive to Washington Avenue
• Washington Avenue south from 17 Street back to Fifth Street

Architects behind The Standard Hotel and Lido Spa were stellar, but perhaps not who you think

A 1959 postcard from the Monterey Motel on Belle Isle.

As The Standard (formerly Lido Spa) unveils plans for its third major renovation, it’s a good opportunity to review the architectural lineage of a property that includes work by luminaries in South Florida design history.

Most folks who consider themselves Miami Beach old timers associate The Standard with the Lido Spa — for years a destination for a certain generation, more blue hair than purple streaks, less hip than hip replacement.

Ah, uncongested Belle Isle.

But the Lido was the second incarnation of  hotel/motel at 40 Island Ave.

It started in 1953, and was known as the Monterrey Motel. Architect Norman Giller originally designed the Monterrey with a glass gable facade. It had two wings of rooms, two floors on the west and one floor on the east.

Giller’s hotel designs are considered groundbreaking works of Miami Modern architecture. His other work includes the Ocean Palm and Thunderbird Motels in Sunny Isles Beach, and the Carillon Hotel and the North Shore Bandshell in North Beach.

The original Monterrey became the Lido Spa in 1960. The new owner added the three-story lobby and spa building with the classic sign and gold grille panels. Here’s where the architectural history becomes more murky.

Many publications have attributed that work  to architectural legend Morris Lapidus.

Among them: Travel and Leisure magazine in a much repeated piece from 2005, and the city of Miami Beach in it’s own MiMoTutorial

But the authoritative book MIMO: Miami Modern Revealed, by Eric Nash and Randall Robinson, credits  A. Herbert Mathes  for the entry building design. So does Miami Architecture, an American Institute of Architects guide to South Florida’s design treasures.

The Lapidus anthology Morris Lapidus: The Architecture of Joy, which lists all of Lapidus buildings, does not mention the Lido at all.

Tom Mooney, the city of Miami Beach preservation officer and planner, says the city of Miami Beach building card for 40 Island Ave. does not name Lapidus, though it does name Norman Giller for the original design. It’s worth a look, to see that the original Monterrey building cost was estimated at $200,000. You can see renovation details from air conditioning upgrades to pool construction.

3 Island Ave.

5 Island Ave.

(It’s worth mentioning that Lapidus did make his mark on Belle Isle. Two other Belle Isle buildings are Lapidus designs: Terrace Tower (1962) at 3 Island Ave. and Island Terrace (1967), 5 Island Ave.)

The 2005 renovation of The Standard was done by Alison Spear, one of the founders of the groundbreaking Miami architectural firm Arquitectonica.

In 1962, Belle Isle with Monterrey/Lido in the foreground, slightly left.

Scenes from the ING Miami Marathon: the runners cross Belle Isle

Runners in high spirits crossing Belle Isle

They wore running gear and wedding gowns, kooky headgear and Kinesio tape, their own names (Go, Charles!) and the names of honored loved ones on their shirts and hats and shorts.

And on their faces, the 25,000 or so runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes who crossed Belle Isle in Sunday’s ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon wore the look of pride you get from working hard and achieving  a personal goal.

Wheelchair athletes started before runners.

The first wheelchair competitor crossed the island at 6:34 a.m. (after a 6:05 a.m. start). Our first runner crossed at 6:58 a.m., following a Nissan Leaf pace car. And the rest of the field streamed over bridge from Sunset Harbour headed west across Rivo Alto, DiLido, San Marino, San Marco and Biscayne islands on their way to the mainland.

First runner to Belle Isle

They were cheered on by a smattering of family, friends and Belle Isle residents,  along with the water-and-Gatorade crew from Baptist Health, If you were running in Sunday’s ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, you might have wished it was a little cooler. But the overcast skies kept the heat down as the sun rose in the early morning.

The volunteer crew from Baptist Health (station G) filled paper cups in the darkness before 6 a.m. By 7:30, they were awash in Gatorade and up to their ankles in crushed cups.

But the story of the day was the runners — fast, slow, elite athlete and weekend warrior. Here’s a look at the rest of the runners (click on any photo to enlarge and get a better view. Maybe you are in there!)

Dennis “Coatman” Marsala

Collins Canal bike path should be complete by late April, city says

Bike path and seawall work between Alton Road and Michigan.

Stalled work on the Collins Canal seawall and bike path has resumed, and the project should be complete in late April, Belle Isle residents were told this week.

Construction on the seawall and bike path was halted last fall after Miami-Dade prosecutors arrested former Miami Beach procurement director Gus Lopez on  63 charges including racketeering, bid-tampering and illegal compensation in connection with a dozen different city contracts. The bike path contract, with Harbour Construction, is one of the projects tied to that investigation.

The city has decided to move forward with the work, said Rick Saltrick, chief capital projects engineer for the city.

“We stopped work for a while because of procurement issues,” he told a gathering of the Belle Isle Residents Association on Wednesday night. ” We decided to go ahead and let him finish….We shouldn’t punish the rest of the city” with an unfinished project.

Harbour Construction had already been been paid more than $3.6 million on the $4 million project. The Miami Herald reported that police said company employees admitted to falsifying a letter of credit and receiving leaked information about other companies’ bids.

The project extends the existing bike path from where Dade Boulevard splits off of 17th Street at the Collins Canal bridge to Convention Center Drive.  In all, it’s 2,900 long, and will enable bikers, runners and parents pushing strollers to get from Belle Isle to the beach on a nice sidewalk all the way.

The improvements include raising the existing seawall to address times of high water. Completed, the path will feature a wider concrete path, landscaping and improved lighting using LED fixtures.

Parttime Belle Isle resident wins case at Supreme Court

Lozman

Fane Lozman, former Marine, commodities trader and civic activist, won his case before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. He’s on the front page of The Miami Herald today.

In a 7-2 decision, the Supremes decided the city of Riviera Beach, where Lozman used to live, could not regulate Lozman’s former home as a maritime vessel.

The court concluded that Riviera Beach went too far when it used maritime law to seize and eventually destroy Lozman’s houseboat.

Congrats to our Belle Isle neighbor, who spends a lot of time at Nine Island Avenue.

You may remember that Lozman got into a dust-up last year with KW Property Management at Nine Island, when his Ducati motorcycle disappeared from the parking garage. When he brought up the theft at a condo board meeting, he said the building management tried to shut him up and called Miami Beach police.

As we blogged back then — Lozman isn’t a guy to be taken lightly.