When will the new Belle Isle apartments open? Maybe late spring? Maybe not….

Nearly four years after demolition, Belle Isle Key’s replacement remains a work in progress.

Here’s what Bella Isla looked like on Jan. 26.

If you live on or near Belle Isle, you’re likely wondering when tenants will begin moving into the the glass and steel apartment complex at 31 Venetian Way.

The old 120-unit complex, called Belle Isle Key, closed in 2017 and was demolished in early 2018. The master permit for the new project, called Bella Isla, was issued in April 2018.

Nearly four years later, information from the developer, the EuroAmerican Group, is hard to come by. Calls to EuroAmerican’s offices this week yielded only vague information. Apartments may be available for rent “in late spring,” a receptionist said. No pricing is available. Can you get on a waiting list? You can fill out the contact form on the website, callers are told. When we know something, we’ll call you….

This project has an interesting history. Belle Isle originally was home to lavish estates, including the summer home of retailer J.C. Penney (now the site of the Nine Island Avenue condo).

The first apartment units on Belle Isle were not really apartments at all, but barracks built in 1931 to house troops. Those housing units at 31 Venetian Way later became low income housing and were renovated into 120 apartments known as Belle Isle Key in the 1970s.

For more than a dozen years, the owners of the old complex, the EuroAmerican Group, sought to replace the bayfront apartments with modern steel and glass units.

Before the wrecking ball came, Belle Isle Key Apartments, 31 Island Ave.

In 2009 and 2010, EuroAmerican went to the city with designs that called for 181 apartments in two five-story buildings,  including a 315-space parking garage topped by two tennis courts. The city Design Review Board approved a plan that trimmed one floor from the easternmost building, and eliminated eight apartments.

The developer appealed to the city commission in November 2010.  EuroAmerican wanted the fifth floor, The company sued in January 2011, but Miami Beach prevailed in court in January 2012.

They came back in May 2015 with a new proposal, with 172 units in three buildings. A variation of it eventually was approved by the city. Residents of the existing complex fought fought a demolition permit but failed, and the buildings were demolished by Spring 2018. A higher seawall was built and contractors began filling in the land to raise the height of the ground floor.

In July 2018, demolition was done and seawall construction was well underway.

The result — ground floor raised by about eight feet and five floors instead of three — is a set of buildings considerably taller than the previous complex. Just ask a neighbor in a north facing apartment on the south side of Venetian Way.

You’d think in four years the apartments would be built, rented, finito. But construction at Bella Isla has moved painfully slow. Blame it on the pandemic, supply chain, issues with underground utilities or God knows what else. When the units will be completed,, marketed and rented remains an unknown.

There are many aspects to the complex that have not been completed or received final inspections, said Miami Beach Building Director Ana Salgueiro. Among them: gazebos, trellises, stair railings, the roof top terrace, the sprinkler system, plumbing systems, elevators — it’s a long list.

So what’s a best guess on completion and occupancy?

“Based on all of the permits in applied status, I would say it is quite a bit away,” Salgueiro said. “The contractor would have a better idea as they should have the timeline and plans.  I have not been approached regarding a TCO (temporary certificate of occupancy) and usually on these projects I am approached when they are about 4 to 6 months from applying for TCO to make sure that they get to that goal on time.”

On the Bella Isla website, you can see floor plans for the apartments. There are one, two and three bedroom floor plans, ranging from 717 square feet to 1,606 square feet (again, no rental rates).

On the Bella Isla website, you can see the site plan as well as floor plans, but no prices.

One question circulating among Belle Isle neighbors is whether EuroAmerican has decided to change the use of the units from apartment to condominium. In city files, “there does not appear to be any revisions which show a change of use,” said Miami Beach spokeswoman Melissa Berthier. To may that change, EuroAmerican would need to apply to revise its plans.

Another glimpse of Belle Isle when discrimination ruled Miami Beach

Vintage postcard shows pre-highrise Belle Isle

Belle Isle Blog found another historic postcard depicting the era of blatant discrimination on Belle Isle, again for the Belle Isle Court apartments, now known as Belle Isle Key.

The postcard, purchased on eBay, shows Belle Isle in the 1940s. It refers to “Gentile Clientele” in “quiet, exclusive surroundings.”

The postcard shows a Belle Isle entirely made up of  estates, except for the one apartment complex. It’s worth a closer look. The view is facing west.

Postcard depicts Belle Isle in the 1940s, “restricted clientele” only.

A post card acquired previously with the same image, which appears to be of a slightly later vintage (and with a more professional font) advertised “restricted clientele” at Belle Isle Court.

Both harken back to the era on Miami Beach during which Jews were banned from housing, an time that ended in 1947 when the Miami Beach City Commission passed an ordinance banning the practice.

That action happened after the end of World War II, when many Jewish servicemen who trained here returned to live. It capped a period during the 1930s and 1940s when such restrictions and signs were common on the beach.